Chopped Salad

In the spirit of continuing to talk about restaurants in Chicago that I L.O.V.E. (see my suggestions for some good Mexican fare), I'll talk about the chopped salad. I am not a fan of salads whose main ingredient is some almost-white Iceberg lettuce. But I am a sucker for a hearty salad full of fresh vegetables and lots of flavor. Enter the chopped salad...with everything chopped to the same size and a TON of ingredients thrown in, who could resist? Some of my favorites can be found at Tavern at the Park (pair it with the Fig and Proscuitto flatbread...seriously, amazing!), Aja (their salad is piled high with 18 different seasonal veggies) and yes, Portillo's...a classic.

Some good friends were coming over for dinner last week, so I thought I'd try my hand at my own version of a chopped salad.

Ingredients

1 head romaine lettuce

1 cucumber

3 carrots

3-4 stalks celery

1 bell pepper

1 can hearts of palm

1 can green beans (you can get the beans fresh if they're in season)

1 can yellow wax beans

6 radishes

3-4 green onions

1 avocado

Fresh dill

Olive oil

Red wine vinegar

2 cloves garlic

Salt and black pepper

Directions

1. I find it easiest to prep all of the vegetables first. So clean, peel and seed all your veggies.

2. Finely chop the lettuce leaves, removing the white rib from each leaf.

2. Chop the radishes.

3. Chop the cucumbers.

4. Chop the carrots and celery.

5. Chop the red bell pepper and onions.

6. Chop the hearts of palm.

7. Mince the fresh dill (or any other fresh herb you happen to have around the kitchen).

8. Add the green and yellow wax beans.

9. I also added some chicken that I shredded from a rotisserie chicken. You can also add bacon and bleu cheese if you like, but I didn't have those on-hand.

For the dressing:

1. Combine 1/4 cup vinegar, minced garlic cloves, salt and pepper.

2. Add up to 3/4 cup olive oil (I use less because I really like the sharpness of vinegar on salads).

3. Drizzle over the salad and toss to coat. Add more salt and pepper, if desired.

4. Add the avocado last so it doesn't get smushed while you're tossing everything together.

Hey, Mo!