Southwestern Chopped Salad

It's a Textural Thing. . . . .for example — with pasta, often, the right size-shape-texture pulls the whole dish together. It wouldn't seem quite right to pair shrimp scampi ingredients or pesto with radiatore pasta. Nor would it be logical to make a chunky chicken primavara with angel hair pasta.

This principle also applies nicely to salads. Sometimes you want all the components sliced thin and precise, a layered-arranged salad, or, you might want a chopped salad. That's me today :o)

Texture starts right away with these lettuce mix ingredients. For my chunky chopped lettuce mix, I combined romaine, green butter (Boston) lettuce, red frisee, Vidalia onion, mini English cucumbers, celery hearts and tops, boxwood basil and red cabbage. Grab a handful of this then add any other chunky-chopped ingredients you want for your chopped salad. You know what would have perfected this Southwestern Chopped Salad? — the addition of avocado, corn and black beans! Next time for sure! Since I was thinking Southwestern, I made an individual portion of a new dressing I can't wait to expand. I'll make enough to fill a quart mason jar. It will keep nicely for a week or two in the 'fridge.

Southwestern Salad Dressing

1 part sour cream

1 part mayonnaise

2 parts your favorite medium salsa

a dash, two or three, of your favorite hot sauce — Stir all these together and spoon-pour over your salad. . .Lin