Julie Van Rosendaal/The Globe and Mail
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There is no origin story to explain who first thought to cut a head of iceberg lettuce into wedges and serve it topped with a generous pour of creamy dressing, crumbled blue cheese and other salad-y ingredients to go at with a knife and fork.
The wedge salad became a trend on steakhouse menus about a century ago, and remains one of the most appealing ways to eat a head of crunchy, juicy iceberg lettuce. Of course iceberg is omnipresent year-round in grocery stores, the same plastic-wrapped pale green ball, most often imported from California. But in midwinter, a roasted cabbage wedge makes a hearty stand-in.
Roasting cabbage until it’s charred on the edges gives it a buttery texture and wonderfully smoky flavour. Wider wedges will retain some crunch inside, smaller wedges will fall into silky ribbons you can twirl around your fork. A thick, creamy old-school dressing is essential; thousand island, ranch or green goddess, which is easily whizzed up in the blender or food processor.
Beyond that, most salads are created at whim – rummage through the fridge and pantry to come up with contrasting flavours and textures, such as crumbled cheese, crispy chickpeas you can roast along with the cabbage and toasted nuts, seeds or breadcrumbs.
A Winter Wedge
All the ingredients here are optional – as a salad, it can contain anything you like. Typically on a wedge salad ingredients are finely chopped, crumbled or grated, so that they tumble appealingly over the peak of the wedge (which can be served pointy-side up, or on its side. Since the cabbage and chickpeas are being roasted, traybake-style, there’s the opportunity to add cubed sweet potato or other winter veg to the pan as well. If you prefer cooking the cabbage on the stovetop, cook in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat in a drizzle of oil, turning until deeply charred on both sides. If the wedge is thick, pour a bit of water into the pan and cover with foil to help it steam through.
Ingredients
- A small-ish green or savoy cabbage
- Canola or other vegetable oil, for cooking
- Canned chickpeas, drained well
- Salt, to taste
- Finely chopped tomatoes (optional)
- Crumbled blue cheese, goat cheese or Boursin, or grated cheddar or Parmesan
- Crumbled corn chips or toasted crumbs
- Toasted nuts or seeds
- Chopped fresh herbs or chives
Green Goddess Dressing:
- 1/2 cup each fresh dill, mint, parsley and basil (or more or less of any of them)
- Juice of a lemon (about 3 tbsp)
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
- 2 green onions, chopped (or a small handful of chopped chives)
- Pinch salt
- 1/2 cup canola or other vegetable oil
- A spoonful of mayo or sour cream (optional)
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 425 F.
Remove any wilty outer leaves from the cabbage and cut into wedges as wide as you like. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and drizzle generously with oil, flipping to coat both sides. Drain the chickpeas and pour them out onto a paper-towel-lined plate; pat to dry them off, then turn out onto the baking sheet and coat with oil as well. Sprinkle everything with salt and roast for 20-30 minutes, shaking the chickpeas around once or twice and flipping the cabbage wedges halfway through. If the chickpeas are crispy and golden before the cabbage is tender – this will depend on the type of cabbage and density of the head, and the thickness of the wedges – remove the chickpeas and set aside until the cabbage is done.
To make the dressing: In a blender, combine everything but the oil and pulse until well combined. With the motor running, pour in the oil (you don’t need to be precise here) until the mixture emulsifies and is creamy and smooth. If you like, drop in a spoonful of mayo as well. Store any leftovers in the fridge for up to two weeks.
To assemble your salads, place a wedge of cabbage on each serving plate, or a number of them on a platter, top with a generous pour of dressing and scatter with crispy chickpeas and other ingredients.
Serves as many as you like.