Chopped Salad with Orange Poppy Seed Dressing is a bed of fresh, crunchy vegetables topped with homemade tangy-sweet orange poppy seed dressing is the perfect salad of summer.
“Sum-mer-tiiiiime! And the livin’ is eeeee-say!…” For those of you that are new around here, it’s only fair to mention that I’m a huge fan of musicals. I may or may not break out in song when the spirit moves me. That little ditty from Porgy & Bess rolls through my head all summer long. Gershwin has that effect on me. His songs make me want to dance and sing along, no matter how old they may be. I dare you to listen to Ella Fitzgerald’s singing Fascinating Rhythm or or Judy Garland’s rendition of I Got Rhythm and not be dancing and singing along by the end of the song.
Go ahead. I’ll wait…
There! See what I mean? Not only am I known to randomly bust out into song, but I tend to do it while cooking and not even realize it. This little fact provides hours of amusement for my boys. My boys that insist that they don’t like musicals, yet every time I pop one in the DVD player, they find a reason to be in the room until the credits roll. Coincidence? I think not.
I’m totally wearing them down.
So while I singing “Summertime” when making this Chopped Salad with Orange Poppy Seed Vinaigrette, I was stunned into silence when I heard Son #4 jump in to sing,
“Oh, your daddy’s rich and your ma is good-lookin’
So hush, little baby, don’t you cry.”
My silence and his subsequent impromptu solo must have embarrassed him, because he blushed and ran out of the room. Either that or the whole thing was a ruse to distract me so that he could grab half of my orange to eat in parts unknown. I may never know the truth.
Luckily, I had oranges to spare. This salad is delicious in it’s own right, what with all of the fresh veggies and all. But it’s the dressing that really makes the salad something special. The dressing comes together in all of 30 seconds in a blender, so it’s super easy to prepare. In my house, fresh food and easy preparation is what summertime is all about. The livin’ is easy and the food is fresh!
Chopped Salad with Orange Poppy Seed Vinaigrette dresses crunchy, seasonal vegetables in a sweet and tangy orange vinaigrette with the added crunch of poppy seeds. The addition of garbanzo beans makes the Chopped Salad with Orange Poppy Seed Vinaigrette a balanced meal with the fresh taste of summertime.
Take it easy this summer with this simple, delicious dinner salad!
Kirsten/ComfortablyDomestic
Yields 6 Servings
Chopped Salad with Orange Poppy Seed Dressing combines the season’s best vegetables and dresses them in sweet and tangy citrus vinaigrette with added crunch.
25 minPrep Time
25 minTotal Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- For the Salad:
- 2 C. torn baby spinach leaves
- 1 ½ C. diced sweet yellow bell pepper
- 1 C. sugar snap peas, cut in half
- 1 ½ C. sliced English cucumber
- 1 C. chopped carrots
- 1 ½ C. cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 (15 oz.) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
- For the Dressing:
- 1 Tbs. fresh orange zest
- ½ C. freshly squeezed orange juice (from 1 small orange)
- 2 tsp. minced sweet onion
- 1 tsp. honey Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp. honey
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1/8 tsp. black pepper
- ¼ tsp. apple cider vinegar
- 2/3 C. canola oil
- 1 tsp. poppy seeds
Instructions
- Assemble the salad by placing the spinach, sweet bell pepper, snap peas, cucumber, carrots, tomatoes, and garbanzo beans into a large bowl; set salad aside while preparing the dressing.
- Puree the orange zest, orange juice, onion, mustard, honey, salt, pepper, and vinegar in a blender until smooth. With the blender running, slowly drizzle the canola oil into the blender carafe to emulsify the dressing. Turn the blender off.
- Stir the poppy seeds into the dressing. Pour the dressing over the salad, tossing to coat. Serve immediately.
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