Vegan Chop Salad

From "Creating Light From the Darkness"



“The original cafe menu has barely changed since the opening of the pop-up in September 2013,

Photo copyright 2021 Erin Kunkel. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The original cafe menu has barely changed since the opening of the pop-up in September 2013,” Helene says. “Those dishes worked. There was never a reason to change the menu, with the exception of one dish: the chop salad. The original menu had a classic chop salad with cheese, meat and garbanzo beans. It was and is a delicious salad, but customers kept trying to modify it with more vegetables, asking for vegetables we did not have available. We experimented with several different vegetables and finally settled on squash, which is sweet, and marinated beets, which are acidic, for our perfect combo. And better yet, both are available year-round. The new vegan salad was a winner. However, guests often add grilled chicken, fish or steak to the ‘vegan’ salad.”

Vegan Chop Salad

Serves 4

2 cups chopped romaine lettuce
2 cups chopped fresh black kale
(also called dinosaur kale or lacinato kale)
½ cup cooked quinoa or other grain (optional)
Classic Chop Dressing*
2 cups Cubed Roasted Butternut Squash**
1 cup Classic Marinated Roasted Beets***
2 avocados, sliced
2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
2 cups garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained
Watermelon radishes, sliced thin, for garnish (optional)

In a large bowl, toss the romaine, kale and quinoa (if using) with the Classic Chop Dressing. Then layer the butternut squash, roasted beets, avocado slices, cherry tomatoes, garbanzo beans and radishes (if using) decoratively on top. The butternut squash and the beets can both be made several days in advance. Roasted sweet potatoes or carrots instead of squash? Of course! Black beans, lentils, quinoa instead of garbanzo beans? Yes, yes. Pickled jicama instead of beets? Go for it. Color this salad your favorite vegetable way.

*Classic Chop Dressing

Makes ½ cup

2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
6 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
Salt, to taste
1 small shallot, chopped fine (about 1 Tbsp.)
½ cup (8 Tbsp.) olive oil, canola oil or a blend of the two

Of course you may use the recipe measurements to make your dressing, but my wish is for you to learn to make this time-honored dressing by sight and feel.

Spoon some Dijon mustard into a small bowl. It really does not matter how much, but let’s say 2 heaping tablespoons. Thin it with red wine vinegar until it has the consistency of heavy cream. This is your ratio of mustard to vinegar. Season with salt and add the finely chopped shallot. Now slowly whisk in the oil to emulsify. I like my dressing to be roughly 50% oil and 50% vinegar because I like it highly acidic, but a more traditional ratio would be double (or more) oil to vinegar. It is your dressing, so do it the way that works best for you—add as much oil as you like. The dressing can be made several days in advance and stored in the fridge.

**Cubed Roasted Butternut Squash

Makes about 4 cups (depending on the size of the squash)

1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped into medium (½”) or small (¼”) dice—either is fine
3 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt to taste
3 Tbsp. agave nectar or honey
Juice from 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 400°.

In a bowl, toss the chopped squash with the olive oil. Spread the squash cubes out on a sheet pan and roast in the oven until they are just soft and a little browned but not mushy, 15 to 20 minutes. Season with salt and drizzle with the agave and lemon juice.

***Classic Marinated Roasted Beets 

Serves 4

4 medium-size beets, any color, skin on
1/3  cup olive oil
Salt, to taste
Dash of sugar
¼ cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
½ shallot, chopped fine
A few tablespoons of chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, dill or chives
1 garlic clove, grated

Preheat the oven to 375°.

Place the beets in a small ovenproof dish, drizzle them with a few tablespoons of the olive oil and a dash of water, and cover the dish with foil. Roast the beets in the oven until they are just soft, 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on their size.

Allow the beets to cool, then peel the skin off by rubbing a paper towel over them or rubbing them under running water. Chop them into a fine dice or slice them into desired shapes.

Place the beets in a small bowl and season them with salt and a tiny dash of sugar, and drizzle with the remaining oil. Add the red wine vinegar, lemon juice, shallot, herbs and garlic, and toss.

Marinate for 30 minutes before using. The marinated beets will keep for one week in the fridge.

Reprinted from “Malibu Farm Sunrise to Sunset” by Helene Henderson. Copyright 2021 by Helene Henderson. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.

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