Saturday Chopped Salad

SERVES 6 · VEGETARIAN, GF, VEGAN ADAPTABLE, DF ADAPTABLE

One Saturday at lunchtime, I took some leftover undressed salad and chopped it all into the smallest pieces I could, transferred it to a big bowl, and tossed it with my “house dressing.” It was the most addictive salad I have ever eaten, and it was the first salad my son (who is not the biggest consumer of vegetables) inhaled enthusiastically. I started making a chopped salad every Saturday for lunch. I can’t say I’ve ever made a chopped salad the same way twice, nor do you really need a recipe, but this is a good place to start. I’m sure you see that the goal in preparing the vegetables is to cut them about the size of a pea. I use my Everyday Salad Dressing here because it goes with anything and everything.

1 head romaine lettuce, finely chopped (about 6 cups)

3 cups diced red cabbage (or a mix of cabbage and chopped endive)

3 radishes, finely diced

½ pint cherry tomatoes, quartered (optional)

⅓ cup pickled shallots, diced (here) or 5 pepperoncini, seeded and finely chopped

½ bunch chives, finely chopped

2 Persian cucumbers, finely diced

2 carrots, finely diced or julienned and finely chopped

⅔ cup Everyday Salad Dressing (here)

1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced

3 ounces feta, preferably goat’s milk feta, crumbled (omit for vegan/DF)

Additional protein: quinoa, diced cooked chicken (not vegan), tuna in olive oil (not vegan), canned salmon (not vegan), chopped hard-boiled egg (not vegan), chickpeas

1. Combine the lettuce and cabbage in a large bowl. Add the radishes, cherry tomatoes, pickled shallots, chives, cucumbers, and carrots. Toss with enough dressing to coat lightly. Add the avocado and feta and drizzle with a small amount of dressing. Toss very gently with your hands to incorporate into the salad without smearing avocado and feta everywhere.

image Other variations:

image Chopped oranges instead of tomatoes and toasted sunflower seeds instead of cucumbers in the winter and spring;

image Radicchio and endive in place of some of the romaine;

image Fresh or grilled corn in place of the carrots.