Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Chopped Italian Salad


Why is it that salads are better when they are chopped?   I just love a good chopped salad.   This one is really awesome, even Matt commented how good it was and of course he was less than thrilled when I told him salad was all we were having for dinner.   But he agreed it was one of the best salads we have made yet.   The flavor combos are awesome together.  The fresh mozzarella and salami were my favorite parts.  You could even do pepperoni instead of salami if you prefer.  Heck I might even do pepperoni and salami next time!   Next time I will also only use one garlic clove in the dressing it was a bit too garlicky for us- like we both got in bed with stank breath.
Otherwise everything was just perfect. This would be a great salad for entertaining because it looks so pretty before you toss it together.  I assembled ours that morning and let it sit in the fridge til dinner time and tossed it together then and added the dressing.  A delicious, healthy, fresh salad.
Enjoy!

|| C H O P P E D   I T A L I A N   S A L A D ||
 adapted via the cozy apron

Salad ingredients:
3 romaine hearts, halved and chopped into small dice
  cherry tomatoes halved or quartered depending on the size
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped into small dice
½ red onion, chopped into small dice
1/3 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped into small dice
tiny fresh mozzarella balls halved (or you can use a big ball and dice)
4 ounces (about ¼ pound) Italian dry salami, chopped into small dice
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped fine
peperconcinis diced


Herbed Red Wine Vinaigrette ingredients:
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, pressed through garlic press
¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
3/4 teaspoon sugar (I left the sugar out)
 Pinch ground black pepper and salt
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation:
-In a medium bowl, add all ingredients through salt and pepper, and whisk to combine; next begin slowly adding the oil, whisking until vinaigrette is emulsified.
To Assemble:
-Pour the vinaigrette over the chopped salad greens and thoroughly toss to coat; check and adjust the salt/pepper.


20 comments:

Amanda | Kids and Cabernet said...

Thanks for the recipe! It looked so good on your IG. Have a good day!

Amanda Elizabeth - Meet @ the Barre said...

I agree I could eat a chopped salad every day! Thanks for the recipe...saved it! :-)

Nickie said...

I'm trying really hard to eat healthier. I will certainly be making this salad soon.
Thanks!!

Melissa W. said...

I.love.you.! This is right up my alley!

Chris cringes when I say salad also! I about wet my pets the other day when he asked me to make him one of my juices from my Ninja!

Unknown said...

yum! this looks so good and a salad i think my husband would love! xo jillian - cornflake dreams

Alyson Jenkins said...

Yum! Does Sterling eat the salads too?

Melly said...

I was hoping you were going to post this! I'm making this asap!!!!

caycee said...

A salad never looked so good!!

Laura at Simply Lowcountry said...

This looks fantastic, thanks for sharing. We absolutely love your chopped Greek and Mexican chopped salads. So yummy! I think chopped salads are so much better because each bite has some yumminess!!

Xo-L
www.simplylowcountry.com

megan said...

Cannot wait to try this one!

Delta Daisies said...

I will definitely be making this! Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Looks delicious!!! Making this for lunch :)

Unknown said...

looks so good! on my must make "new recipes" list :-)

Meredith said...

Just pinned this, can't wait to try it!

Val said...

Being Italian a chopped salad is my life line - I like your version. It will be my dinner tomorrow night. MMMMMMMMM

Chicago Mom (Heather) said...

I am drooling!! This looks amazing. I love chopped salads and this has all the goodies in it.

Turners in the Country said...

Dang girl, your chopping skills are on point!!! Everything is the perfect small size, I love it! Thanks for another great salad inspiration. :)

pretty little things said...

mmmm I love a good chopped antipasta salad!! xo

http://allthingsprettyandlittle.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

Yummy, that's a healthy recipe, got to prepare my kitchen.

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Unknown said...

I have all of the ingredients for this! Definitely making it soon!