More than ever I need this beautiful chopped salad in my life. The weather in Ohio has been pretty gloomy the past couple of weeks. Even now, it’s raining as I type this, which sadly isn’t all that unusual. Don’t get me wrong, the sun has made an appearance, but like the rest of us, it seems to be social distancing – which it does often in Ohio!

It’s comforting to me at times of uncertainty and stress to cook and bake. That coupled with the grey and rainy days has me in the kitchen a lot. To take a break from making yet another banana bread, and make my life a little more colorful and definitely healthier, I made a big beautiful chopped salad. A really big salad, a layered chopped salad to help keep me on track and bring a smile to my face. A salad with big flavors that’s loaded with antioxidants, filled with vitamins and minerals, not to mention beautiful color and a variety of textures. The best part, you probably have many of these ingredients in your pantry and in the fridge. If you don’t, you can use what you have.

I like to think of this big beautiful chopped salad as “THE big salad” the one Elaine ordered from Tom’s diner. You know the one I mean right? The one from Seinfeld. I always loved that episode and like Elaine, you probably know by now how much I love a big salad! Remember the rainbow salad with citrus dressing of my dreams? This is a very different salad, but a rainbow nevertheless and everyone should eat the rainbow!

Is it a Jewish salad? No, not in the sense that my bubbie (jewish grandmother) made it, but I have adapted it from Susie Fishbein’s cookbook Kosher by Design. While this is pretty close to Susie’s original I changed it up using the things I like and had on hand, omitting those I don’t. I also used my favorite dressing. I don’t like cabbage so no purple in my salad. I’m not an iceberg fan so in goes the romaine. I love teardrop tomatoes so I used those but you can use whatever you like. No chickpeas, substitute another bean – no red pepper, use a jar of roasted. Just be mindful of your color combinations as you layer the ingredients into the bowl. Speaking of bowls, it looks really pretty in a trifle bowl or other straight glass bowl like I have used, but a regular glass bowl will work just fine.

I hope this salad brings a lot of color and joy to your table. It’s something you’ll want to share with family and friends – hopefully very soon. Until then, you can make 1/2 of it, or better yet, make the whole thing so you’ll have leftovers for lunch the next day, or two, or three! With everyone working from home, this is a nice thing to have in the fridge. Enjoy!

salad ingredients (makes 8 to 10 servings but can easily be cut in half)
1 head Romaine lettuce shredded
1 – 16 ounce bag petite frozen peas defrosted
1 English cucumber seeds removed and diced
1 – 15 ounce can chickpeas (or other bean)
1 – 15 ounce can of corn (I used no salt added)
2 large carrots shredded* (2 cups)
2 cups teardrop tomatoes
1 red pepper diced
1 bunch scallions
3 to 4 sliced radishes
optional but highly recommended: fried onions or toasted sunflower seeds
dressing
½ cup ketchup (I like Heinz)
1/3 cup Hellman’s mayonnaise (you could sub the light mayo)
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup (or honey)
1 teaspoon no salt seasoning

directions
First make the dressing. Mix together the mayo, ketchup, cider vinegar, maple syrup and seasonings. Place in a container and put into the fridge.

For the salad you can use a trifle bowl, or any other glass bowl so you can see the layers. Prep all of your ingredients first. Defrost the peas, Open the can of corn and drain in a strainer. Do the same with the chickpeas.

On the bottom of your glass bowl pour the peas in an even layer. Next add a layer of the romaine. Then add a layer of the cucumber, followed by the chickpeas, corn, then carrots, the tomatoes, the red peppers and top with the sliced radishes and sprinkle with 3 of the scallions. Reserve the rest to put on the side.

Serve toasted sunflower seeds, fried onions, and the reserved sliced scallions on the side.

*I prefer to hand grate the carrots but you could definitely use a bag of shredded carrots.