The LA Chop! The best crunchy rainbow salad with all the flavors, colors, and textures of summer. All tossed with a punchy lemon vinaigrette!
The LA Chop
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We LOVED this. The pepperoncini added a perfect zing to go with all the rich cheese and salamis, and the dressing was just right!
Kelly
This is one of those times when the flavors, colors, and textures of summer come together in a huge, crunchy rainbow salad. And for one meal, life just feels right.
It’s healthy-ish but not too healthy, like all the best salads. We’ve got fresh tomatoes and lettuce and radicchio setting the stage, but salami and chickpeas and two types of cheese filling it out into something of a hungry person’s lunch dream, and super thin slices of red onion, pepperoncini, and a punchy lemon vinaigrette zipping it all together at the end.
It has a name: The LA Chop.
Hey, I’m not the LA expert here, but California queen Gaby is. This is a recipe from Gaby’s latest book (affiliate link) which is now owned by several people on our team and has already been heavily earmarked by me – especially the salad chapter.
Being that this is a chopped salad there is, well, there is quite a bit of chopping involved.
But just look at this pre-mixed salad masterpiece.
Once you’re done chopping…. you’re DONE done. With the entire recipe. No stoves, no ovens, no pans.
You toss your salad, grab a fizzy water, sit down, put feet up, and crunch to your heart’s delight.
Are you in LA right now? Because I’m in suburban Minnesota but I’m pretty sure I’m in LA right now.
This is the salad I could (will) eat all summer long.
You can find Gaby’s cookbook here! (affiliate link)
Check Out Our Video For How To Make The LA Chop:
Click here to see the step-by-step web story instructions for this recipe!
*This recipe has been republished from the cookbook with permission from author and publisher.
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The LA Chop
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
The LA Chop! The best crunchy rainbow salad with all the flavors, colors, and textures of summer. All tossed with a punchy lemon vinaigrette! From the What’s Gaby Cooking Eat What You Want cookbook.
Ingredients
Scale
Salad:
- Lemon Vinaigrette (recipe below) with 2 tablespoons dried oregano mixed in
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 head iceberg lettuce
- 1 head radicchio
- 1⁄2 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 pint (300 g) heirloom cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters
- 1 (15-ounce/430 g) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 8 ounces (225 g) fresh pearl mozzarella
- 4 ounces (115 g) provolone cheese, cut into medium dice
- 4 ounces (115 g) Genoa salami, cut into small cubes
- 5 pepperoncini (stems discarded), cut into thin slices
- 2 teaspoons chopped oregano for garnish
Lemon Vinaigrette:
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 1⁄2 cup (120 ml) olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
Salad:
- Combine all the ingredients for the vinaigrette in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Season with salt and pepper as needed.
- Cut the iceberg lettuce in half through the core. Remove and discard the outer leaves and discard the core. Separate the lettuce leaves, stack 2 or 3 leaves on top of one another, then cut them lengthwise into 1⁄4-inch-wide (6 mm) strips. Repeat with the remaining leaves. Thinly slice the radicchio in the same way.
- In a large, wide bowl, combine the lettuce and radicchio, tomatoes, chickpeas, mozzarella, provolone, salami, and pepperoncini. Season with salt to taste and toss to thoroughly combine. Drizzle 6 tablespoons (90 ml) of the vinaigrette over the salad and toss gently to coat the salad evenly. Taste and add more vinaigrette as needed, plus salt and pepper. Transfer the salad to a large platter, sprinkle with extra oregano, and serve.
Dressing:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all the ingredients. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper as needed.
Equipment
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- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: Chop
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: chop salad, los angeles, LA chop, classic chopped salad, salad recipe, salami
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our collection of fresh tomato recipes. Check it out!
Filed Under: All Recipes Gluten-Free Healthy Legume Lemon Lunch Recipes Salads Spring Sugar-Free Tomato
May 26, 2020
Nice to meet you!
I’m Lindsay and I ♡ FOOD. I used to be a teacher, and now making food and writing about it online is my full-time job. I love talking with people about food, and I'm so glad you're here.
Did you make a recipe? Tag @pinchofyum on Instagram so we can find you!
Looks so easy and yummy! Is there a replacement for red wine vinegar?
You could try a little bit of white vinegar instead. Enjoy!
Lololols. I thought those pearl mozzas were mini marshmallows in the picture and was judging LA a bit.
😂
OMG! The whole family loves this salad. It tastes like an Italian sub! We add olives too. This is exactly like Nancy Silverton’s chopped salad recipe from her 2011 Mozza cookbook.
It looks very tasty and healthy. Thanks for the recipe!
great post. i like it. feeling great when reading your post
Another health reminder I need more salad and healthy sources of protein in my life. 🙂
Oh wow – that looks so tasty and colourful!
I’m in desperate need of something nourishing right now – my fresh produce options are a bit lacking!
Emma x
Thank-you for the recipe! I made my own version with what I had – roasted red pepper, pickled red onions, what was left my charcuterie cheeses and meats, green cabbage, jarred minced garlic, chickpeas
Ur blog is too good😍
Salad is too good n healthy. Thanks for sharing. Some good varieties here below: 👇👇
https://www.blogging-2020.com
Fresh, delicious, and filling- thanks for sharing! I left out the red onion since my dressing was shallot heavy. I also increased the vinegar and decreased the oil in the dressing since I love vinegar and wanted a bit less fat. Thanks again!
So glad you enjoyed this, Mary! 🙂
This salad is the bomb!! However I have 1 question. Did you mean 2 Tablespoons of oregano, or 2 teaspoons of oregano in the dressing. We stopped at one T and it’s already a very strong oregano flavor
Would this keep for a few days for lunches? Just keep dressing separate?
Yep, that should work!
very interesting blog
We LOVED this. The pepperoncini added a perfect zing to go with all the rich cheese and salamis, and the dressing was just right!
So glad you enjoyed this salad, Kelly!
My family loved this!! I chopped up spinach instead of the iceberg so maybe it’s not LA official but man it was good…perfect for summer! Not a single recipe from your blog has failed me, Lindsay, and I tell people about it all the time!
So glad you and your family enjoyed this, Sarah!
Love this salad! It reminds me of the Chopped Italian Salad from Punch Pizza in the Twin Cities – sooooo delicious! Thanks for sharing and I can’t wait to read Gaby’s new cookbook!
💃
I like it very much
looks so fresh and delicious, pinning!
I love this salad! So good. Even when I skip a few ingredients like garbanzo beans and provolone it’s still delicious.
Best chop salad I’ve made. The dressing has the perfect amount of citrus and zing. I also just subbed the ingredients with what I had available, and it was still great.
I love this salad! It’s the perfect salad with so much flavor. It’s filling and I want to eat it everyday and drink the dressing. The oregano makes it!
I love this salad! It’s the perfect salad with so much flavor. It’s filling and I want to eat it everyday and drink the dressing. The oregano makes it!
I have made this salad multiple times and I love it; however, we have never added more than 1 T of the dried oregano to the dressing. Its already strong with one. I’ve watched the video time and again, and I never see you add the dried oregano to the dressing. I do see you add the fresh at the end. Do you actually use 2 T of dried oregano? In the video, it is not in the dressing as far as I can see