The Art of Cooking Real Food: Chopped Salad with Simple Vinaigrette and A Big Thank You

It doesn't get any easier than a chopped salad. So fresh, so tasty, so versatile with regard to ingredients - it's one of my favorite ways to accompany just about any meal. As I was making this the other night, I was sort of thinking it's entirely too simple of a concept to blog about. But then, much like with the roasted garlic, it occurred to me that maybe not everyone knows how to make a chopped salad. And then while I was eating it, I decided that everyone should know how to make one.

Naturally, salads can be made from a formal recipe, such as a Greek Salad, or an Asian Salad, or even a Caesar Salad. Not so with a chopped salad; all that is needed are any manner of leafy greens, preferably some romaine or other sturdy lettuce, maybe some herbs, and whatever fresh vegetables you have on hand. The ingredients can vary depending upon season and what is available in your kitchen or garden. Since it's late March here, fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and pea pods didn't make it into the chopped salad in the picture; instead I used some left over broccoli, red onions, carrots, a handful of cherry tomatoes, and half of a green bell pepper. For the greens, I used romaine, young chard, spinach, red and green lettuce leaves, and some kale. Pretty much any combination makes a great salad though.

The process is simple: cut the vegetables into large chunks, pile everything all onto a large cutting board and drizzle it with a favorite vinaigrette (I'll share a simple, fresh tasting lemon vinaigrette below).

Find a very sharp knife and start chopping; this is the part where the juices from the vegetables ooze out to flavor all the ingredients and the vinaigrette coats everything. Use your knife to fold the salad back into the pile and chop some more.

Serve just like that, or topped with sunflower seeds or nuts, your favorite cheese (I love Feta, personally), and/or homemade croutons.

I'd like to take a moment to thank Jessica from Oh Cake who generously awarded The Art of Cooking Real Food with three blogger awards. I "met" Jessica via the Love Blog Hop and she has pioneered the helpful and amazing Food Blogger's Network. She is an incredibly talented woman and I am honored beyond words to have received these awards from her. I'm working on my post of thanks and my list of bloggers to whom I will pass the awards. Thank you so much, Jessica!

Chopped Salad with Simple Vinaigrette
serves 5-6

3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
1 Tbs red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
pinch of dried thyme
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4-5 cups mixed lettuce, baby greens, spinach, herbs, etc
2-3 cups roughly chopped fresh vegetables

In a pint size jar with a tight fitting lid, add the olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, garlic, mustard, and thyme. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Tighten the lid and shake well. Set aside.

Place the greens on a large cutting board. Pile the vegetables on the greens. Shake the dressing again and drizzle over the vegetables. Season the salad with salt and pepper.

With a large sharp knife, chop the salad, using the knife to turn the mixture. Continue to chop until everything is bite-size.

March is #greenslove month!

Please join in the #greenslove fun by linking up any leafy green recipe from the month of March 2012. Don't forget to link back to this post so that your readers know to come by the #greenslove event! The twitter hashtag is #greenslove.

Check out the #greenslove co-hosts!

Al Dente Gourmet ~ Aldy ~ @AlDenteGourmet

ASTIG Vegan ~ Richgail ~ @astigvegan

Badger Girl Learns to Cook ~ Kimberly ~ @BdgrGrl

Baking and Cooking, A Tale of Two Loves ~ Becky Higgins

BigFatBaker ~ Erin ~ @BigFatBaker

Bon a croquer ~ Valerie ~ @Valouth

CafeTerraBlog ~ Terra ~ @CafeTerraBlog

Cake Duchess ~ Lora ~ @cakeduchess

Cheap Ethnic Eatz ~ Evelyne ~ @cethniceatz

Easily Good Eats ~ Three Cookies

Georgiecakes ~ Georgie ~ @georgiecakes

Kitchen Belleicious ~ Jessica ~ @kbelleicious

Mis Pensamientos ~ Junia ~ @juniakk