Did I tell you about my latest kitchen trick?

I almost always make my own salad dressing and I rarely get fancy with it. It’s a simple blend of lemon juice, olive oil and salt and it is so hard to beat. Inspired by some of the pita sandwiches I’ve gotten over the years, where meat and loads of cabbage, parsley and pickles are packed into a warm pita smothered with hummus, tahini and sometimes hot sauce, I started adding hummus to my salads. Taking it a step further, I began blending hummus into my simple salad dressing for a creamy dressing that is totally guilt-free.

I like either Sabra or Boar’s Head hummus here for the smooth consistency and the wild variety of flavors they have. (Though I can’t endorse Boar’s Head’s new Chocolate Dessert Hummus for this one!) It’s been fun changing the flavor of the hummus to suit the salad and here’s one with a Southwest spin.

To chop the romaine and cabbage, I’ll lay the leaves horizontally on the cutting board and then cut across, with my knife perpendicular to the leaves, to make lots of little shreds that are a cross-section of leaf and stem. If you can’t find Napa cabbage, try radicchio, purple or green cabbage. If you don’t like sprouts, leave them out. Look for nothing but corn kernels in that can; you don’t want anything with added sugar or of the creamed corn variety.

Southwest Chop

For the dressing:
Juice of 1/2 to 1 whole lemon
Pinch of salt, to taste
Extra virgin olive oil, to taste
Dollop of Sabra Jalapeño Hummus or Boar’s Head Fiery Chipotle Hummus

For the salad:
1 head romaine, nicely chopped
6 leaves Napa cabbage, similarly chopped
Handful of sprouts
1/2 can of black beans, drained
1/3 can canned corn, drained
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, rinsed and halved
1/2 large red, yellow or orange bell pepper, finely diced
1 avocado, diced
3 scallions, thinly sliced
Handful of roasted sunflower seeds
Cilantro
1 chicken breast, cooked and diced, optional

Mix all salad dressing ingredients together and adjust to taste. Set aside while you prepare the salad. Combine all salad ingredients in a bowl and dress. Stir to combine and serve. This will make one big salad or two small salads.