Here's a new spin on the wedge salad

Loaded Shrimp Wedge SaladLemon Vinaigrette

5/6/2012
BY ALICIA ROSS

A composed salad sounds so elegant, doesn't it? It's not tossed; it's not layered. It's calm, poised, and collected. It sounds purposeful, planned. In French cuisine, a salade composee is a meal in and of itself. The artful and aesthetic arrangement of the ingredients is meant to be a feast for your eyes and then your palate.

While a wedge salad made with iceberg lettuce and loaded with bacon, tomatoes, and blue cheese is purely an American creation that's most popular in steak houses, it falls into the composed salad category beautifully. (For a traditional wedge salad with chunky blue cheese dressing, check out KitchenScoop.com.)

Today's recipe is a cross between the American and French-style composed salads. A delightful lemon vinaigrette is drizzled over a plethora of summer treats: shrimp, bacon, feta cheese, kalamata olives, green onions, and chopped fresh tomatoes. The crisp iceberg lettuce wedge sits proudly in the center of the plate as all the ingredients fall around it.

Beautiful, artful, filling, and amazingly appetizing, the Loaded Shrimp Wedge Salad will surely become a summertime favorite at your table.

Contact Alicia Ross at Kitchen Scoop, c/o Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106, or send email to tellus@kitchenscoop.com. Visit the Kitchen Scoop Web site at kitchenscoop.com.

Suggested Menu

Loaded Shrimp Wedge Salad

Baguette with softened butter

Crisp and light white wine

Start to finish: 15 minutes

1 pound medium raw shrimp, peeled (see Note)

1 tablespoon Old Bay, or other seafood seasoning, optional (see Note)

1 large head iceberg lettuce, well chilled

4 slices thick bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 cup sliced or chopped fresh tomatoes

1/2cup sliced green onions

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/4 cup pitted and sliced kalamata olives

Lemon vinaigrette to taste, recipe follows

Boil or steam the shrimp with Old Bay, if desired. Set aside to drain and cool.

Slice the lettuce into 4 wedges and place in the center of each serving plate. Top with the remaining ingredients. (Salads may be covered and refrigerated up to 4 hours.) Just before serving, drizzle with lemon vinaigrette.

Yield: 4 servings

Note: Cooked shrimp may also be purchased, if desired. Any type of seafood seasoning may be used to add flavor to the shrimp. If using cooked shrimp, toss 1/2 to 1 teaspoon seasoning with shrimp.

Approximate values per serving (without dressing): 192 calories, 7 g fat (3 g saturated), 232 mg cholesterol, 28 g protein, 3 g carbohydrates, 1 g dietary fiber, 581 mg sodium.

Start to finish: 5 minutes

1 envelope (0.6 ounce) Good Seasons Italian or Garlic and Herb dressing mix

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

3 tablespoons lemon juice

Mix ingredients together well and serve.

Yield: 8 servings (2 tablespoons each)

Approximate values per 2-tablespoon serving: 130 calories, 14 g fat (2 g saturated), no cholesterol, no protein, 2 g carbohydrates, no dietary fiber, 340 mg sodium.