Alexis's Chopped Salad

This chopped vegetable salad is one of Martha’s favorites. The recipe comes from her daughter, Alexis, and the colorful mix of fresh summer vegetables tastes as good as it looks. String beans, wax beans, and corn are blanched, and the beans, bell peppers, cucumber, and tomatoes are cut into bite-size pieces so you get a mix of colors and flavors in every bite. The dressing couldn’t be simpler: Extra-virgin olive oil and delicate rice wine vinegar are the foundation, sliced jalapeño and plenty of chopped cilantro add a subtle bite. Mix it right in the salad bowl with the vegetables—that means fewer dishes to clean.

Prepping the Vegetables for This Chopped Salad

Corn: You'll blanch two ears of corn until the kernels are just tender and deliciously sweet. Like she always does when cooking corn, Martha sneaks in a bit of sugar along with the salt to enhance its natural flavor. Plunging it into an ice bath stops the cooking, ensuring a crisp and juicy result.

Beans: Before cooking, trim off both ends and cut the beans into quarter-inch pieces. They'll take only a minute to cook before they're ready for the ice bath.

Cucumber: Peel the cucumber, then cut it in half lengthwise and use a small spoon to scoop out the seeds—this removes the watery pulp which can dilute the dressing. Next, cut the cucumber into planks and dice into quarter-inch pieces.

Tomatoes: With their thin skins and minimal amount of seeds, plum tomatoes are ideal for this salad. Cut each one in half and squeeze out the seeds before chopping.

Onion: Finely chopped red onion adds a punchy bite to this salad. If you're sensitive to the taste of raw onion, soak it in ice water for 10 minutes after chopping, then drain and pat dry before using.

Bell peppers: To prep each bell pepper, cut off the top and bottom and pull out the core. Cut a slit down the side and lay it flat, skin side down; use your knife to trim off any of the spongy pith that remains before cutting the pepper into strips and dicing.

Jalapeño: Slice the pepper in half lengthwise and remove the core, then chop it finely. If you prefer more heat, leave the seeds in.

The Best Vinegar for This Salad

Milder than other wine vinegars, rice wine vinegar, often just called rice vinegar, adds just the right amount of acidity while letting the flavor of each vegetable shine in this salad. Be sure to use unseasoned rice vinegar; the seasoned variety contains sugar and salt and is better suited for sushi rice.