A Big Chopped Salad (To Go With Takeout Pizza)

I’m a firm believer that delivery/takeout pizza night with one big salad is Big Night—as long as there are friends, wine, and a big-ass salad. This could be as simple as emptying a couple of clamshells of arugula, tossing with olive oil and lemon, and grating Parmesan cheese on top—a perfect minute salad—but maybe you have it in you to make a salad that just might rival the pizza itself.

I present to you: my ideal chopped salad, which could absolutely be dinner on its own but begs to share a plate with pizza. Chopped salads are the ones whose ingredients are exactly to your liking. Don’t love olives? Leave them out. Obsessed with chickpeas? Double them. And absolutely feel free to make this vegetarian or vegan. Bonus: The only real work here is—shocker—lots of chopping. Enlist your friends to help and it will come together quick.

Ingredients

• 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped, or 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
• 1 small red or yellow onion, diced
• 2 large garlic cloves, grated
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 6 tablespoons red wine vinegar, plus more as needed
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges
• 1 (15.5-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed, and/or 8 ounces salami, chopped
• 3 or 4 heads romaine lettuce (about 3 pounds), roughly chopped
• 2 heads radicchio (about 1½ pounds), roughly chopped
• 1 cup black or green olives, such as Kalamata or Castelvetrano
• Freshly grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese, for serving

Optional additions

• 1 cup sliced peperoncini
• 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
• 1 cup canned or jarred artichoke hearts, drained
• 2 cups fresh parsley leaves

Instructions

If using cherry tomatoes, place them in a small bowl and season with salt, pepper, and a bit of olive oil, tossing to combine. Set aside.

In another small bowl, whisk together the onion, garlic, oregano, vinegar, sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, and lots of pepper. Taste and add a squeeze of lemon juice and/or more salt as needed. Set aside at room temperature to allow the flavors to meld for at least 10 minutes or up to 2 hours. (Alternatively, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.)

In a large bowl, toss together the chickpeas and a glug of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Drain the cherry tomatoes and add them to the bowl (if using sun-dried, add them straight in).

Place the lettuce and/or radicchio in the biggest bowl you have and season with a big pinch of salt. Toss with clean hands to coat.

Slowly whisk the oil into the vinegar mixture to complete your dressing. To the bowl with chickpeas, add the olives and any other optional additions of your choosing. Pour about half the dressing over the top and toss well to combine. Pour the remaining dressing (or as much as you’d like) over the bowl of lettuce and toss to combine. Pour the contents of the large bowl into the extra-large lettuce bowl and toss with your hands until fully combined. Taste and add more salt or vinegar as needed. Grind more pepper over, shave or grate cheese over the top, and drizzle with more olive oil.

Make-Ahead

• Dressing: up to 2 days

Pair With

• Crispiest Chicken Milanese (page 150; skip the balsamic arugula)
• Clam & Corn Pasta (page 141)