Sometimes what you want is a big bowl of something crunchy and refreshing. Something that doesn’t lay heavily in your tummy during long, hot afternoons and evenings, yet is sturdy enough to tide you over for a good while.
For me, lately, that something has been chopped salad. It is, after all, Arizona’s unofficial state salad, although the version that originated at Phoenix restaurant The Gladly features smoked salmon, Israeli couscous and other ingredients I don’t usually have on hand.
This is the version I made recently, in part to use up the odds and sods of vegetables threatening to expire in my crisper. I had some romaine lettuce, red onion, a little red cabbage, a cucumber, a couple of jalapeños that turned out to be milder than I wanted them to be, and an avocado.
The red cabbage may discolor the salad a little, so if eye appeal is crucial to you, wait to mix it in until just before serving. That’s not an issue for me.
What I didn’t have on hand, but what I would have added had I had them: tomatoes; green onions; zucchini and/or yellow squash; diced carrots; roasted corn; diced cooked beets; and even diced, cooked potato.
I think chopped salads look best if the ingredients are all about the same size, but I don’t use a ruler to make sure they are. A rough chop is easier to eat than a fine chop, and I find that a soup spoon is an easier utensil than a fork for salads like this.
I wanted a lively zingy dressing to tie everything together so I devised a lime-cilantro crema to go over all. If you don’t have crema on hand, substitute plain regular or Greek yogurt; if the dressing is then too thick, thin it with additional lime juice or half-and-half.
Jalapeños these days are unpredictable. Sometimes they’re as bland as white bread, especially the eye-catching extra-big ones you see at the market. Other times, they’re fierce, as they should be.
A long time ago, Amal Naj, the author of a charming book on chiles and their history called “Peppers: A Story of Hot Pursuits,” told me that pepper breeders were working hard to remove the jalapeño’s bite – because Americans didn’t like food that was too spicy.
These days, I wager that most Americans’ palates are more tolerant, and of course here in the Southwest, we’ve always loved picante food. But those pepper breeders succeeded, and now you never know what kind of jalapeño you’re going to get.
I counsel you to taste a tiny bite to see if the pepper you’re working with is as hot as you want it. If not, bolster the dressing’s bite with a little hot sauce. Or start with a different pepper — serranos would be good here. I think habaneros would overwhelm the dressing. The dressing should be light and bright, but with a bit of lingering heat.
The first night that I ate this, I had a poached chicken breast handy to top the salad. Because cooked chicken breast is so versatile, I often poach a couple and keep them on hand in the fridge for later meals, whether that means chicken salad, or shredded into a bowl of broth or as the beginning of a filling for tacos, burritos or tostadas. I had enough left over for a generous lunch the next day.
But if I hadn’t had the chicken, I might have bumped up the protein with hard-cooked egg, or tuna, or shredded beef or pork, or salmon, or shrimp.
A generous measure of grated cheese can accomplish the same thing. I think cotija would be terrific in this salad. You get the picture.
Versatile and adaptable, a chopped salad makes good use of the ingredients you have handy.
You will feel virtuous, both in the eating and the knowledge that little has gone to waste, when you make it.
Chopped salad with cilantro-lime crema
Makes about 6 servings
You won’t need all the crema for this salad, but it keeps for up to a week in the refrigerator and is an excellent sauce for chicken or pork. If the crema is too thick to serve as a dressing, thin it with additional lime juice, half-and-half or both. If you have leftover cooked chicken, shrimp or pork on hand, go ahead and toss it into the salad.
Ingredients
For the crema:
2 cups crema or Greek yogurt
Zest and juice of 2 limes
1 bunch cilantro, stems and all
2 jalapeños, seeded, with ribs removed
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Optional: 1 to 2 teaspoons hot sauce if the jalapeños are mild
For the salad:
6 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, finely chopped
1 cucumber, finely chopped (leave the peel on if it’s not bitter)
½ head of red cabbage, chopped
1 to 2 avocados, sliced or diced
Preparation
To make the crema: Grate the zest from the limes. Blend all ingredients. Whiz until the mixture is well combined. Remove from blender to a glass measuring cup and refrigerate until serving time.
To make the salad: Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Toss to mix thoroughly. Just before serving, dress the salad with the lime-cilantro crema. Pass additional dressing at the table.
