Northport Chopped Salad

At the Farmer’s Market in Northport, at the tip of Michigan's beautiful Leelanau peninsula, we found some wonderful purple, yellow and white organic carrots.  We could not resist the fresh basil, arugula, baby spinach and little red and yellow cherry tomatoes either.  That night we feasted on this wonderful chopped salad with Tante Mimi’s famous Vinaigrette Dressing that is so perfect with tomatoes and fresh basil.   The optional anchovies are wonderful in the salad, but not everyone is a fan of anchovies.  A bit of anchovy paste in the dressing will also give the dressing an interesting bite.  

6 cups of mixed greens including romaine, baby spinach and arugula

4 scallions, roughly chopped
12 red and yellow cherry tomatoes, quartered
2 purple organic carrots peeled and very thinly sliced
10 basil leaves, roughly chopped
6 thin slices salami, diced
6 bocconcini mozzarella balls, quartered
1 cup garbanzo beans
3 or 4 anchovies diced (optional)

Tante Mimi’s Vinaigrette:
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced or put through a press
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2/3 cup Extra Virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon anchovy paste  (Optional)
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine. In a separate bowl, combine Dijon, garlic and vinegar, whisk to combine. Slowly pour in the olive oil, whisking the entire time until emulsified, or you can put all the dressing ingredients in a small prep food processor and blend until emulsified.  Season the salad with sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste and toss with just enough vinaigrette to coat everything.

Serves 4