Little Gem Lettuce with Dates, Red Onion, and Gorgonzola Dolce
My two favorite salads in the world are a properly prepared Caesar salad and an iceberg wedge with blue cheese dressing, neither of which have any place in an Italian restaurant. Just as I sneaked the Caesar salad in under the guise of a tricolore (see page 98), here I disguised the iceberg wedge sufficiently so that my customers don’t realize that I’m serving a wedge salad, an American classic, in a Pizzeria. I don’t know where I got the idea to throw the dates on the salad, but the contrast of their sweetness with the pungent Gorgonzola really makes this.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
For the Dressing
For the Salad
Preparation
Step 1
To make the dressing, combine 6 ounces of the Gorgonzola and the vinegar in a medium bowl and mash them together with a whisk until the cheese is smooth. Add the yogurt, buttermilk, lemon juice, thyme, garlic, salt, and pepper, and use the whisk to stir to combine. Taste for seasoning and add more lemon juice, salt, or pepper, if desired. Break the remaining gorgonzola into small pieces into the bowl and stir gently with a rubber spatula to incorporate the chunks into the dressing but not so much that they become smooth.
Step 2
To prepare the salad, place the onion slices in a small bowl of ice water and set them aside while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Step 3
Remove the rough outer leaves from the lettuce and cut off and discard the rough caps at the bottom of the cores, leaving the heads intact. Starting at the core, cut each head of lettuce in half lengthwise. If you are making four individual salads, spoon 1/4 cup of the dressing on each of four plates; otherwise, spoon 1 cup of the dressing in the center of a long platter and use the back of a spoon to spread the dressing along the length of the platter. One by one, spoon 2 tablespoons of the dressing over each half head, using the back of the spoon to spread it along the cut sides of the lettuce halves, leaving the edges of the heads visible. As you dress the halves, place them face up on the dressed plates, as the dressing on the plates will help keep the lettuce in place. For individual salads, place one lettuce head half, cut side up, on each plate. To build the salad on a platter, place the lettuce head halves along the length of the platter backgammon style, with one facing one direction and the one next to it facing the other direction. Tear the dates into thin strips and scatter the strips over the salad(s). Drain the onion slices, pat them dry with paper towels, and scatter over the salad(s). Sprinkle the thyme and coarsely grind pepper over the salad(s), and serve.
Suggested Wine Pairing
Step 4
Oltrepo Pavese Pinot Nero Spumante (Lombardy)
