The beauty of a Lined Chef's Salad is that you easily avoid ingredients that you are less than crazy about!
My husband and I have such different tastes that I am often holding back ingredients to add only to my portions. So this Lined Salad is just the ticket. He can avoid his nemesis ingredients.
Really - when you think about it - how many people avoid onions, hot peppers , cilantro, blue cheese, mushrooms etc. I am liable to have any one of these in a salad so this line thing is really working for me!
You can cut a swath across to scoop up all the ingredients or weave your way around to cut some out!
A Chef's Salad has enough protein with the egg and the ham to be a complete meal. Another reason I love them!
I am kind of notorious for making salads with 'everything but the kitchen sink' so I have all kinds of variations on this that I intend to try. I'll update you after I have put together a Southwestern style line salad. Think beef with taco seasoning, avocado, black bean, corn, red pepper, spicy pepper, tomato... you get the idea!
Greek would be awesome too... feta, black olives, cucumber, dill. In Montreal a Greek salad in the Greek quarter typically doesn't have lettuce. It will be beets and cucumbers and onions, black olives and Tzatziki. The Tzatziki is often so garlicky that if you don't enjoy it together somebody is going to be sleeping on the couch! Sigh... miss Montreal Greek food!
Back to the Lined Salad... use your imagination and whatever you have on hand to make it your own and enjoy! Quantities of ingredients here are very forgiving! Adjust based on your personal preference and what you have on hand.
I served it with this Lemon Pepper Dressing that was just the perfect amount of added tang!
Ingredients
- 3 cups mixed greens
- 2 cups corn kernels thawed or canned and drained
- 2 hardboiled eggs peeled and chopped
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 oz blue cheese crumbled
- 1 oz other cheese such as cheddar, swiss or mozzarella, grated
- 8 0z cooked ham cubed
- 3 green onions scliced
- ½ English cucumber thinly sliced
- ¼ cup roasted pepper or Piquillo Pepper for some tang, optional
- Lemon Pepper Salad Dressing or dressing of your choice
Instructions
- Arrange ingredients on a rectangular platter with long side toward you. Arrange the lettuce in a line in the center of the platter. Arrange other ingredients in lines working out from the center. If possible try to make lines symmetrical or visually complimentary (ex. yellow corn on one side and yellow and white eggs on the opposite side, cheeses on either side etc. Where ingredients are not voluminous, such as the green onion just sprinkle lightly in a thin line.
- When ready to serve drizzle with your preferred dressing and scoop horizontally to capture all ingredients.
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