In Praise of Chopped Salad

Apr 9, 2018 | Food

I love a chopped salad. There are any number of ingredients you can use to create a side dish or a main meal. And with a few staples in the freezer, cupboard and garden, “chopped salad” can be a healthy and delicious answer to the question “What’s for dinner.”

The key to a good chopped salad is to have an assortment of ingredients with varying flavors and textures, all cut more or less in the same size pieces. Below is a list of ingredients to grow or have on hand, and these are just a beginning!

Here’s the salad I made last night.

Last night’s chopped salad included new arugula from my seed-starting shed, lentils, radishes, hearts of palm, edamame, Soy Boy smoked tofu, broccoli, and avocado.

I tossed the salad with 1 Tablespoon of Spicy Chipotle Aioli from Whole Foods. It was delicious!

Chopped Salad ~ Some Possible Ingredients
To grow in the garden (or buy in the store)
Sugar snap peas
Radishes
Arugula, kale, lettuce and other greens
Carrots
Tomatoes
Green beans
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Jicama
Avacado
Celery
Summer squash
Cucumbers
Winter squash (cook until done but not mushy)
Peppers
Potatoes (cooked until done but not mushy)

To have in the cupboard  
Canned hearts of palm
Canned chickpeas
Lentils
Quinoa
Canned mandarin oranges
Canned or packaged tuna fish
Artichoke hearts, canned or packaged fresh for the fridge

Protein
Meat
Shellfish
Cheese
Hardboiled egg
Tofu (I especially like the smoked Soy Boy pressed tofu)

Misc. Enhancements
Nuts
Pumpkin or sunflower seeds
Capers
Olives
Pickles
Mango
Grapefruit
Grapes
Raisins and dried cranberries, cherries, or blueberries
Melon, including watermelon
Herbs such as mint, chives, basil, cilantro and parsley
Croutons, homemade with older bread, garlic, olive oil and butter

To have in the freezer
Frozen edamame beans
Frozen roasted corn

Chop all ingredients about the same size. Include some crunchy ingredients and some softer. Add some sharply flavored items (arugula, mustard greens etc) and some that are mild. Some sweet (such as fruit) and some sour is also pleasing. And have some protein and a selection of vegetables, of course. Bon Appétit!

My list of ingredients is just a start, of course. Given all the possible components, it’s possible to eat a different chopped salad every night of the week.

2 Comments

  1. Julia Oliver
    • CL Fornari

      Was there meant to be a comment here, Julia?

      Reply

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