Best Chopped Salad
Whether you’re looking for a light dinner or crowd-pleasing side dish, this chopped salad recipe is a favorite all year round!
Servings: 4 medium servings
Ingredients
- 3 cups cored and chopped radicchio
- 2 cups chopped Belgian endive not regular endive (see notes below)
- ½ cup celery the tender stems and celery leaves
- ⅓ pound bacon finely chopped (about 1 cup)
- ⅔ cup finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano plus more to garnish
- ½ cup candied walnuts finely chopped
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 ½ tablespoons sherry wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon maple syrup or honey
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook finely chopped bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crispy. Remove bacon from pan using a slotted spoon, into a paper-towel lined bowl. Set aside.
- Drain off fat and save the bacon drippings in a bowl for the dressing. Set aside.
- In a large salad bowl, add the radicchio, Belgian endive, celery, cooled bacon, chopped candied walnuts, and Parmigiano Reggiano.
- In the bowl with the bacon drippings, add olive oil, vinegar, Dijon, maple syrup, and salt and pepper. Whisk together and pour over salad.
- Toss, and serve with an extra sprinkle of parmesan cheese if desired!
Video
Notes
- To chop lettuce: I recommend cutting a small radicchio head in quarters, slicing out the core and then chopping the quarters into small ribbons. For the endive, remove the stem end, slice the heads into quarters, and chop.
- Belgian endive and regular endive aren’t the same! Can’t find Belgian endive? Whole Foods typically carries it. Or use romaine!
- The easiest, mess-free way to chop candied walnuts is to place them in a Ziploc bag and use the back of a water glass to crush them into little bits!
- 3 cups chopped radicchio = roughly 1 small head
- 2 cups chopped Belgian endive = roughly 4 mini heads
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 438kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 18g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 622mg | Potassium: 316mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 223IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 229mg | Iron: 1mg