Farmers Market Big Chopped Salad w/ French Feta Cheese & Fresh Lemon Vinaigrette (Veg)

It all started with tomatoes. Well more specifically with a tip about a vendor named 'TomatoMan' from a fellow patron waiting in the bread line at the Sunday Farmers Market. Later, I noticed a camera crew filming at one of the booths and looked to see half empty flats of bright red tomatoes and a 'TomatoMan' sign on the table. Apparently, he’s somewhat of a foodie sensation with his hot house farming techniques "where science and old world horticulture come together." I circled back to get in line, put six of the remaining tomatoes on his scale along with a large cucumber and thought this is the start of something big ~ a Big Chopped Salad that would feed our family for several days. What I didn’t expect was how vibrant everything would taste! 

TomatoMan at
Marin Farmers Market

The Happy Hens had eggs right next door; Iacopi Farms at long last picked the first fresh English peas of the season; Star Route Farms provided crispy Little Gem Lettuces; and another vendor had mild Charentes spring onions that can be "cooked or eaten raw like an apple."* All that was left was the French sheep's milk feta cheese to get at Whole Foods; the lemon dressing fixings were already at home. While certainly not inexpensive (the cost per serving worked out to be about half what a restaurant would charge at $7 versus $14) but for a once-in-a-springtime splurge, it was worth every penny.

My Paleo Marin Rating: 5 Persimmons**

Ingredients:

For the Salad:

4 - 5 heads Little Gem Lettuces, washed, large leaves torn in half

5 - 6 ripe tomatoes, cut in quarters

1/2 large cucumber, cut in 1/8" horizontal slices

6 large eggs, hard boiled, peeled and cut in halves or quarters

1 cup fresh shelled peas, blanced for about 1 minute (shells put aside for Pea Shell Broth here)

1 small spring onion, sliced or 1 small red onion, sliced (look for smaller milder onions)

6 - 7 ounces French sheep's milk feta cheese (about 1/2 cup), crumpled

Camera Crew and Happy Customers

For the Dressing:

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

Juice of 1 lemon

Tiny pinch of cane sugar

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Pinch of salt & freshly ground pepper

Optional: 1/4 teaspoon balsamic vinegar; 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard 

Directions:

For the Salad:

Prepare all ingredients and arrange in a large serving bowl starting with the lettuce and ending with the feta cheese.

For the Dressing:

Whisk together the ingredients. Taste. Adjust for personal preference. Add to salad ingredients in bowl and lightly toss. 

Makes about 5 large servings.

*For more information on French onion varieties, see link here.

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**My Paleo Marin Rating between 1-5 Persimmons

I try out these recipes so you don't have to (and modify them for Paleo where possible). The rating will reflect my opinion of the final result in terms of taste, ease of preparation, nutrition, and sometimes, cost.