Maybe it's just because I'm a girl, but I love almost any kind of salad -- and the more ingredients, the better. "Chopped salad," a catchall for any salad boasting a rich variety of chopped vegetables, is my favorite. This recipe was inspired by a low-fat dish I first encountered several years ago at Gourmet. Created by chef Ed Brown of New York's Sea Grill Restaurant, its most interesting ingredients were chickpeas and diced dill pickles. As a big fan of crunch, I transported those two items to my everyday chopped salad and then, for good measure, piled on some feta cheese and pita croutons. If you find feta cheese too strong or too salty, substitute ricotta salata, an aged ricotta cheese that has a texture similar to feta but a notch or two less sharpness. As for the pita croutons, use them in any salad, as a garnish for soup or as a partner to a dip.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup plus 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sweet or hot paprika
• 3 (6-inch) pita breads with pockets
• Kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 6 cups loosely packed arugula
• 6 cups loosely packed mesclun
• 2 large red bell peppers, coarsely chopped
• 2 large yellow bell peppers, coarsely chopped
• 1 pound cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1 1/2 cups cooked or drained, rinsed and dried canned chickpeas
• 1 1/2 cups crumbled feta cheese
• 1 1/2 cups diced dill pickle
• 3 cups cooked, diced chicken

Directions