Chopped Wedge Salad

Poor iceberg lettuce gets a bad rap.  It's snooty counterparts get all the attention.  I do love arugula, radicchio, baby spinach, romaine, etc., but I always come back to iceberg.  Imagine how happy I was with the popularity of the "wedge".  Who was the genius that came up with that?  Quarter a head of lettuce, pour some dressing over it and charge about $5-$7.  Not me : /  
It is a bit of a pain to eat though so when I read about Zach Braff's (Scrubs) restaurant in NYC, The Mermaid Oyster Bar, and their chopped wedge salad I said..DUH.
Then I read that iceberg lettuce is a superfood in disguise. Yeah, that's right...a SUPER food!  Ha.  And I quote.."Conventional wisdom suggests this salad staple is nutritionally bankrupt. But as it turns out, half a head of iceberg lettuce has significantly more alpha-carotene, a powerful disease-fighting antioxidant, than either romaine lettuce or spinach."  Winner winner steak and chopped wedge salad dinner!

1/2 cup mayonnaise (OK to sub light)

2 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon horseradish

1 dash Worcestershire sauce

to taste kosher salt (I used sea salt)

6 thick strips smoked bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 head iceberg lettuce

5 cherry tomatoes, halved

4 scallions, thinly sliced

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

to taste fresh ground pepper

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley


Time: 20 mins

Make the dressing by whisking the mayo, ketchup, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce and salt to taste in a small bowl until smooth.

Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp, then transfer to a paper towel to drain.

Roughly chop the lettuce, then toss with some of the dressing in a serving bowl. Top with the tomatoes and scallions.

Scatter the bacon and cheese over the salad; season with pepper and sprinkle with the parsley.

Serve with more dressing on the side.