Chop your way to dinner with this flexible, Italian-inspired salad
Overview
Chopped salads live in a kind of no man’s land. There is an ambiguity about them, so many varieties and approaches. If there are any rules that govern what goes into them or how they are constructed, they are few and frequently challenged.
Most often, I make one when I don’t know what else to make. Browse the refrigerator, find half a zucchini, a handful of cherry tomatoes, a few pepperoncini and kalamata olives in the bottom of their respective jars, leftover ham, an almost-past-its-prime wedge of cheese … Chop, chop, chop, toss with an easy dressing and, voila, you’ve got a delicious meal.
[Quality over quantity: How to throw together a spectacular pasta salad]
Does it need lettuce? If I’ve got a crisp head, like romaine, in it goes. If not, the bowl may just end up a being a batch of colorful vegetables made shiny by a flavorful vinaigrette.
With a bit more planning, however, chopped salads can scratch a specific flavor itch. In our Recipe Finder, for example, you’ll find a Chipotle-Garlic Chopped Salad, with black beans, roasted corn, avocado and tortilla chips, that I’d love to dig into when I’m craving Mexican food. Or check out the Mediterranean Chopped Salad Bowl, which includes one of my favorite flavor combos: tuna, olives, red onion and cucumber.
Scale and get a printer-friendly version of the recipe here.
Although the ingredients are variable, there are a few things you can do to make sure your chopped salad is the best that it can be. For example:
- For more flavorful bites, dice and chop the ingredients into relatively uniform sizes — just a bit smaller than bite size — so each forkful features a variety of ingredients.
- Add whole ingredients that do not need chopping, such as canned beans, corn kernels, peas or peanuts.
- If you want a crunch to your salad — and who doesn’t? — keep the juicy fruits and vegetables to a minimum. Go for grape or cherry tomatoes halved with a sharp knife rather than a chopped tomato, for example.
[How to leave those bottled dressings behind and make your own vinaigrette]
Some people like to lay each ingredient out on a platter and let folks toss their own chopped salad, but, if there is one rule of thumb that I follow, it is that I always toss the ingredients together with the dressing. This way, each piece is nicely coated.
I came across this Italian Chopped Salad in “Stress-Free Family Meal Planning” (Page Street Publishing, 2020) by Kristen McCaffrey. She offers a basic salad of romaine, tomatoes, chickpeas, pepperoncini, black olives and mozzarella and recommends kicking it up a bit with a cured meat, such as salami, or briny capers.
With the salami or other cured meat, such as pepperoni, added, this little number might scratch that pizza itch — in a more healthful way.
[6 spice blends to make at home, including garam masala, ras el hanout and Italian seasoning]
Ingredients
FOR THE SALAD
4 cups (10 ounces) coarsely chopped romaine lettuce
1 cup (about 5 ounces) cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup (about 3 ounces) canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup coarsely chopped pepperoncini
1/4 cup coarsely chopped kalamata olives (about 12 olives)
1/4 cup (about 1 ounce) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup croutons (optional)
FOR THE DRESSING
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon pepperoncini brine
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
Steps
Step 1
Make the salad: In a large bowl, toss together the lettuce, tomatoes, chickpeas, pepperoncini, olives, mozzarella cheese and parsley. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
Step 2
Make the dressing: In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, pepperoncini brine, lemon juice, vinegar, Italian seasoning and salt.
Step 3
Add the dressing to the salad and toss to combine. Taste, and adjust the seasonings as needed, and top with croutons, if using.
