The summertime brings an abundance of cucumbers, and this creamy cucumber and onion salad is the perfect way to put them to use! The concept came to be when we hosted a German food night with friends and needed a side salad but wanted to keep it dairy-…
The summertime brings an abundance of cucumbers, and this creamy cucumber and onion salad is the perfect way to put them to use! The concept came to be when we hosted a German food night with friends and needed a side salad but wanted to keep it dairy-free. It’s quick and easy to throw together and perfect for warm weather gatherings. Let us show you how it’s done!
How to Make Creamy Cucumber Salad
The dressing for this creamy cucumber salad relies on a base of thick, tangy coconut yogurt to keep it dairy-free.
Watergate Salad is loaded with pistachio pudding, crushed pineapple, miniature marshmallows, and pecans. It’s perfect for a Spring get-together or mid-week dessert. Growing up, salads that weren’t really salads were a staple at my Nana’s house. From Ambrosia Salad to Strawberry Pretzel Salad – these were the salads that I looked forward to at family …
Watergate Salad is loaded with pistachio pudding, crushed pineapple, miniature marshmallows, and pecans. It’s perfect for a Spring get-together or mid-week dessert.
Growing up, salads that weren’t really salads were a staple at my Nana’s house. From Ambrosia Salad to Strawberry Pretzel Salad – these were the salads that I looked forward to at family gatherings, and Watergate Salad was no exception.
Nana and her friends always had their go-to recipes that they were famous for and could whip them up in no time flat for a church function, ailing friend, or family get-together.
Nana was known for her cheesecake – usually cherry cheesecake, but switched up with other pie fillings depending on the season. Strawberries during spring, and lemon during the summer months.
Nana’s friend, Anita, always made an amazingly fluffy pistachio “salad” known as Watergate Salad. We come from a family that loves anything with pistachio pudding, from pudding pie to Pistachio Pudding Parfaits, so naturally, I was obsessed with the stuff as a kid.
Every month, in Off-Script With Sohla, pro chef and flavor whisperer Sohla El-Waylly will introduce you to a must-know cooking technique—and then teach you how to detour it toward new adventures.
I loved getting lost in a sea of choose-your-own adve…
Every month, in Off-Script With Sohla, pro chef and flavor whisperer Sohla El-Waylly will introduce you to a must-know cooking technique—and then teach you how to detour it toward new adventures.
I loved getting lost in a sea of choose-your-own adventure books as a kid. I reread them endlessly, discovering different routes along the way. I also cheated whenever an especially ominous choice was presented, going back and changing my answer if I didn’t like where I ended up.
This easy, low-yolk egg salad is made with a mix of whole eggs and egg whites with a little mayo and scallions. Serve this on your favorite whole grain bread, in a wrap or lettuce wrap. Low-Yolk Egg Salad Don’t get me wrong, I love egg yolks and eat them all the time in me […]
This easy, low-yolk egg salad is made with a mix of whole eggs and egg whites with a little mayo and scallions. Serve this on your favorite whole grain bread, in a wrap or lettuce wrap.
This farro salad is made with Mediterranean ingredients – cucumbers, tomatoes, lemon juice, feta, and mint – delicious as a side dish or even for lunch! Mediterranean Farro Salad Farro is one of my favorite grains, and it’s a great one to try if you’re tired of brown rice or quinoa. This Mediterranean Farro Salad […]
This farro salad is made with Mediterranean ingredients – cucumbers, tomatoes, lemon juice, feta, and mint – delicious as a side dish or even for lunch!
Mediterranean Farro Salad
Farro is one of my favorite grains, and it’s a great one to try if you’re tired of brown rice or quinoa. This Mediterranean Farro Salad can be served chilled or at room temperature and would be perfect for bringing to a potluck or BBQ this summer. For more farro recipes, try this Asian Farro Medley with Salmon and Farro and Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash.
Amish Pea Salad with Ham & Cheese is a delicious side dish that comes together in minutes. It’s a fantastic way to use up leftover holiday ham. If you’re anything like me, you still have some leftover Easter ham in your freezer. Despite regularly having to cook for a crowd, I always make too much, …
Amish Pea Salad with Ham & Cheese is a delicious side dish that comes together in minutes. It’s a fantastic way to use up leftover holiday ham.
If you’re anything like me, you still have some leftover Easter ham in your freezer.
Despite regularly having to cook for a crowd, I always make too much, regardless of the holiday.
It’s not Easter without ham, and I always purposely buy one that’s bigger than we need to feed our family, so we have some leftovers. After the holiday is over, we enjoy ham sandwiches, ham and cheese omelettes, and I tuck some ham away in the freezer for later.
One of my favorite ways to use up that leftover ham is alongside sweet green peas in this Amish Pea Salad with Ham & Cheese.
Cookbook author, Food Network host, and Food52 resident Molly Yeh has effectively shaken the internet with her recipe for crunchy snap pea popcorn salad. Naturally, we couldn’t be happier for her or more excited to test out this tantalizing-sounding co…
Cookbook author, Food Network host, and Food52 resident Molly Yeh has effectively shaken the internet with her recipe for crunchy snap pea popcorn salad. Naturally, we couldn't be happier for her or more excited to test out this tantalizing-sounding concoction ourselves (though whether or not popcorn salad sounds tantalizing is, again, notably subjective).
Popcorn salad isn't a novel concept—it's existed in its traditional mayo-coated, vegetable-studded form across the midwest for untold decades (though scores of midwesterners weighed in to say they'd never heard of it until the recipe made its way into headlines). In fact, adding an acidic dressing to a puffed grain is commonplace in plenty of food cultures—think Indian chaat and Ecuadorean or Peruvian ceviche—and adding a liquid element of any kind to a puffed grain frequently results in a texturally pleasing crunchy-soggy hybrid that keeps us going back to the cereal box.
There’s something about the wedge salad that satisfies every time! This recipe breaks down all the elements of this classic side dish. Classic is classic for a reason, and the classic wedge salad does not disappoint. Every time we serve it, people ooo and ahh. Because it really is perfection: the crunch of iceberg lettuce against the creamy, savory blue cheese dressing just makes sense. Not to mention it looks stunning! There’s a reason this salad has been impressing us all for 100 years. It’s our favorite to serve with a grilled dinner or sheet pan salmon and asparagus. How do we make it? Here are all the classic elements: and of course, we’ve put our spin on it. What’s in a wedge salad? The first recipe for an iceberg lettuce wedge salad was printed in 1916 in the book Salads, Sandwiches and Chafing Dish Recipes by Marion Harris Neil. It was called “Lettuce Salad with Roquefort Dressing” and calls for smothering lettuce hearts with a creamy blue cheese dressing and hard boiled egg whites cut into rings. Not quite what the salad looks like today! In the 1950’s, the wedge salad took on the blue cheese crumbles and bacon […]
There’s something about the wedge salad that satisfies every time! This recipe breaks down all the elements of this classic side dish.
Classic is classic for a reason, and the classic wedge salad does not disappoint. Every time we serve it, people ooo and ahh. Because it really is perfection: the crunch of iceberg lettuce against the creamy, savory blue cheese dressing just makes sense. Not to mention it looks stunning! There’s a reason this salad has been impressing us all for 100 years. It’s our favorite to serve with a grilled dinner or sheet pan salmon and asparagus. How do we make it? Here are all the classic elements: and of course, we’ve put our spin on it.
What’s in a wedge salad?
The first recipe for an iceberg lettuce wedge salad was printed in 1916 in the book Salads, Sandwiches and Chafing Dish Recipes by Marion Harris Neil. It was called “Lettuce Salad with Roquefort Dressing” and calls for smothering lettuce hearts with a creamy blue cheese dressing and hard boiled egg whites cut into rings. Not quite what the salad looks like today!
In the 1950’s, the wedge salad took on the blue cheese crumbles and bacon bits that are traditional in today’s salad. By the 1970’s, it became popular at steakhouses where it still is today. Most restaurants and chefs these days like to put their own creative touches on wedge salads (which we’ll cover below). The basic elements of a classic wedge salad are:
Iceberg lettuce
Blue cheese dressing
Tomatoes
Chives
Bacon
Try smoky breadcrumbs in place of bacon!
For our spin on the classic wedge salad, we’ve created an innovation instead of the traditional bacon: smoky bread crumbs! You can use breadcrumbs to add the crunchy element that bacon provides, and season them to add a hint of the smokiness of bacon. It’s a fun way to get creative with your wedge salad (and makes it vegetarian). You’ll simply toast the breadcrumbs in a skillet with olive oil and spices until they’re golden, about 3 minutes. Here are the spices you’ll need:
Smoked paprika: Also labeled as pimentón at the grocery store, it’s a smoked version of sweet paprika and adds a hint of smoke to everything it touches. It’s worth seeking out here! (Use leftovers for all these smoked paprika recipes.)
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Salt
A fresh spin on blue cheese dressing
This wedge salad uses our favorite blue cheese dressing recipe: classic with a modern spin! Here are a few of the features of this dressing that makes it a go-to:
Uses Greek yogurt! Combining the standard mayonnaise with Greek yogurt helps to reduce the calories but still keeps the deliciously creamy texture.
Easy to whisk up. This one takes just a few minutes to make! You’ll mash the blue cheese crumbles with a bit of vinegar, then mix it together with the yogurt, mayo and spices.
Don’t like blue cheese? A few options
Blue cheese is a strong flavor, and we know several people in our immediate circle who aren’t fans. You too? You can mix things up in the wedge salad and use a different salad dressing. Then top with feta cheese crumbles! Here are a few ideas for alternate dressings:
Ranch dressing: Try our best Ranch Dressing! It also uses Greek yogurt. You can even add a little smoked paprika to make Smoky Ranch.
Feta dressing: Simply make the blue cheese dressing below but use feta cheese instead of blue cheese.
Thousand island: Who doesn’t love Thousand Island? It’s not classic for a wedge salad, but still tasty!
Cutting the wedges in wedge salad
Last up: there are a few things to note when you cut an iceberg head for your wedge salad! Here are a few notes and things to look for:
Look for a small to medium iceberg head. Some iceberg lettuce heads you can find at the store are massive! Small to medium makes the best wedge.
Remove the outer leaves first. The outer leaves can be dirty and sometimes are damaged. Pull them all off first!
Cut into 4 for a small head or 6 for large. If all you can find is a very large iceberg head, you can cut it into 6 wedges. This will make it more manageable on a plate!
Mains to pair with wedge salad…it’s totally versatile!
The classic wedge salad is one of the most versatile salads we know. It goes with nearly anything. Here are some our favorite ways to pair it with a meal…that’s not steak:
Make the smoky breadcrumbs, if using: Heat the olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. In a small bowl, mix the panko with the smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder and kosher salt. Add them to the skillet and toast, stirring frequently, until golden and crisp, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove to a bowl.
Remove the outer leaves of the iceberg head, then slice it into wedges (4 for a small head, 6 for a large head). Prep the chives and tomatoes.
To serve. place a wedge on a plate. Top with dressing, tomatoes, chives, blue cheese crumbles, and smoky breadcrumbs. Serve immediately.
Notes
*Not a blue cheese lover? Make our Ranch Dressing and add 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika for a smoky flair. Then top with crumbled feta cheese.
Avocado chicken salad is on tap for today! I’m still on a mission to arm myself with as many delicious lunches that I can! Bonus points if they are make-ahead and ready in the fridge for me when I’m starving come noon. Pass all the crunchy crackers, please. This avocado chicken salad is another great […]
I’m still on a mission to arm myself with as many delicious lunches that I can! Bonus points if they are make-ahead and ready in the fridge for me when I’m starving come noon.
Pass all the crunchy crackers, please.
This avocado chicken salad is another great option to have during the week. Of course, you could eat it for breakfast or dinner too. You do you.
I just love it for lunch.
Speaking of lunch, are you still working at home right now or heading back to the office? I love this recipe for both situations: it lasts, you can throw it together the night before and it’s basically a pantry meal if you grab a rotisserie chicken and a bag of pita chips.
Now, I have made chicken and egg salad with the avocado as a binder in the past. Like, mash it up and use it with the wet ingredients to bring everything together. I really love that too, it just doesn’t last as long in the fridge.
Chicken salad is one of those dishes I like to prep ahead so I have it for a few days. My current favorite way to enjoy it is on super crunchy crackers. So if it’s prepped ahead, I know it’s in the fridge and makes for a wonderful snack or lunch.
This is another version of that, and it may just be my favorite one yet. I used the base for my summer chicken salad (aka, the best one ever) and instead of using lemon, used lime. And some diced chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. This adds the perfect amount of spice, especially if you have it with tortilla chips or crackers!
I like to make that base above and store it in the fridge. Much like my make-ahead marinated chickpeas. This is our base! But then…
This California Navel Orange Salad with Avocados and a Citrus Vinaigrette is a simple yet delicious salad bursting with orange flavor. Navel Orange Salad with Avocado This salad made with Navel oranges from California, avocados, and red onions is served on mixed baby greens and topped with a citrus vinaigrette. Naval oranges are in season […]
This California Navel Orange Salad with Avocados and a Citrus Vinaigrette is a simple yet delicious salad bursting with orange flavor.
Navel Orange Salad with Avocado
This salad made with Navel oranges from California, avocados, and red onions is served on mixed baby greens and topped with a citrus vinaigrette. Naval oranges are in season right now so I’ve been adding them to my salads and juices all month. Their bright, sweet taste boosts the flavor of any sweet or savory dish. For some more orange salad recipes, try this Orange and Arugula Salad with Red Onion and Gorgonzola and Grilled Shrimp Avocado Fennel and Orange Salad.