Let’s be real here. This isn’t a quick salad (you’re going to cook chickpeas from scratch) and it’s not a low-key, throw-a-few-things-in-a-bowl salad. It’s a little labor-intensive-it is called a CHOPPED salad after all, so there will be some chopping involved. It is very oregano-forward as the entire dressing revolves around oregano as the key ingredient. As long as you understand all these aspects and know what to expect, I can fully guarantee you will turn out a damn good salad!
I’ve never eaten at Mozza in Los Angeles (bucket list!), but I have heard a lot about it and watched Nancy Silverton on many a food-centric show. I can quickly become obsessed with a dish that I’ve never tasted before just from seeing or hearing about it. Will I be able to tell you where I saw the dish that I thusly became obsessed with? Probably not. Much as I wish I could tell you where the revelation of this salad came to me, I have no idea what sparked my carnal need to remake this in my kitchen.
The chickpeas alone are good enough to eat straight from the pot as they cook, much like I did when I made this salad. They are doused in olive oil and cooked with aromatics, carrots, celery and a spicy chile de arbol. How could that not be good?
Combined with crisp, clean chopped Romaine, bitter Radicchio, sliced red onions, sweet cherry tomatoes, pickled peperoncini, and sliced salami and provolone, all brought together with the incredibly flavorful, protein-packed chickpeas and a zippy oregano vinaigrette-it’s crisp and refreshing and perfect for a summer dinner in the deck…or a hearty dinner in the colder months.
This is much like a classic antipasto sandwich (similar to this one), but in dinner salad format. You can easily serve this as a full meal, or slim it down into starter portions for a party.
[tasty-recipe id=”35996″]
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