How to make a great chopped salad
Long before we stood on line to watch our salad bits tossed by assembly-line hands and stuffed into biodegradable bowls, we ordered chopped salads in restaurants.
Chefs in those kitchens took care to balance crunch with creamy, tangy and savoury. The reds of radishes and tomatoes, the burnish of crisped bacon and bright greens of beans and hardy lettuces showed through milky dressings that coated each piece. Precise knifework guaranteed a democratically diverse representation of vegetables in every forkful, bestowing an ironically elevated status on the whole genre.
The nation’s Salad Coast, a.k.a. West, laid claim to the chopped salad’s invention more than a half-century ago, and since then the variations and tweaks have moved the goal-line from what a good chopped salad ought to be to anythinggoes, kitchen-sink mode. Unless, of course, a particular establishment has produced such an instant classic that its patrons threaten to defect if that salad changes or is retired.
“Chopped salad was the go-to dish in the restaurant you grew up with — the one that brings you back to another era,” says chef Michael Schlow, head of a restaurant group that delivers a satisfying rendition at the Riggsby in Washington’s Carlyle Hotel. “It was really one of the first that made it onto this menu: crisp and clean, a little decadent. It will never come off.”
What makes a good chopped salad? It need not have specific ingredients, the way, say, a Cobb salad ought to include blue cheese and hard-cooked egg, tomato and avocado.
Texture is key; no solid components should be significantly larger than others. The raw and the cooked are often side by side.
The dressing does need to bring it all together with harmonic sweetness and acidity. Schlow says his Riggsby kitchen constantly tinkers with the Thousand Island dressing it makes. Sriracha sets it apart in an unexpected yet winning way.
The chopped salad made famous at Freds, the restaurant located in Barneys department stores, skews a little sweet with ripe pear and a creamy balsamic dressing. It is topped with “pulled chicken” and costs $30 at its downtown New York location. But the recipe is included in a new “Freds” cookbook, and we can report that you can, indeed, make it at home for less.
A chopped salad can go Tex-Mex, as proved by Melissa Coleman in the “The Minimalist Kitchen” (Oxmoor House, 2018): chipotle, black beans and garlic, of course. Sweet potato tortilla chips add extra flavour.
Freds Chopped Chicken Salad Makes 4 to 6 servings
For the dressing 1⁄4 cup balsamic vinegar 1⁄4 cup Dijon mustard 1⁄4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1⁄2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 to 2 tablespoons sugar
For the salad
1 ripe pear, cored and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
4 ounces salad blend (that does not include romaine lettuce; see headnote) 1 cup string beans, blanched and cut into 1-inch pieces (see NOTE)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, each cut in half
1⁄2 cup minced onion
Flesh of 2 ripe avocados, cut into 1-inch chunks
3 1⁄2 cups cooked chicken, from one roast chicken
For the dressing: Combine the vinegar, mustard, soy sauce, kosher salt and pepper in a blender; purée for about 30 seconds. On low speed, slowly drizzle in the oil to form an emulsified dressing. Taste and add the sugar, as needed. The yield is 1½ cups.
For the salad: Sprinkle the pear with lemon juice in a mixing bowl; this will keep the fruit from turning brown. Add greens, the green beans, tomatoes, onion, avocado and half of the chicken. Add ¾ cup of the dressing and toss to make sure everything is lightly coated, adding more dressing, as needed.
Divide the mixture among individual plates, distributing it equally. Top each portion with the rest of the chicken and serve right away, passing the remaining dressing at the table.
NOTE: To blanch the green beans, boil a pot of water over high heat. Add a pinch of salt and then the beans; cook for 30 seconds, then drain and immediately transfer them to a bowl of water and ice cubes. When cool, drain and pat dry.
Per serving (based on 6, using 1 cup dressing): 490 calories, 27 grams protein, 15 g carbohydrates, 37 g fat, 6 g saturated fat, 70 milligrams cholesterol, 590 mg sodium, 5 g dietary fibre, 7 g sugar
Adapted from “The Freds at Barneys New York Cookbook,” by Mark Strausman and Susan Littlefield (Grand Central Life & Style, 2018).
Chipotle-Garlic Chopped Salad Makes 4 servings
For the dressing
1⁄4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon pureed chipotles in adobo 2 teaspoons ketchup
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp good-quality mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, smashed
1⁄4 tsp kosher salt
Squeeze of honey (optional)
For the salad
1 1⁄2 pounds green leaf lettuce or green cabbage, thinly sliced (see headnote) 20 sweet potato tortilla chips
1⁄2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese One 15-ounce can no-salt-added black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1⁄2 cups frozen charred or roasted corn kernels, warmed through (see headnote)
1⁄2 cup sliced grape tomatoes
Flesh of 1 avocado, diced
3 radishes, thinly sliced
1⁄4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
For the dressing: Combine the oil, pureed chipotles, ketchup, vinegar, mayo, garlic, salt and the honey, if using, in a high-powered blender or food processor; purée on HIGH for about 30 seconds, until smooth. The yield is 1 cup.
For the salad: Combine the lettuce or cabbage, tortilla chips, cheese, black beans, corn, tomatoes, avocado, radishes and cilantro in a mixing bowl and toss to incorporate. Just before serving, add the salad dressing (shake it first to re-emulsify, as needed) and toss gently to coat evenly.
Divide the salad among individual plates. Serve right away.
Per serving: 490 calories, 14 grams protein, 44 g carbohydrates, 31 g fat, 6 g saturated fat, 15 milligrams cholesterol, 310 mg sodium, 13 g dietary fibre, 6 g sugar
Adapted from “Minimalist Kitchen: 100 Wholesome Recipes, Essential Tools and Efficient Techniques,” by Melissa Coleman (Oxmoor House, 2018).
Jimmy’s Special Chopped House Salad Makes 4 to 6 servings
For the dressing
1 1⁄2 cups regular or low-fat mayonnaise
3⁄4 cup Heinz ketchup
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 tbsp Sriracha
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, or more as needed
1 tbsp plus 2 1⁄2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce 1⁄2 tsp kosher salt, or more as needed 2⁄3 cup minced cornichons (from 4 ounces; may substitute sweet gherkins) 2 tbsp minced white onion
3 large eggs, hard-cooked and grated For the cheese crisps 2 ounces freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (see headnote)
For the salad
1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut into halves or quarters
2 cups green beans, blanched and cut into 1-inch pieces (see NOTE)
1⁄2 medium zucchini, cut lengthwise in half and then crosswise into very thin slices (preferably with a mandoline)
4 or 5 red round radishes, cut into thin slices
2 ounces mild cheddar cheese, cut into small dice
2 heads green leaf or butter lettuce, cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces (see headnote)
2 strips cooked bacon, cut into 1⁄4-inch pieces
2 large eggs, hard-cooked and separated into whites and yolks, then grated 20 chives, minced
For the dressing: Whisk together the mayonnaise, ketchup, vinegar, Sriracha, lemon juice, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and salt in a mixing bowl until well blended. Stir in the cornichons, onion and eggs. Taste, and add more salt and/or lemon juice, as needed. The yield is about 4 cups.
For the cheese crisps: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone liner. Line a plate with paper towels.
Portion the cheese into 2-teaspoon piles, spacing them about 1 inch apart and pressing them down slightly. Bake (middle rack) for about six minutes, or until golden and melted. Let cool on the baking sheet, then transfer to the paper towel-lined plate to drain before using.
For the salad: Combine the tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, radishes (to taste), cheddar cheese and lettuce in a mixing bowl. Add 1½ cups of the dressing and toss to coat. Taste, and add more of the dressing; you want the salad components to be evenly and well coated.
Divide among individual bowls or plates, then top each serving with some of the bacon, the cheese crisps (breaking them up as you go), grated egg whites and yolks. Sprinkle with the chives and serve right away.
NOTE: To blanch the green beans, bring a pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add a pinch of salt and the trimmed beans; cook for 30 seconds or so, until just bright green, then drain and immediately transfer to a bowl of water and ice cubes. Cool completely and pat dry before using.
Per serving (based on 6, using low-fat mayonnaise): 270 calories, 14 grams protein, 19 g carbohydrates, 16 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 125 milligrams cholesterol, 800 mg sodium, 6 g dietary fibre, 9 g sugar
From the Michael Schlow Restaurant Group.