Spanish Chopped Salad
Sara's twist on classic chopped salad is a bright play on Spanish flavors. It makes a lovely light lunch on its own, is a great "salad in a jar" option, or it goes well with grilled meats or fish for a heartier meal. A zesty paprika-based vinaigrette livens up her chopped salad, but beware that the dressing does lose its punchy flavor as time goes on - this is not a "make once for the week" kind of salad dressing.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
Walnut Paprika Vinaigrette
- 3 tablespoons (about 40 g) walnut pieces toasted
- 1 clove garlic
- 3 tablespoons red wine or sherry vinegar
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 2 tablespoons parsley chopped
- ¼-1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- several twists freshly ground black pepper
Chopped Salad
- 1 head romaine lettuce washed, dried thoroughly, and chopped
- 2 cups baby spinach
- ¼ small red onion minced
- ⅓ cup walnut pieces toasted
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved*
- 1 small tart apple finely diced
- 1 cup cucumber finely diced
- 2 large eggs hard-boiled, then chopped
- ½ cup lentils cooked
- 1 cup (4 ounces) Manchego cheese shaved
Instructions
Walnut Paprika Vinaigrette
- Toast the walnut pieces you will need for both the vinaigrette and the salad itself in a small pan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until fragrant - about 8-10 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
- In a food processor or blender, combine the 3 tablespoons toasted walnut pieces, the garlic clove, red wine vinegar, smoked paprika, honey, chopped parsley, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Blend for about 30 seconds, until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Refrigerate until ready to use (can be made no more than 3 days in advance).
Spanish Chopped Salad
- Wash then thoroughly dry (or spin) the romaine lettuce. Chop it into small, bite-size pieces. Add it to a large salad bowl together with the baby spinach, thinly sliced red onion, toasted walnut pieces, halved cherry tomatoes, diced apple and cucumber, chopped eggs, and cooked lentils. Dress with the walnut paprika vinaigrette (the recipe above should make just enough). Toss to coat the salad in the vinaigrette, then add the shaved manchego cheese, toss once more to combine, and serve.
Notes
*The best trick I know for halving cherry tomatoes easily is to put them on a small plate, cover them with another small plate (placed face down), then simply hold the top of the face-down plate while you pass a serrated knife through the cherry tomatoes, using your hand to rotate the plate as you work.