If you've ever watched Keeping up with the Kardashians, then you know that this famous family loves their salads. They have many restaurants that they frequent, but La Scala in Beverly Hills has gotten some serious attention recently because of their La Scala chopped salad. It's a mix of marinated garbanzo beans, iceberg lettuce, salami, cheese, and homemade dressing. It might not sound like much, but after trying it I can safely say that there is a reason that the Kardashians love it so much. It might not make you rich or famous, but it'll definitely be a new dish in your weekly rotation.
The recipe I followed had great reviews and was said to be exactly like the original. So, if you want to follow along, head over to this site!
Making the Salad
I started out by making the dressing, which required olive oil, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard, parmesan, and a dash of salt and pepper. Whisk it up to emulsify it and then in a large bowl, add half of that dressing to your rinsed and drained chickpeas. Mix these together and set them aside to happily marinate those delicious flavors together.
While those chickpeas were marinating, I started prepping my salad ingredients. This included chopping up the iceberg lettuce and salami into strips. For the salami, I just used deli slices, but it might turn out better to get a roll of hard salami and slice it yourself. Often, this means less moisture! Another tip: the smaller you cut these items, the easier it is to eat. There is nothing more humbling than trying to fit a hunk of iceberg lettuce into your mouth at the dinner table.
After chopping up the ingredients, combine them together in a large bowl. This includes iceberg lettuce, shredded mozzarella, salami, and the rest of the dressing. Make sure to toss them together so that everything is coated in that deliciousness before moving on to the next step.
Now that the garbanzo beans are marinating in a large bowl and the salad is combined in a separate bowl, pack the garbanzo beans in the bottom of the large bowl. Once they are packed together, transfer your salad over the beans. Flip these onto the plate and the salad should be shaped like a dome with the beans on top. Now, this was not the case for me. I believe I can attribute my messy-looking salad to either too large of a bowl or not a good enough flip onto the plate, but either way, it tasted delicious.
Long-Awaited La Scala Review
Ok, now for the long-awaited review. While the Kardashians may have made questionable decisions in the past, this salad was definitely not one of them. The garbanzo beans in the dressing give protein and great flavor, the iceberg lettuce adds the perfect crunch, and the salami and cheese make it hearty and filling. With only a few ingredients, this has to be the easiest and quickest salad to make. If you're feeling really fancy, maybe you can even add some sun-dried tomatoes or banana peppers for a kick of flavor. Either way, this salad will not disappoint!