Iceberg Salad with Onions, Capers, and Parm

 

Meatballs are great and all, but have you ever had…iceberg lettuce? Sure, this is coming from a woman who orders her In-N-Out burgers “protein style,” not to “cut carbs,” but to “eat more iceberg lettuce,” but I feel like it’s a woefully misrepresented and underused ingredient. It’s what I prefer most of my salads to be made of, especially the richer the food. This particular salad was basically adapted from the iceberg salad in Nothing Fancy, which is basically adapted from every red and white checkered Italian-American restaurant I have ever been to.

YIELD — 4 servings

 

Ingredients

  • 1 small head of iceberg lettuce, cut into 1 ½-inch slices (crosswise) or classic wedges (yes, this is a lot of lettuce for three people, but what can I say, I am enthusiastic).

  • ½ small white or yellow onion, or 1 large shallot, thinly sliced into rings

  • 2 tablespoons or so of capers, coarsely chopped so they don’t roll around everywhere

  • 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar, white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar, plus more if you need it (I like my salad impossibly tangy)

  • kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • olive oil, for drizzling

  • about 1/2 cup (more or less) parsley, finely chopped

  • a few sprigs oregano or marjoram, leaves removed, finely chopped

  • a good hunk of pecorino cheese, finely grated (about ½ cup), plus more, if you like

Directions

1. Arrange the lettuce on a large plate, serving platter or shallow bowl and top with onion and capers. Drizzle with vinegar and season with salt and pepper.

2. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with herbs, followed by a sprinkling/scattering/grating of the cheese.

DO AHEAD: This is truly an à la minute kind of salad, but if you must, you can cut the iceberg lettuce a few hours ahead, and store it in a zippered bag in the refrigerator.

salads, newsletterAlison RomanNewsletterComment