Recuperating Iceberg Lettuce

Iceberg lettuce was a mainstay in our home as I grew up. I'm not sure that I even knew other types of lettuce existed until I went away to college. As an adult, I discovered the great wide world of lettuce--and I've gone, respectively, through a number of phases in my salad making: spinach, romaine, butter leaf, red leaf, and watercress. I'd seen that iceberg lettuce was making a comeback with the wedge salad, but I had yet to try one.

Recently, Tastespotting posted a picture of a beautiful looking salad with a wedge of iceberg lettuce. The recipe sounded good, so I decided to try it for lunch today. Because the original picture is so good, I didn't take a picture myself . . . but click here in order to see the creation of "Confections of a Foodie Bride" aka Shawnda Horn.

No really . . . look at the picture. I'll wait . . .

My opinion of this salad? WOW! I loved it! I think the two key ingredients are the pancetta and the pepper. The saltiness of the crispy pancetta and the combination of red and black pepper balanced the more subtle flavor of the iceberg and goat cheese. I misread the original recipe and came home from the grocery story with avocado, which I added to the mix. Since I've adapted a couple of other things (and since I want this recipe on my website where I can find it), I'll type it in. And if I can get a good picture tomorrow, I'll add it to the site. For now, make this recipe. I don't think you'll regret it.

Salad

1/4 head iceberg lettuce
Crumbled goat cheese
3 slices of crumbled crispy pancetta
chopped tomato
basil (I didn't have fresh, so I just used the dry version)
chopped avocado

Top with the following red wine vinaigrette

1/4 c. red wine vinegar
1/2 t. honey
1 small clove garlic, finely chopped
ground black pepper
sea salt
red pepper flakes
1/2 c extra virgin olive oil

I tend to be conservative with pepper (ask Johnnie), so my "liberal" amount is probably pretty miniscule compared to what others might like. My thanks to the Foodie Bride for sharing this recipe.