Chopped salads are nothing knew, in fact if you did a search on the Internet you would see thousands of different variations. Crisp, colorful veggies tossed into a light vinaigrette, it just screams healthy and fresh!
The vegetables you choose are up to you, in the past I’ve added things like peas, asparagus, carrots, radishes, raw zucchini, yellow squash and even jalapeno , I’ve added cheese, different herbs, but mostly I like to keep it pretty simple and above all colorful!
This time I added green and yellow wax beans, something I saw Martha do on one of her shows, it’s a great addition for the color and texture it gives, and I always use planks of fresh corn for the taste and visual.
Don’t get me wrong, this is not the quickest salad to make, you have to do some chopping, after all it is a chopped salad, but I find it therapeutic. Play some music, watch a TV show or just drift into your own thoughts, it will go by fast. You can chop all your veggies the day before then mix everything together the day of.
This salad couldn’t be more perfect as a side to all your summertime cookouts or just make it and eat it for lunch for a few days plus there’s no mayo required, so that’s a good thing with the summer heat.
Chop and then dress adding more or less, it’s up to you, be creative!
- ½ pound of green beans cut into ¼ inch pieces
- ½ pound of yellow wax beans cut into ¼ inch pieces
- ½ can of garbanzo bean, drained and rinsed
- 1 cucumber, seeded and cut into ¼ inch pieces
- 2 ears of fresh corn
- 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into ¼ inch pieces
- 1 red pepper, seeded and chopped into ¼ inch pieces
- 1 small red onion cut into ¼ inch dice
- 4 or 5 tomatoes, seeded and diced into ¼ inch pieces
- a handful each of fresh basil and fresh parsley, chopped
- FOR VINAIGRETTE YOU WILL NEED:
- olive oil
- white balsamic vinegar or champagne vinegar
- ½ minced garlic
- dijon mustard
- salt and pepper to taste
- You need to blanch the beans for 2 minutes in boiling water, remove with slotted spoon and then place into an ice bath, then drain well, even wiping them down with paper towel until moisture is removed.
- Place corn in boiling water after beans for 5 minutes and also place into ice bath to cool down, when cool, cut corn into planks.
- Place everything into a large bowl, veggies, beans, herbs and toss to mix.
- In a small bowl whisk together, 2 ounces of olive oil, 2 ounces of vinegar, a dollop of dijon mustard, ½ minced garlic and salt and pepper to taste.
- This is just a general guideline, you can add more or less as needed to taste.
- Pour vinaigrette all over and toss!