YIELDS:
PREP TIME:
0 hours 10 mins
COOK TIME:
0 hours 0 mins
TOTAL TIME:
0 hours 10 mins
ingredients
2 Middle slices of a head of iceberg lettuce, cold
1/4 Cup blue cheese crumbles
3 Strips of bacon, cooked crispy and crumbled
1 Green onion, chopped
4 Compari tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 Clementine, peeled and pith/strings removed and each individual segment cut in half
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Orange Vinaigrette
1 Tbsp. Orange Olive oil
Juice of half an orange
2 Tsp. Rice wine vinegar
1/2 Tsp.Kosher salt
1/8 Tsp. Freshly ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS
1. Make the dressing. Put the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until well incorporated. Taste and adjust salt and pepper to your liking.
2. Place the iceberg “steaks” on plates and top each with half the chopped tomato, blue cheese, bacon, cut orange segments and green onion. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with the dressing.
3. Serve and enjoy.
NOTE: I made this version and twist on a wedge salad. I think it is easier to eat and looks beautiful when served individually. I’m serving this as a starter to my Valentine’s Day Menu this year. It is light and fresh with just a touch of lushness from the blue cheese crumbles and crisp bacon.
Some tips on preparing the tomatoes and bacon. First, cook the bacon until really crisp. Let it drain on paper towels to remove excess fat. Then crumble it and top your lettuce steaks. I like to use a hefty, thick cut of bacon so there is some substance. You can certainly use regular cut bacon and use more strips.
On the tomatoes, use any tomatoes you like. I like the compari tomatoes and simply cut them in half and squeeze out the seeds and liquid. This way, I just get the firm outer layer of the tomato and none of the liquid that could dilute the dressing.
For the dressing, I loved using the orange infused olive oil with the fresh orange juice. It cuts through the richness of the bacon and blue cheese and lightens up the whole dish. Could you use regular olive oil instead of the orange olive oil? Of course! I was just going for that citrus flavor. You’ll also note that I made just enough for a drizzle over the salad. I didn’t want to weigh it down with the dressing. If you like your salad “wetter” simply double the recipe.
If you like oranges as much as I do, check out my post on other ways to use fresh oranges. 5 Amazing Recipes using fresh Oranges
