Chopped Salad

Chopped Salad can handle whatever ingredients you have on hand, making lunch or dinner from seemingly nothing.

Chopped Salad is what we eat when we don’t know what to eat. That’s because we generally have all the ingredients on hand. And, oh, it tastes pretty good, too.

Here’s the thing: This is not really a recipe, it’s more like making a delicious dinner out of seemingly nothing. This is the kind of thing that will make you feel like you’ve made magic, because alone, the ingredients aren’t anything special. But tossed together, they’ll make you happy.

If you have iceberg lettuce, use that. If you have romaine, great. If you don’t like pepperoncini or don’t have them, try some olives – they will give the same briny tang. Or leave that tangy stuff out altogether (although this is the part we really like). Same goes for the celery, onion, tomato, and cheese. Use what you have, and what you like. Sub chicken or salmon for the turkey, or keep it vegetarian. 

Here’s the version of Chopped Salad we like to make. 

Chopped Salad

For the dressing:
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon minced shallot
½ cup olive oil
Salt and pepper

For the salad:
Spinach and arugula mix, chopped
3 pepperoncini, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
8 grape tomatoes, sliced in halves and thirds, depending on size
Turkey from the deli counter, chopped
Feta, crumbled

In a small bowl, pour the lemon juice and vinegar over the shallots. Let them sit for 10 minutes. Whisk in the olive oil, salt, and pepper, and set aside.

In a large bowl, toss all the salad ingredients with the dressing.