Change up your side dish routine with this Wilted Lettuce Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette. It's different, easy and delicious.
As I was digging through the recipes of longtime food columnist Mildred Brown Schrumpf this spring, I found myself intrigued with so many. An avid cook, she taught others to cook, contributed to potlucks and fundraisers and entertained. She was beloved in Maine, and with each recipe and column, I understood why. She spoke directly to the reader.
Still, there were some recipes that were a sign of the times — and not one I wanted to make a reappearance. Aspics, for instance.
Warm lettuce might sound strange, but this is a recipe I couldn't wait to try. Wilted lettuce with a warm vinaigrette is highly underrated. In this easy salad recipe, it has a pleasant smoky-tart flavor that will have you craving more.
Making this salad is easy. You start by mixing together the lettuce and shallot. Then you make the cooked vinaigrette with bacon. And then you finish it off by tossing it all together. All in all, you can make this delicious salad in about 20 minutes.
Did I mention that this is really good?
Eat it as a meal (it's four servings as a side dish, but two as a meal) or serve this with whatever is coming off the grill. It’s delightful. This is adapted from a recipe by Mildred Brown Schrumpf published on Thursday, June 20, 1963 in her Bangor Daily News column.
Wilted Lettuce Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette
Warm lettuce? It might sound strange, but wilted lettuce is a highly underrated thing. And with this easy salad recipe, it has a pleasant smoky-tart flavor. Serve this with whatever is coming off the grill. It’s delightful. This is adapted from a recipe by Mildred Brown Schrumpf published on Thursday, June 20, 1963 in her Bangor Daily News column.
Ingredients
- 1 head romaine lettuce
- 1 large shallot, halved and thinly sliced
- 3 slices thick cut bacon, cut into ½-inch slices
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Cut the lettuce into bite-sized pieces and place in a medium serving bowl. Add the sliced shallots to the bowl as well.
- In a medium skillet set over medium heat, brown the bacon pieces. Using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon from the skillet to a small bowl. Whisk in the red wine vinegar and salt for about 1 minute. Remove from
heat and pour immediately over the lettuce and shallots. Toss well to combine. Sprinkle with bacon and toss again. - Serve immediately.
