posh chopped salad

method

Chopped salads are incredibly simple to make—you have to give them a go. If nothing else, they can offer you some chopping practice, so why not make something tasty while you’re practicing your knife skills? Anyone can make these salads—just make sure you use a good sharp chef’s knife and your biggest chopping board—and watch your fingers.

What I want to show you here is that the sky’s the limit when it comes to the different ingredients you can add to a chopped salad. –you can use whatever’s available. The only rule I would give you is to always include a couple of handfuls of crunchy lettuce to give your salad a really good texture. Try out different things, and don’t feel obliged to use the same old stuff all the time. Bell peppers, tomatoes, herb sprigs, different types of cheese…you can get any or all of these into a chopped salad.

Get yourself a large chopping board and a sharp knife. Start by chopping the harder, crunchier veggies first. Peel, trim and chop your carrot, fennel plus its herby tops and radishes. Bring it all to the center of the board and continue chopping and mixing together. Add the lettuce and endive leaves and chop them up too. When everything is well chopped, you’ll have a big mound of salad on the board. Slice the salmon into small pieces and mix in. Make a well in the middle and drizzle in 6 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Mix up so everything gets dressed, sprinkle with some chopped dill, and serve straight from the board or in a bowl.

This recipe is taken from Jamie's Food Revolution by Jamie Oliver (Hyperion). © Jamie Oliver, 2009

serves: 4

ingredients

• 1 carrot
• 1 bulb of fennel
• A small handful of radishes
• 1 Romaine lettuce
• 2 white Belgian endives
• 8 ounces smoked salmon
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lemon
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• A small bunch of fresh dill