An Inspired Cook

Today I’m going back to our Kansas days when Joe and I used to frequent one of our favorite restaurants, Corner Bakery Cafe. This chain has a number of locations across the country, however there is only 1 location in NM and it’s a long way from Albuquerque. If you’ve ever visited one of their locations you’ve probably tasted some of their creative sandwiches, salads as well as breakfast and pastry items. The first time I ordered the Chopped Salad it came with all the listed ingredients but there was a bonus sprinkle of quinoa. It was obviously added by mistake but I enjoyed those tasty little pearls of quinoa that soaked up the vinaigrette with a burst of flavor in every bite. This inspired chopped salad is loaded with cooked chicken, bacon bits, romaine lettuce, tomato, avocado, green onions, cucumber, red bell pepper and goat cheese crumbles, plus a sprinkle of quinoa over top. I experimented making a vinaigrette that would capture the taste of a house dressing with sweet and spicy tones like Corner Bakery. I think I nailed it with a simple red wine vinaigrette with a hint of maple syrup and shallot and garlic flavors throughout. Once I had the dressing, the rest of the salad was a breeze. It’s just my opinion but it tastes very close to the chopped salad I used to order at Corner Bakery plus a little quinoa sprinkle over top, because it tastes so good and is good for you.

I’m going to start with the vinaigrette so that it has time for all those flavors to meld together. It’s a simple vinaigrette with red wine vinegar, maple syrup, grapeseed oil, dijon mustard, salt, pepper, minced garlic and shallots. After experimenting with different flavors, I found the taste of maple syrup was a game changer over honey, agave or other sweeteners. I also tried a substitution of grapeseed oil for olive oil. The neutral taste of the grapeseed oil allowed the flavors to come out and whereas the olive oil seemed to overpower the flavors. 

Mince the garlic and shallots as fine as possible, then begin adding all the measured ingredients. 

Whisk all the ingredients together until the vinaigrette is emulsified.

It makes 1 cup that can be easily stored in a 1/2 pint jar with a lid in the refrigerator. 

I also learned a few things about preparing quinoa while making it for the first time at home. Quinoa is high in fiber but can set off gastrointestinal issues such as IBS if you aren’t used to it. One reason is that quinoa seeds have a natural coating called saponin. Rinsing the quinoa for a couple minutes until all the bubbles disappear will remove most of the saponin that causes such issues. I was a bit worried about how my gut would react but I rinsed it before and after it was cooked and had no issues at all. 

You can see while rinsing the quinoa the amount of bubbles that form as soon as the water hits the grains. It took a good 90 seconds to 2 minutes before it ran clear. 

Cook according to package directions.

Fluff with a fork like you would with rice. Refrigerate any unused quinoa to use for other meals. 

I cooked one chicken thigh in my mini wok to split between 2 salads.

And cooked 1 slice of bacon per salad that was cut into bits.

Assemble your salad with chopped romaine lettuce on the bottom. Add your favorite toppings including sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, sliced red bell peppers and sliced avocado. Top with cooked chicken, bacon bits, sliced green onion and goat cheese crumbles. Finally, spoon some quinoa over top and drizzle with vinaigrette. 

I hope you enjoy this loaded chopped salad with a red wine vinaigrette.

Corner Bakery Cafe’s Chopped Salad with Quinoa

1 large Chicken Thigh, cooked and sliced
2 slices Bacon, cooked and chopped into bits
Romaine Lettuce, chopped
Cherry Tomatoes, sliced in half
Red Bell Pepper, sliced julienne
Cucumber, sliced
Avocado, sliced
Green Onion, sliced julienne
Goat Cheese Crumbles
Quinoa, cooked according to package directions

Red Wine Vinaigrette

4 1/2 tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
1 tablespoon Maple Syrup
1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons Shallot, minced
1 large clove Garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
Pinch of Salt
1/2 cup Grapeseed Oil
Whisk all ingredients together until the vinaigrette has emulsified. Refrigerate an hour or more to meld all the flavors together. Refrigerate any unused dressing.

Rinse quinoa 1 – 2 minutes until the water runs clear without any bubbles. Cook quinoa according to package directions. * Once the quinoa was cooked, I rinsed it once more just in case any saponin remained even though it was not instructed to do so on the package.

Assemble chopped salad with romaine lettuce on the bottom of a salad bowl. Layer with as much sliced cherry tomatoes, red bell pepper, cucumber and avocado as desired. Top with cooked chicken and bacon bits. Sprinkle sliced green onion, goat cheese and quinoa over top. Drizzle with red wine vinaigrette. 

Makes 2 entree salads.