Pamela Salzman’s Saturday Chopped Salad

My dear friend and hot momma, Pamela Salzman has come out with her own cookbook, Kitchen Matters. I am soooo excited! This woman has literally taught me so much in the kitchen over the past few years. Her recipes are always a hit at our house!

Recently, we all got together for a launch party to celebrate Pamela at Jenni Kayne’s store in Brentwood Country Mart. Such a fun night!

I wanted to give you guys a sneak peek by sharing one of her new cookbook recipes that I’m obsessed with. No, seriously..call me crazy but I think I’m addicted to a salad. Scroll down for the recipe below!

Pamela Salzman’s Saturday Chopped Salad

Ingredients:

1 head romaine lettuce, finely chopped, about 6 cups

3 cups diced red cabbage (or a mix of cabbage and chopped endive)

3 radishes, finely diced

½ pint cherry tomatoes, quartered (optional)

1/3 cup pickled red onions, diced (see below) or 5 pepperoncini, seeded and finely chopped

½ bunch chives, finely chopped

2 carrots, finely diced or julienned and finely chopped

2 Persian cucumbers, finely diced

2/3 cup Everyday Salad Dressing (see below)

1 avocado, diced

3 ounces feta, preferably goat milk feta, crumbled

Additional protein: quinoa, diced cooked chicken, tuna in olive oil, canned salmon, chopped hard boiled egg, chickpeas

Directions:

1. Combine lettuce and cabbage in a large bowl. Add radishes, cherry tomatoes, pickled onions, chives, and carrots. Toss with enough dressing to coat lightly. Add avocado and feta and drizzle with a small amount of dressing. Toss very gently with your hands to incorporate into the salad without smearing avocado and feta everywhere.

Everyday Salad Dressing:

1 small shallot minced, about 2 teaspoons

¾ to 1 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons raw honey or pure maple syrup

2 Tablespoons raw cider vinegar or red wine vinegar

2 Tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar

¾ cup unrefined olive oil or ½ cup olive oil + ¼ cup flax oil

1. Whisk together in a bowl or shake in a screw-top jar until emulsified.

Pickled Red Onions:

2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon cane sugar

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

1. Combine 1 cup of water and the vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan and bring to boil. Add the sliced onions and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the liquid and set aside to cool.

Other variations:

Chopped oranges instead of tomatoes and toasted sunflower seeds instead of cucumbers in the winter and spring

Radicchio and endive in place of some of the romaine

Fresh or grilled corn in place of the carrots

Stay tuned for more recipes I’ll be sharing from Pamela over the next few weeks and make sure to preorder her cookbook here! You won’t regret it. It’s amazing!