La Scala. It means the stairs. It’s also a restaurant in Beverly Hills so I’ll place hold a joke here about social climbing. Opened in 1956, they are known for an eponymous chopped salad made famous by the everyone from Judy Garland to the Kardashians. This salad is no joke, it’s both hearty and flavorful, and I want you to have this in your repertoire as $12 in ingredients can make 4-6 salads so…you do the lunchtime math. This is definitely an eat-at-your-desk meal that you can eat on repeat and doesn’t cause any drama. We’ll save that for the fans and onlookers trying to get a mid-day peek at Kim with some lettuce in her cleavage.
La Scala Chopped Salad
Serves 4-6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
Iceberg lettuce: one head
Salami: one 6oz package
White onion: a handful of slivers
Mozzerella or Parm: a sprinkling
Chickpeas: 1-2 cans
Leon* Dressing: six ounces
(Oregano, salt, pepper, EVOO, red/champagne wine vinegar, splash of cold water)
Method:
Chiffonade lettuce and thinly slice salami and onion.
Open and drain can/s of chick peas and use 1/3 to 1/2 of a can for each serving.
Shread mozz or parm, if needed.
Make dressing with vinegar, oregano, salt, pepper
Assemble salad.
*AI says "Leon" from La Scala refers to Jean Leon, the founder of the legendary La Scala restaurant in Beverly Hills, California. He was a Spanish immigrant who built a renowned restaurant that became a favorite of Hollywood celebrities and also founded a Spanish winery producing Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.
PS: his winery in Penedés was sold to the Torres family after his death. The Chardonnay grapes on his "Gigi" (named after his daughter) estate came from Corton Charlemagne cuttings.
I worked at La Scala when I first arrived in LA. Both, Malibu and Beverly Hills. Jean was a piece of work. Born Ceferino Carrión in Penedés, Spain, he reinvented himself as “Jean León” when he hit LA and worked at Romanoff’s: the famous dining spot where the famous went to disappear. Chandeliers, martinis… Survival, you see. Ceferino had Franco at his back. Besides, Jean León was more musical. And yes: the chopped salad was a damn good salad. Great post. Thanks.