Chopped Salad (From Cucina! Cucina! Restaurant)
Recipe: #30324
September 14, 2018
"The "Chopped Salad" was a top seller for Cucina! Cucina! Italian Restaurant while they were at the height of their popularity (with 12 restaurants and 6 smaller cafes throughout the Pacific Northwest in the early 2000s). And for a while, a line of their Cucina! Cucina! salad dressings and flavored condiments were available in upscale, trendy markets. They were a bit pricey but worth every penny! Once all local branches sadly closed, recipes for their most popular and best-selling menu offerings seemed to make the rounds on various social media sites, including their famous "Chopped Salad" (which was my family's favorite dish whenever we visited one of their restaurants). The salad takes a bit of time to chop all the ingredients, but it's well worth the time because it's such a tasty salad that offers rich, bold flavors. And the vinaigrette adds such a delicious, zesty touch to the salad."
Ingredients
Nutritional
- Serving Size: 1 (823.2 g)
- Calories 533.4
- Total Fat - 39.8 g
- Saturated Fat - 9.6 g
- Cholesterol - 157.1 mg
- Sodium - 746.6 mg
- Total Carbohydrate - 25 g
- Dietary Fiber - 9 g
- Sugars - 14.8 g
- Protein - 24.1 g
- Calcium - 339.8 mg
- Iron - 5.2 mg
- Vitamin C - 27.6 mg
- Thiamin - 0.4 mg
Step by Step Method
Step 1
First, prepare the vinaigrette - Combine egg yolk and water in a small bowl; whisk well. Cover the bowl with a small plate and microwave on HIGH for 10 seconds or until the mixture starts to expand. Continue to cook 5 seconds longer. Whisk with a clean whisk. Cover, then cook on high for 5 seconds. Remove from the microwave, whisk with a clean whisk, cover and let sit 1 minute. (This process heats the egg enough to kill any harmful bacteria.)
Step 2
Step 3
In a food processor or an immersion blender, combine egg mixture, Dijon, garlic, salt, pepper, dry mustard, oregano, sugar, vinegar and lemon juice; process to blend. Slowly add olive oil, processing until emulsified. Set aside.
Step 4
Step 5
For the salad - Combine chickpeas, iceberg lettuce, basil, mozzarella, chicken, salami, half of the tomatoes, half of the provolone and half of the green onions. Toss with dressing. (You may not need all of the dressing. Refrigerate any that remains.)
Step 6
Step 7
Divide evenly among 8 lettuce-lined plates.
Step 8
Step 9
Garnish each serving with the remaining tomatoes, provolone and green onions.
Tips
No special items needed.