A few years ago when I was still in university, a few girlfriends and I went to Boca Raton for spring break. If you’re familiar with Boca then you know that it is filled with retirement communities, which was kind of perfect for lazy, laid-back spring break. We stayed with my friend’s grandparents at Boca West and feasted on chopped salads from the clubhouse as often as possible.
Is it just me or do salads always taste better when other people make them for you? Not sure why but it’s almost a rule.
Anyway, I was flipping through the June issue of Cooks Illustrated when I came across a recipe and accompanying tips for making chopped salads. Some of the key ones were to incorporate the lettuce last, remove excess liquids from watery ingredients such as cucumbers and tomatoes, and to allow ingredients to marinate in the dressing for a bit before adding the lettuce.
I used the recipe below as a guide and modified to fit my tastes. I omitted cucumbers because I don’t love them. Used regular tomatoes instead of grape tomatoes, used balsamic instead of red wine vinegar, I forgot to add the red onions and parsley but added tuna, artichoke hearts and young garlic to the mix. I also omitted the feta cheese.
The key to a good chopped salad is to chop everything small enough so that every forkful is the perfect bite with a bit of everything on there. No digging around necessary.
Enjoy!
Mediterranean Chopped Salad
- 1 medium cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 1 1/4 cups)
- 1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered (about 1 1/2 cups)
- table salt
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 medium garlic clove, minced (about 1 teaspoon) or garlic clove, pressed through garlic press (about 1 teaspoon)
- 1 (14 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup chopped pitted kalamata olive
- 1/2 small minced red onion (about 1/4 cup)
- 1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley
- 1 romaine lettuce, heart cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
- 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about 1 cup)
- ground black pepper
- Combine cucumber, tomatoes, and 1 teaspoon salt in colander set over bowl and let stand 15 minutes.
- Whisk oil, vinegar, and garlic together in large bowl. Add drained cucumber and tomatoes, chickpeas, olives, onion, and parsley; toss and let stand at room temperature to blend flavors, 5 minutes.
- Add romaine and feta; toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
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