Iceberg Wedge Salad With Shiitake Bacon

To give you fair warning, once you try these tiny wedge salads, you may have a tough time going back to the traditional kind. These are so fun to eat! Shiitake mushroom "bacon" and cashew-based blue cheese dressing is propped on a crunchy wedge of iceberg lettuce for the yummiest (and tiniest) salad bites you've ever seen! Enjoy a bunch on your own, or serve them as a unique appetizer.

Iceberg Wedge Salad With Shiitake Bacon [Vegan]

Ingredients

For the Shiitake Bacon:

• 4 ounces Shiitake mushrooms
• 1/4 cup coconut aminos
• 1/2 teaspoon agave nectar
• 1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• A pinch of sea salt

For the Blue Cheese Dressing:

• 1 cup raw cashews, divided
• 1/3 cup plain almond milk
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon agave nectar
• 1/2 teaspoon coconut aminos
• 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice

For the Wedge Salad:

• 1 head iceberg lettuce
• 1 tomato
• Scallions and fresh lemon wedges, for garnish

Preparation

To Make the Shiitake Bacon:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Rinse mushrooms. Pat dry with paper towel. Remove stems and slice.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together coconut aminos, agave nectar, liquid smoke, and olive oil. Add in the sliced mushrooms and toss. Allow to marinate for 5-10 minutes.
4. Remove from bowl and spread out on a lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt.
5. Place in oven and roast for 15 minutes. Take out and brush with left over liquid. Place in oven and roast for another 15 minutes. Take out, flip mushrooms, brush with liquid, and place back in oven to roast for another 15 minutes. Mushrooms will roast for 45 minutes in total.

To Make the Blue Cheese Dressing:

1. Place 1/2 cup of raw cashews in a small saucepan. Cover with water. Bring to a simmer and allow to simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from water and place in a blender with almond milk, garlic, apple cider vinegar, agave nectar, coconut aminos, dijon mustard, olive oil, water, and a pinch of sea salt. Blend until completely smooth and creamy.
2. In a food processor, add the remaining 1/2 cup raw cashews, nutritional yeast, and 1 teaspoon salt. Blend until it’s parmesan cheese consistency, almost a powder.
3. Transfer to a small bowl and pour lemon juice in. Stir gently with a fork. Mixture will start to get crumbly.
4. Add crumbly mixture to the creamy mixture and stir very gently.

For the Salad:

1. Cut the head of lettuce into four even wedges. Place tomato wedges around. Pour blue cheese sauce over wedges. Add shiitake bacon and garnish with scallions, lemon juice, and fresh cracked pepper.

https://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-recipe/wedge-salad-with-shiitake-bacon/