I’m obsessed with pickled red onion! It's delicious on sandwiches, as a side or on a salad–which was my inspiration for this week's feature salad.

Pickled red onions are super easy to make plus they have a very long shelf life. Boil equal parts sugar and white vinegar until the sugar dissolves. Let the mixture cool, add salt and pepper, and pour over thinly sliced red onion. Store overnight in a jar or other airtight container.

This featured salad begins with fresh, crisp produce–Romaine lettuce, carrots, red cabbage, cucumber, and grape tomatoes. Bring on the veggies, I say! Now, even though the pickled onions seem like the secret ingredient in this salad, it's really about the combination of all the components (yup, I'm talking about layering again).

Do you like croutons on your salad? House-made croutons are definitely a show stopper and very easy to make. You can use any bread, but we use a ciabatta roll, cut into 1" squares, toasted in the oven for seven minutes. Mix olive oil, melted butter, parmesan cheese, fresh parsley and salt and pepper. Toss the toasted bread cubes in this mixture and bake for another seven minutes, toss again and finish another seven minutes in the oven, or until you achieve the perfect crunch. Since every oven is different, you might need to adjust your baking times.

If you want to add some protein to this salad (or any salad for that matter) toasted chick peas add a savory, creamy yet toasty texture and balance the crunchy croutons and the acidic onions. Drain the chick peas, toss them with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake until they are toasty. As a bonus, we tossed these in the leftover butter mixture from making the croutons.

Shaved sharp parmesan cheese finishes this salad, and we chose Caesar dressing to top all of these fabulous components. Caesar dressing gives it the perfect combination of creaminess, salt and acidity. If you would like some extra protein with this salad, add sliced chicken, sirloin, or more chick peas, and it’s a very satisfying meal!

Caesar Dressing
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/8 cup dijon mustard
3 cloves garlic
3 lemons (juice and zest)
3 tsp. salt
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup olive oil (adjust if necessary)

Elevate your Caesar Salad