Name: Mediterranean Chopped Salad
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 1 medium cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 1 1/4 cups); 1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered (about 1 1/2 cups); table salt; 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar; 1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 teaspoon); 1 (14-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed; 1/2 cup chopped pitted kalamata olives; 1/2 small minced red onion (about 1/4 cup); 1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley; 1 romaine heart, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 3 cups); 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about 1 cup); Ground black pepper

Why This Recipe Works

To prevent the cut-up produce in our chopped salad recipe from exuding moisture, we turned to techniques like seeding the cucumbers and quartering the cherry tomatoes before salting them to expose more surface area to the salt. An assertive combination of equal parts oil and vinegar delivered the bright acidic flavor we were looking for in our dressing for our chopped salad recipe. Briefly marinating the other ingredients in the dressing delivered an additional flavor boost.

Before You Begin

For information on how to prepare the cucumbers, see Seeding and Chopping Cucumbers, below.

Instructions

Combine cucumber, tomatoes, and 1 teaspoon salt in colander set over bowl and let stand 15 minutes.

Whisk oil, vinegar, and garlic together in large bowl. Add drained cucumber and tomatoes, chickpeas, olives, onion, and parsley; toss and let stand at room temperature to blend flavors, 5 minutes.

Add romaine and feta; toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper and serve.