This salad is a copycat of one of my favorite prepared salads found at Trader Joes. The base is a mixture of romaine and cabbage and Israeli (also known as pearl) couscous. Then there’s sweet corn, diced red pepper, pecans, currants, Asiago cheese, and green onion. You can top it with chicken breast for extra protein. The best part though is the fresh basil dressing. It’s sweet and creamy and what makes this salad amazing. It’s definitely more work to make at home, but even better than the original!

Field Fresh Chopped Salad with Sweet Basil Dressing

INGREDIENTS

Field Fresh Chopped Salad:
romaine lettuce, chopped
red cabbage, shredded
Israeli (also known as pearl) couscous, prepared according to package directions (I buy mine at Trader Joes)
fresh corn, cooked and cut off the cob*
red bell pepper, diced
pecans, toasted and chopped
dried currants
Asiago cheese, grated
green onion, thinly sliced
cooked chicken breast, chopped (optional)

Sweet Basil Dressing:
1/2 cup mayo (or part Greek yogurt- I used 1/3rd Greek yogurt, 2/3rds mayo)
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil
2 tsp. honey
2 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. chopped shallot
1 tsp. minced garlic
salt and pepper, to taste
water to thin if necessary (you probably won’t need it if using part yogurt)

DIRECTIONS

1. To make the dressing: place all the ingredients into a blender or food processor, blend until creamy. Add water if too thick or mayo if too runny. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
2. In a large bowl, toss all the salad ingredients together with basil dressing. Enjoy!

*Corn can be grilled on the cob and cut off or cut off and then toasted in a skillet over medium heat for a few minutes with some olive oil or butter and salt and pepper.

Dressing makes enough to serve ~4, can be doubled/tripled for a large party salad.

(Adapted from Mel’s Creative Corner)