Dill Caesar Wedge Salad with Potato Chip Croutons

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Once upon a time, the wedge salad was considered a relic—a cringeworthy nod to the much-maligned mid-century American dining scene. But as with most things old and outdated, the wedge salad found new life during the vintage-loving aughts. It was resurrected alongside a slew of hip steak houses, dusted off for Mad-Men-themed parties, and now it has finally settled down as a menu mainstay. And for good reason, a wedge of iceberg is truly a blank slate. Chefs and cooks can’t seem to resist the endless possibility of this admittedly angular base. And I am no exception. Today’s Dill Caesar Wedge Salad is my own little riff. It’s part caesar, part wedge, and part small child let loose on a salad bar. And you know what? That is precisely the kind of energy I want to see in the world. So let’s make this potato chip spackled beast!

When I was a very little kid, iceberg lettuce reigned supreme. My earliest salads consisted of its crisp leaves practically waterlogged in Thousand Island dressing alongside a tomato wedge or two.  But as the years wore on, iceberg was dethroned and disgraced. It was branded as uninteresting and lacking in nutrition. By the time I was a teenager, I never saw the stuff in our fridge. Sure, we’d have it on takeout burgers where our topping choices were out of our control. But when we had full dominion over our leafy green choices, romaine, green leaf, or red leaf won the day. So iceberg slipped out of my imagination. I never really thought about it until I fell for the wedge.

Now, I’m not entirely sure when I became aware of the wedge salad. It’s one of those dishes that you just know without ever really having it. Like Oysters Rockefeller or Lobster Thermidor. I knew the wedge as a retro throwback – a relic of 1950s fine dining. And somehow I knew that without knowing anything about fine dining in the 1950s. I guess it was just whispered on the wind or something.

I ordered my first wedge salad when I was 20. A blind order at the rotating restaurant at the top of Calgary Tower. The place was a total tourist trap but we were playing tourist, so I gave myself over to the cheese of it all. When the salad arrived I had nothing to compare it to. I’m almost positive it wasn’t a fabulous representation of its species but I was smitten. I finally understood where iceberg lettuce belonged and it was in this salad. 

From that fateful bite to today, I have learned a lot. I now know why iceberg lettuce worked so well in that salad. It’s all about contrast. Iceberg is mostly water, it doesn’t bring a lot to the table flavor-wise. It’s a textural experience. So yes, it gives dishes their crunch but it also gives the palette a place to land and, well, regroup. Think of the toppings you find on a wedge salad. Blue cheese, bacon, the punch of red wine vinegar – these are intense even abrasive ingredients. A palette cleanser between bites is necessary and iceberg lettuce is happy to oblige.

Today’s Dill Caesar Wedge Salad doesn’t have blue cheese dressing but it does have the equally pungent Caesar dressing. Anchovies, garlic, oil, egg yolk, and parm. None of these ingredients are shrinking violets. This salad also boasts bits of bacon, punchy pickled shallots, a ton of fresh dill, and piece de resistance – crushed potato chips. Ruffles to be exact. There are a lot of heavy hitters here, so yes, the iceberg is warranted. 

The first thing we’re going to do is pickle some shallots. Now, this is a very light pickle as in we’re going to thinly slice a shallot and cover it with lemon juice and leave it to pickle. It’ll turn hot pink and increase in punchiness but it will still be relatively mild. And while that light pickling is underway, we’re going to crisp some bacon in the oven, so it’s out of the way until we need it. 

Next, we’re going to tackle the Caesar dressing. I did mine by hand, you do not have to follow suit. I’ve had a lot of success making Caesar dressings with an immersion blender. But having said that, I don’t think making Caesar dressing by hand is all that hard. I think people make it out to be a lot scarier than it is. Just keep the faith and keep whisking and your emulsion will form. Trust me.

Once the dressing is done, store it in the fridge. Not only will this give the flavors a chance to meld, but it will also thicken the dressing, which will make it easier to drape on our wedge. If your dressing is too runny, it will just run off the lettuce and pool around the base. There is a certain amount of culinary engineering to consider when constructing a wedge salad. 

When you’re ready to assemble your salad, cut a head iceberg into four wedges. Make sure each wedge has an intact core or the leaves will separate and go all over the place. I like to balance my wedges on a slice of lemon to keep them upright. This is purely for aesthetic purposes, so if you don’t care, you can skip this step. Spoon the dressing onto the wedge. Concentrate on getting the dressing on the edge of the wedge, it will run down the sides ensuring fairly even coverage. Use the dressing as the glue to stick the bacon pieces, pickles shallots, fresh dill, and crushed potato chips to the wedge. And finally, finish your masterpiece with a shaving of cured egg yolks. You can find a video tutorial on how to make them here!

And that’s everything you need to know about this Dill Caesar Wedge Salad. It’s a playful, full-flavored starter that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Enjoy!