Patrick Spagon | Central Texas EC

A big, tasty salad with lots of toppings is sometimes just the thing to make dinner special.

4 strips bacon
10–12 romaine lettuce leaves, washed
4 medium tomatoes
2–3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
12 pitted black olives, halved
3 tablespoons grated mozzarella cheese
1 cup blue cheese dressing
3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 1/2 cups garlic croutons
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

1. Cook bacon until crisp. Crumble and set aside.

2. Tear lettuce leaves into bite-size pieces and arrange in a large, shallow salad bowl. Cut tomatoes into bite-size wedges and arrange on top of lettuce. Drizzle olive oil over tomatoes. Add salt and pepper, preferably freshly ground.

3. Arrange olives in a circle near edge of bowl. Sprinkle mozzarella over top. Pour blue cheese dressing over all. Sprinkle blue cheese bits over dressing.

4. Add croutons and crumbled bacon evenly over top of salad. Finish with a sprinkle of chopped fresh chives. Serve immediately.

Serves 4–6.