Stetson Chopped Salad

Dressing

• 1/4 cup basil pesto
• 1/2 shallot, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup aioli (see note)
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Salad

• 1/3 cup cooked Israeli couscous
• 2 ounces chopped arugula
• 1/3 cup diced Roma tomatoes
• 1/3 cup diced smoked salmon
• 1 tablespoon crumbled Asiago cheese
• 1 tablespoon toasted pepitas
• 2 tablespoons dried black currants
• 2 tablespoons super-sweet dried corn

Note: Aioli is like garlicky mayonnaise. Look for it in gourmet food stores, or make your own by blending together 1 to 2 finely minced garlic cloves, 1/3 cup olive oil and 1/4 cup mayonnaise.

For the dressing: Combine pesto, shallot and aioli in a food processor; blend thoroughly. With motor running, add buttermilk. Add pepper and lemon juice; blend to combine. Season with salt and pepper.  Makes about 1 1/4 c.

For the salad: Arrange ingredients in separate rows on a large platter. Toss salad at the table, using about half of the batch of dressing. (Refrigerate remaining dressing up to three days.) Makes 2 servings.

Serves 2.

VERDICT:  From AZCentral.com.  This is my attempt to recreate the incredible salad I had at Cowboy Ciao at the Phoenix Airport.  I made the dressing as indicated, making my own aioli.  It was good, but nothing like the dressing on the salad I had.  I think it'd be fine, and a lot less work, to substitute a pre-made buttermilk ranch.  I did not use smoked salmon, and substituted avocado.  Sadly, I couldn't find dried corn, which was really good--almost crouton-y--in the salad I had and used canned corn instead.  Finally, I didn't really follow the proportions above, but guessed by eye.  Mix together the cheese, pepitas, and currants before adding them to the plate.  Keep!