Crunchy Iceberg Salad with Homemade Creamy Roquefort Dressing

This crunchy iceberg salad with homemade creamy Roquefort dressing is the perfect first course for a small dinner party.

One of my favorite things to do is have good friends or family over for dinner. While I don't get to do it as often as I'd like, when I do, I love making something elegant, but fairly easy to prepare. This way, I'm not too stressed out when our friends arrive, nor am I stuck in the kitchen.

You can prepare all of the ingredients for this salad in advance, and then assemble it right before dinner. The base of this salad is iceberg lettuce, which is cut into four slices crosswise (into disks), one for each plate. You then layer the dressing, the veggies, and cheese crumbles on top of the lettuce slice.

It's similar to a wedge salad, except that all of the cheese, dressing, and toppings stay on the lettuce, rather than falling on the place (as in this wedge salad).

Can we talk about the dressing? It's made with a generous amount of Roquefort cheese, and is incredible. There is nothing like authentic Roquefort cheese. It is made from sheep's milk, and is aged for five months in caves in Roquefort-sur-Soulzon in France. It is member of the blue cheese family, but no other blue cheese can call itself Roquefort. The flavor is creamy, earthy, and kind of salty. The flavor is stronger than most blue cheeses. I could pretty much drink the dressing.

The cheese is also amazing melted on a hamburger or a steak, or softened for a few seconds in the microwave and spread on this walnut bread for breakfast.

Crunchy Iceberg Salad with Homemade Creamy Roquefort Dressing

Ingredients

Dressing

4 ounces Roquefort cheese, crumbled

2/3 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp Kosher salt 

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Salad

4 stalks of celery, trimmed and sliced crosswise into 1/4 inch thick slices

6 radishes, thinly sliced

5 whole (green and white parts) scallions, sliced 1/4 inch thick

1 head of iceberg lettuce, cored and with the outer leaves removed

4 ounces Roquefort cheese, crumbled

Fleur de sel 

Instructions

For the Dressing:

1. Place the 4 ounces of the cheese in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for about 15 seconds, until slightly melty. 
2. In the bowl of a food processor (I used this mini food processor, so handy) add the mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, vinegar, warm cheese, salt, and pepper. 
3. Process until smooth. Refrigerate for up to three days. 

To Assemble the Salad:

1. Combine the celery, scallions and sliced radishes. 
2. Slice the lettuce crosswise into four disks. 
3. Place the disks on four plates and spoon the dressing over each slice of iceberg lettuce. 
4. Top each plate with a quarter of the mixed vegetables and sprinkle each plate with one ounce of crumbled blue cheese. Lightly sprinkle each plate with the Fleur de Sel and serve.

Serve with a fork and knife. 

Slightly adapted from Ina Garten's Make It Ahead. This book is a wonderful source for elegant dinner party recipes and ideas. 

Make ahead tips:

Prepare the dressing up to three days in advance. Prepare the vegetables and refrigerate up to a day in advance. When you are ready to serve the salad, slice the lettuce and assemble the salad.