Flickr photo by Rene EhrhardtBesides Trader Joe's, one of the things I miss about Seattle is a salad, the perfect salad. It's called the Purple Chopped from one of my favorite restaurants there, Purple Café and Wine Bar.
It's a mix of bacon and chicken, red pepper, purple onions, cheese, lettuce and the perfect vinaigrette. While the ingredients alone in any form would make a great salad, it definitely tastes better because they're all chopped into tiny little perfection.
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Since Florida is a long way from Seattle, I've had to start making my own version, and I've come pretty close to duplicating it. I've also experimented with a lot of other great chopped salads over the years. We eat them for dinner often in the summer, especially.
Here's a recipe for California Pizza Kitchen's chopped salad. I've made it repeatedly, and it's really good. There's something missing that doesn't quite taste like the original, but it's tasty nonetheless.
Here's a recipe from Bobby Flay for a vegetarian, southwestern chopped salad. You can serve it as a side dish or add some grilled chicken or steak to make it a meal.
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And who doesn't love a good Greek salad? It's even better chopped. Check out this recipe that incorporates an Italian flair as well.
While I like recipes for inspiration, I also often just check what's left in my refrigerator at the end of the week and start chopping. I've come up with some pretty creative combinations that way.
What are your favorite chopped salads?
Written by Julie Ryan Evans on CafeMom's blog, The Stir.
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