Italian Chopped Salad
From Vegetarian Salad for Dinner: Inventive Plant-Forward Meals by Jeanne Kelley © Rizzoli, 2023. Photographs copyright © The Ingalls.
This colorful and bursting-with-flavor salad will easily sway fans of the classic salami, cheese, and head-lettuce mix served at your local red-sauce spot. Lots of satisfying crunch comes from cabbage and fennel, while the chopped lemon, inspired by a memorable sandwich eaten in Sicily, adds unexpected zest. The taste and texture combo of salty, chewy lupini beans and fiery, fermented Calabrian chiles will trick your brain into thinking that you’re munching on Calabrese salami. Look for jars of lupini beans and Calabrian chiles at well-stocked Italian delis, or purchase them online.
This recipe, and others like it, can be found in the article “These Hearty Salads Are the Perfect One-Dish Dinner.”
How to Make It
1
For the salad: Combine the chickpeas, lettuce, fennel, cabbage, bell pepper, cucumber, tomatoes, olives, onions, beans, parsley, and basil in a large bowl. Trim the ends from the lemon and discard. Cut the lemon in half lengthwise. Thinly slice the lemon and remove the seeds. Chop the lemon slices into small pieces, being careful not to lose the juice. Add the lemon pieces to the bowl. (The salad can be prepared up to 6 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
2
Whisk together the oil, vinegar, chiles, and garlic in a small bowl for the dressing. Add the dressing and cheeses to the salad, season generously with black pepper, and toss well. Divide the salad among dishes. Garnish with the oregano, if desired, and serve.
Ingredients
For the Salad
1 (14-to-16-oz.) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
4 cups chopped romaine lettuce (about 1 heart)
1 large fennel bulb, trimmed and chopped (about 2 cups)
2 cups chopped red cabbage (about 1⁄4 medium head)
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 small hothouse or 2 Persian or pickling cucumbers, diced
1 ½ cups halved cherry tomatoes or diced heirloom tomatoes
⅔ cup chopped pitted Italian green olives, such as Cerignola or Castelvetrano
½ cup chopped red onion
½ cup ready-to-eat lupini beans, peeled and rinsed
½ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
1 small lemon
For the Dressing
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
4 jarred Calabrian chiles, stemmed and minced (about 1 generous tbsp.)
2 garlic cloves, finely grated or pressed with a garlic press
½ cup coarsely grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup coarsely grated Fontina, mozzarella, or other mild white cheese
Freshly cracked black pepper
1 tbsp fresh oregano leaves (optional)
Directions
1
For the salad: Combine the chickpeas, lettuce, fennel, cabbage, bell pepper, cucumber, tomatoes, olives, onions, beans, parsley, and basil in a large bowl. Trim the ends from the lemon and discard. Cut the lemon in half lengthwise. Thinly slice the lemon and remove the seeds. Chop the lemon slices into small pieces, being careful not to lose the juice. Add the lemon pieces to the bowl. (The salad can be prepared up to 6 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
2
Whisk together the oil, vinegar, chiles, and garlic in a small bowl for the dressing. Add the dressing and cheeses to the salad, season generously with black pepper, and toss well. Divide the salad among dishes. Garnish with the oregano, if desired, and serve.
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