FRESH SALAD UPGRADE
The Santa Fe salad is the most popular salad order at Fresh & Co. More than that, its key ingredients reach prime seasonal freshness in late summer.
“It really is the prime time of year to be able to replicate this — not just from a flavor point of view, but also a nutritional point of view,” said Craig Rispoli, Fresh & Co.’s 37-year-old executive chef.
In season now: grape tomatoes, red onion, corn and romaine lettuce. The salad (from $9.75 in store) also includes kale mixed with the romaine, avocado, Monterey Jack and cheddar cheeses, and tortilla chips. It’s all covered by a chipotle-lime vinaigrette, with salt and pepper to taste. Although the salad, as listed on the menu, doesn’t include protein, Rispoli said that grilled chicken, grilled salmon or grilled shrimp would all go well.
“[The salad] has a good mixture of textures and flavors,” he said. “There’s sweet, there’s sour, there’s crunchy, there’s soft.”
First, clean and cut the vegetables into bite-size pieces. Using a large bowl with sufficient room to toss, lay the kale-romaine mix, then add the tomatoes, onion, corn, avocado, cheeses and — if you like — the protein of your choice.
“If people are feeling adventurous, [they] can make their own tortilla chips,” said Rispoli. “That’s a significant difference in the final composition of the salad.” For this step, with any store-bought corn tortillas, cut them into eight pieces, then fry them in a Dutch oven or stainlesssteel saucepan with vegetable oil before draining and seasoning with salt.
Lastly, the vinaigrette: With three parts light olive oil to one part white vinegar, blend together agave, lime juice, cilantro, Dijon mustard and, for the special ingredient, La Morena chipotle peppers in adobo sauce — all to taste. If the dressing doesn’t fully blend into a homogeneous mixture, it’s OK.
“Even if the dressing breaks apart, your salad is still going to be delicious,” said Rispoli.