Chopped Salad
Oxford, Mississippi, where I’m lucky enough to live, is a food and cultural mecca of the south. Known for the James Beard award winning restaurants and being the birth place of William Faulkner, Oxford is often referred to as “Mississippi’s resort town.” I’m going to have to do a blog post on all my local favorites (important research required, of course), but this is my take on one of my favorite menu items in this entire town— the chopped salad from Saint Leo.
Saint Leo was a James Beard semi-finalist for “Best New Restaurant” in 2017. That was my senior year of college, and it quickly became a favorite. My friends from college always want to come back to visit. In fact, a couple of years ago, my friend Brittany (who lives in Jackson) drove up with her boyfriend for the night just to eat dinner with us. I could do an entirely separate post about what to order at Saint Leo and what my favorites are…and I just might. Because it really is THAT good.
I wanted to recreate this salad a) because it’s one of my favorite things on their menu, and b) because I can’t afford to eat there every time I have a craving for this salad. The key component of the salad is the dressing. It’s a mayo/sour cream/greek yogurt base, someone resembling ranch dressing, but way more fresh, in my opinion. Lots of fresh dill, lemon juice, and garlic give it that “something extra" that is so addicting. It’s super easy to make, too— put everything in a blender. I find that if I’m making a small salad for just me and William, that I can get several uses out of one batch of dressing.
Dill Dressing
5 garlic cloves
1 container (8 oz) non-fat Greek yogurt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
6 fresh dill fronds
Juice of one lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
For the salad:
Thinly chopped romaine hearts
1/2 red onion, cut into slices and caramelized
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
1 avocado, roughly chopped
Several pieces of salami/sopresatta, thinly sliced
To make the dressing, combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.
Place onions in a heavy bottom pan (I use my dutch oven) and cook on medium-low heat until caramelized, about 20-30 minutes. (I usually do this the day before I want to make the salad since it’s a longer step.)
Add the onions to the dressing mixture.
Place romaine in a big salad bowl. Add in the avocado and salami. Toss with dressing/onions. Top with sunflower seeds and parmesan cheese. Enjoy!