Chopped Salad with Cabbage, Fennel, Endives, and Crispy Fried Onions

Preperation time
20 m
Skills level

Serving size
4-6
Country of origin

Preparation time: 20 m
Cooking time: 10+ m
Servings: 4-6

Ingredients

  • 1 (10-ounce) bag finely shredded green cabbage (or half of a head of green cabbage, finely shredded)
  • 1 bulb anise, discard the stems but keep the dill-like greens attached to it, thinly sliced
  • 2 heads yellow-green endives, thinly sliced
  • 1 Vidalia onion, cut in half then thinly sliced
  • 1 bunch red radishes, a few whole with stems attached and some sliced
  • 1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
  • 2-3 tablespoons all-purpose or rice flour
  • a good quality extra virgin olive oil
  • Garnish: 1 pomegranate cut into pieces
  • Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing
  • 1/3 cup sherry vinegar
  • 1 (6-ounce) container non-fat Greek yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 lime squeezed
  • poppy seeds
  • Large platter
  • Small bowl for dressing
  • 1/2-1 lime for squeezing onto the greens
  • a good chef's knife for slicing the greens
Recipe Type: , ,
Course:

Thoroughly wash and dry all of the vegetables, especially radishes which hold a fair amount of dirt.

Making the Crispy Fried Onions

Add a good drizzle of olive oil to a cast-iron (preferred method) or non-stick skillet. In a bowl, add the sliced onions and 2-3 tablespoons of flour and toss. Then add the now flour-coated onions to the pan and allow them to heat on medium-high heat for 10-15 minutes, until crispy and browned. Then take them off the heat.

Next, cut off the stems from the fennel bulb. Keep the dill-like greens and finely chop. If you have a very large bulb, only use half, you don’t want to overpower the salad with fennel. The key is to use a good chef’s knife to thinly cut the vegetables.

If you are shredding the cabbage, shred the pieces so they are small enough to pick up on a fork. If they seem too big, chop. Otherwise, you can find it pre-shredded in your local grocery store. Place the shredded green cabbage on the platter and squeeze a half of a lime to soften the cabbage. Add the fennel slices on the top (hold few to garnish) and scatter the dill-like greens through out the salad.

Note: If you don’t have the greens attached to the bulb, buy some dill and use that, only a small amount, maybe 3 tablespoons chopped.

Next, cut a few radishes into slices. Thinly cut the endives. Combine these with the salad. You can keep the big radishes with stem on the side as a garnish. Cutting a pomegranate and adding it to the salad will offset this very green-hued salad with complementary colors. Another idea is to add in some pickled cucumbers, red onions or even radishes. At the end of my summer harvest I love pickling my vegetables.

Making the Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing

In a medium-sized bowl, combine sherry vinegar, yogurt, squeeze of 1 lime, and honey, and whisk together the ingredients. Last, add a good sprinkling of poppy seeds and continue to mix. Pour into a mason jar for serving.

Once you are ready to serve, top the salad with the hot crispy fried onions, raw pumpkin seeds, and remaining fennel slices. Keep dressing on the side or toss salad with dressing.

This is a beautiful salad that everyone will love!