Scottsdale Salad

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Last month my husband & I spent a long weekend in Arizona. You may have seen my Scottsdale travel guide post (& my Scottsdale outfit recap post) rounding up a bit of our trip. While we were there we had so many fabulous meals! One of my favorites was at Citizen Public House, which we went to for dinner for Charles’s birthday. We got the most AMAZING salad called the Original Chopped Salad that was insanely delicious. It combined so many wonderful flavors & we could not stop eating it & then later talking about how good it was.

I later found out what a cult following this salad has. I was determined to recreate it at home so we could add it into our regular meal rotation. I found some possible copycat recipes (& even a dedicated Facebook page) & decided I’d give it a go. I also wanted to try to make it healthier so it could be a guilt free weeknight recipe!

SCOTTSDALE SALAD RECIPE

Below is my healthified version of the Scottsdale salad recipe. It makes about four generous servings. If you mix it, but wait to dress it, it stores pretty well for a day or so in the fridge.

I wanted to create the exact version without copycats so I ordered a few things I didn’t find on my first grocery run on Amazon. I knew I’d be making this regularly & it’s so easy to keep a lot of the ingredients on hand, so I went ahead & bought a few packages of them!

INGREDIENTS

SALAD

• 1/2 cup smoked salmon, chopped or broken apart and flaked
• 2/3 cup freeze dried corn*
• 1.5 cups arugula
• 2/3 cup cooked Israeli couscous**

TOMATOES

• 1/2 cup diced tomatoes
• 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon of chopped basil

TRAIL MIX

• 1/4 cup black currants (if you can’t find them order them online like I did or raisins can work)
• 1/4 cup toasted and salted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
• 1/4 cup ground Asiago cheese

DRESSING

The actual dressing calls for the following: 1 cup mayo, 1/4 cup buttermilk, 1 tablespoon grated Romano cheese, Juice of one lemon, 12 basil leaves, about 1/2 cup very loosely packed, 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic, & Salt + pepper

I really can’t bring myself to make things with buttermilk at home, so I wanted to make my own version of this dressing. I combined two of my go to favorite salad dressings that I always have on hand to get a similar flavor that is MUCH healthier & easier!  I used equal parts Trader Joe’s Green Goddess dressing (this one works great, too) & Tessamae’s ranch. They are both dairy free & Whole 30 approved!

DIRECTIONS

1. If you’re making the dressing from scratch as it calls for in the original recipe, combine all the ingredients in a food processor & set aside in the fridge until you’re ready to serve your salad. If you’re using the two premade dressings, you can combine them just before serving.
2. Cook your couscous ahead of time & store in the fridge. I prefer it to be cooled & it holds pretty well, so cook it at least an hour in advance up to a few days ahead of time.
3. Chop the tomatoes & add balsamic, olive oil, basil & salt + pepper. Set aside.
4. Wash & chop the arugula. Set aside.
5. To make the trail mix, combine the currants, pumpkin seeds & Asiago cheese.
6. Assemble the salad by placing the individual components in strips.
7. Serve with dressing, toss at table, & enjoy!

*I found dried corn at my grocery store with all the nuts & dried fruit, but you can also order it online!

**I wanted to find gluten free couscous to keep the salad healthier for me to eat at home. I couldn’t find it at my local stores, so I ordered a few packages online. This is the one I ordered.

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I hope you all love this salad as much as we do! It’s SUCH a good, flavorful, satisfying salad. Also, be sure to check out my go to kale salad recipe, the best tuna salad recipe, & my watermelon feta salad recipe. I have a ton of other good recipes including smoothies, breakfast dishes, & dinner under the ‘Food‘ section of the blog, too. XO