Susan Spungen's Little Gem Salad with Feta-Buttermilk Dressing Is a 'Fresher Take' on a Wedge Salad

Susan Spungen has just the recipe for a 10-minute, "simple but special" dish.

"This is a fresher take on a knife-and-fork wedge salad that’s perfect for spring," says Spungen, who includes this "harmonious" salad in her new Veg Forward cookbook.

The dish highlights seasonal produce, like Little Gem lettuce and thinly sliced radishes, and a creamy feta-buttermilk dressing that is surprisingly light. "The lettuce should be crunchy and sweet and the dressing abundant," says the food writer. "Because [it’s] yogurt-based, you can feel free to load it on!"

Spungen likes to serve this salad on individual plates rather than in a bowl so "you can make a more attractive presentation." But if serving family-style, Spungen suggests using a big platter rather than a deep bowl to show off the ingredients.

Susan Spungen's Little Gem & Radish Salad with Feta-Buttermilk Dressing

8 oz. creamy mild feta, divided

½ cup plain whole-milk Greek-style yogurt

½ cup whole buttermilk

2 Tbsp. mayonnaise

2 tsp. grated lemon zest plus 2 Tbsp. fresh juice (from 1 lemon)

2 garlic cloves, grated

¾ tsp. kosher salt, divided

¾ tsp. ground black pepper, divided

4 heads (about 6 oz. each) Little Gem lettuce

4 small radishes or 2 large watermelon radishes, thinly sliced

¼ cup chopped fresh dill

Extra-virgin olive oil, for serving

1. Crumble 6 ounces of the feta into a small bowl; add yogurt, buttermilk, mayonnaise, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, ½ teaspoon of the salt and ½ teaspoon of the pepper. Using a fork, lightly mash feta, leaving some texture; stir until combined. Set aside.

2. Trim root ends of lettuce, leaving enough intact to hold heads together. Cut heads in half lengthwise. Place 2 lettuce halves on each of 4 plates, or arrange on a platter. Drizzle lettuce halves with a generous amount of dressing; crumble remaining 2 ounces feta evenly over top.

3. Top lettuce halves evenly with radish slices and dill. Drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with remaining ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Serve immediately with any additional dressing on the side.

Serves: 4
Active time: 10 minutes
Total time: 10 minutes

Quick tip! "Little Gems, which are a small variety of romaine lettuce, are ideal because of their size," says Spungen. "If you can’t find them, use romaine hearts instead."