Yotam Ottolenghi’s new salad is MY favorite salad! If I ever decide to be a vegetarian which I won’t because I love ribeye steak too much), my go to recipes would be anything that Ottolenghi’s has created. I have three of his cookbooks: Plenty, Plenty more, and Flavor, and I’m looking forward to buying his new one, Comfort, which comes out in early October. He has been a major influence in American cooking over the past 15 years, so if you want to “health up” your diet–his plant-forward, delicious,Mediterranean style is perfect for you and my brother, Mark.

I’m a salad girl from wayyyyyyyyyy back–this is my one of my favorites.

Ingredients:

2 cups small (½-inch) diced stale bread, buns or pita (about 3 to 4 ounces)
6 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 romaine heart, quartered lengthwise and sliced crosswise into ½-inch pieces
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed
1 medium (or ½ large) English cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded and diced
½ cup pitted Castelvetrano or other green olives, roughly chopped (about 3 ounces)
⅓ cup thinly sliced scallions–about 2 (green onions)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon minced shallots
1/4 t. dijon mustard
1 firm-ripe avocado, halved, pitted and diced
¾ cup diced or crumbled feta cheese (about 4 ounces)

¼ cup chopped fresh herbs, such as dill, basil, mint or parsley, plus more for serving

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the diced bread on a sheet pan, drizzle lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss, then bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until well toasted. Set aside to cool.
2. Meanwhile, place the romaine pieces in a large mixing bowl, along with the chickpeas, cucumber, olives and scallions.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together 6 tablespoons olive oil with the vinegar, capers, shallots, mustard, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper and whisk well. Pour enough dressing over the salad to moisten; toss well. Add the avocado, feta and herbs and toss gently, adding more dressing to taste. Top with the croutons and a generous sprinkle of herbs and serve.