Here’s a recipe everyone needs in their back pocket.
It’s simple and easy and looks great on a platter. For this country club salad, I cut several heads of young local romaine lettuce (iceberg in a pinch) in halves, trimmed and arrange them on a platter. I garnish them with sliced cherry tomatoes, minced herbs, fresh croutons, hard-boiled egg crumbles, julienned crispy bacon pieces, whatever I have on hand and pass the dressings at the table. These dressings make a killer pair of dips on a crudité platter or on their own as a salad dressing. I will also tell you that putting a huge pile of herb/lemon basted grilled chicken on top of the salad is one of those amazing ‘pile-of-garbage’ meals that I love, the juices and heat from the chicken soften and infuse the edges of the lettuce and makes the whole plate taste like a great grilled chicken sandwich.
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Country Club Salad with Two Dressings
Ingredients
Green Goddess Dressing
- 1 cup lightly packed parsley leaves
- 3 scallions, chopped
- 6 anchovy fillets in oil, drained and chopped
- 3 tablespoons lightly packed tarragon leaves
- 3 large basil leaves
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon minced shallot
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1 small garlic clove
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground pepper
Blue Cheese Dressing
- 4 ounces Maytag blue cheese ( 1/2 cup)
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground pepper
Salad
- 1/4 pound rustic Italian bread, torn into bite-size pieces
- 1/4 pound thinly sliced bacon
- 2 romaine hearts, halved lengthwise through the core
- 3/4 cup thinly sliced cherry or grape tomatoes
- 2 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and chopped
- Finely chopped parsley, for garnish
Instructions
Make the Green Goddess Dressing
In a food processor, combine all of the ingredients except the mayonnaise, salt and pepper; pulse until very finely chopped. Add the mayonnaise and puree until nearly smooth and pale green. Scrape the dressing into a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until the flavors meld and the dressing is well chilled, at least 1 hour.
Make the Blue Cheese Dressing
In a food processor, combine all of the ingredients except the parsley, chives, salt and pepper; pulse until nearly smooth. Add the herbs and pulse to incorporate. Scrape the dressing into a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes.
Prepare the Salad
Preheat the oven to 375°. Spread the bread on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes, until golden and crisp. Let the croutons cool, then transfer to a plate.
On the rimmed baking sheet, arrange the bacon strips in a single layer. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the bacon is browned but not completely crisp. Transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain and cool, then thinly slice crosswise.
Arrange the romaine hearts on plates or a platter. Scatter the croutons, bacon, tomatoes, eggs and parsley on top. Serve the salad, passing the two dressings at the table.
MAKE AHEAD The blue cheese and green goddess dressings can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Originally published in Andrew Zimmern’s Kitchen Adventures on foodandwine.com.
Photograph by Stephanie Meyer.
