- Time
- 15 MIN
- Serves
- 2 (DOUBLE FOR 4)
- Skill
- PARING KNIFE
- Tools
- KNIFE, BOARD, BOWL
- Heat
- Mild
- Protein
- No cooked protein
The salad that comes before the steak: cold romaine, radishes, cucumber, tomato and blue cheese in a sharp vinaigrette with a little Worcestershire for that steakhouse savor, topped with crispy onions from a can. It is crunchy in five different ways. The steak itself is optional, and lives in the Bring Your Own Protein chapter.
The lineup
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 romaine heart, chopped
- 4 radishes, sliced into thin coins
- 1 Persian cucumber, diced
- 1 plum tomato, diced
- 2 slices fully cooked bacon, chopped
- 2 oz blue cheese, crumbled
- 1/4 cup store-bought crispy fried onions
- Salt and plenty of black pepper
The chop
- Whisk the oil, vinegar, Worcestershire and mustard in the bottom of the bowl with a pinch of salt.
- Add the radishes, cucumber and tomato. Toss.
- Add the romaine, bacon and half the blue cheese. Toss until coated.
- Taste, then add salt and a lot of pepper.
- Top with the rest of the blue cheese and the crispy onions.
The extras
Dodge the Carbs
Leave off the crispy onions and add a few thin slices of raw shallot.
Beef It Up
Add 4 oz of sliced deli roast beef cut into ribbons, or 2 chopped hard-boiled eggs.
Future You
Make the dressing ahead; chop the rest fresh. The crispy onions go on at the table.
Show Off
Swap the vinaigrette for the blue cheese dressing from The Wedge.
Flavor Bomb
Whisk 1 tsp of prepared horseradish into the dressing, add chopped pickled tomatoes, or spoon Horseradish Cream over the top.
Heat Dial
Mild: as written. Warm: horseradish in the dressing. Hot: buffalo sauce drizzled over the blue cheese.
