La Scala Famous Chopped Salad — The Cold Bowl That Earned a Seven-Year-Old’s Grudging Approval

Summer. Mason starts camp. Lily starts a new summer program at the community center. I'm back at the clinic full-time, the expanders settling in, the fills beginning — Dr. Kendall adds saline every two weeks, stretching the skin gradually, and each fill makes me slightly sore and slightly more shaped, a slow-motion return to a body that has contours.

The first fill was uncomfortable. Not painful — uncomfortable, the way a very tight shirt is uncomfortable, like my chest is being asked to hold more than it's used to. I drove home and iced and took Advil and went to bed and woke up the next morning feeling nearly normal, and "nearly normal" is a phrase I've gotten very good at, because "nearly normal" has been my standard for two years and it's a perfectly good standard.

I started running. Not fast — not far — just a slow jog around the block, three times a week, in the early morning before the kids wake up. I was never a runner. I was a ranch girl who ran only when something was chasing her (usually a cow with an attitude problem). But my body needs movement. It's been through surgery and chemo and recovery and more surgery, and it needs to remember what it can do, not just what was done to it. So I run. Slowly. Hank comes with me, for the first block, before his three legs and his ten years tell him enough is enough and we walk the rest. We are a beautiful, ridiculous pair: the cancer survivor jogging and the three-legged pit bull walking, both of us moving forward at whatever pace our damaged bodies allow.

Mason is reading the entire Magic Tree House series this summer. One per day. He lies on the couch with his feet up and a book in his hands and doesn't speak for hours, which is either the greatest thing or the loneliest thing, depending on the day. I let him read. Reading saved me. Reading saved Brett. Reading is the Dawson escape hatch — the place you go when the real world is too much, the door that opens into a world where someone else has the problems and you just get to watch.

New recipe #17: gazpacho. Cold tomato soup — blended tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, garlic, vinegar, olive oil, served chilled. A summer recipe so simple it almost doesn't count as cooking, except that the flavors are bright and complex and the first spoonful tastes like June distilled into a bowl. I served it with crusty bread and the kids looked at it with suspicion — "cold soup?" Mason said, like I'd violated a natural law — but they tried it, and Mason conceded it was "not bad, for cold soup," which from a seven-year-old is a Michelin star.

Between the fills and the running and the school pickups and Hank’s three-legged morning walks, I needed something this summer that required almost nothing of me in the kitchen but still felt like real food — something cold and sharp-flavored and worth sitting down for. The La Scala chopped salad became that thing: no heat, no fuss, just crisp ingredients tossed in a lemony dressing that tasted like someone actually thought about it. Mason remained a skeptic about anything served cold that wasn’t ice cream, but even he admitted — after significant persuasion and a second helping — that this one was “pretty okay.”

La Scala Famous Chopped Salad

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 20 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 large head romaine lettuce, finely chopped
• 1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 4 oz Genoa salami, cut into thin strips or small pieces
• 1 (6 oz) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup pepperoncini slices
• 1/3 cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
• For the dressing: 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 small garlic clove, minced or grated
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Make the dressing. In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the lemon juice, Dijon mustard, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking until emulsified. Taste and adjust seasoning.
2. Prep the salad base. Finely chop the romaine into small, uniform pieces and place in a large salad bowl. The fine chop is key — this is a chopped salad in the truest sense.
3. Add the mix-ins. Add the chickpeas, salami, artichoke hearts, pepperoncini, olives, and red onion to the bowl with the romaine.
4. Dress and toss. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss thoroughly so every piece is coated. Because the ingredients are finely chopped, the dressing distributes evenly and quickly.
5. Add the cheese. Sprinkle the grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan over the top. Toss once more gently, then taste for salt and lemon.
6. Serve immediately. Plate and serve right away for the best texture. If making ahead, store the dressed salad and cheese separately and combine just before serving.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 420 | Protein: 18g | Fat: 28g | Carbs: 24g | Fiber: 7g | Sodium: 980mg