Italian Chopped Salad — sea salt and honey

Jan 8

Jan 8 Italian Chopped Salad

Happy new year, friends! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. I feel like we raced through the holidays—and BOOM! It’s 2020!

I’m sharing a recipe for my favorite salad today, not because of a “new year, new you!” mentality or any sort of January weight loss goals, but because really and truly, it is one of my favorite things to eat for lunch. I crave this salad at all times of the year. In fact, I used to order something similar from the restaurant Parm when I worked in the city, and while most people would crave Parm’s chicken parmesan, I’d crave this. Their Sunday Salad.

Now before you roll your eyes, hear me out! My version is a take on the classic antipasto salad you’ll find at any old-school Italian restaurant worth its salt. It’s filled with tons of yummy fixings (like pepperoni! And mozzarella! And artichokes!) and tossed with a zesty garlic-oregano dressing that you won’t be able to get enough of. It will keep you full until dinner time and even then, you might just want more of this salad. So here it is! My classic Italian Chopped Salad. Ora di mangiare!

Italian Chopped Salad

Recipe by Sea Salt + Honey

Serves: 4 people
Prep Time: 10 minutes

Salad Ingredients:

2 bags pre-washed butter lettuce mix or iceberg lettuce mix
3/4 stick Hormel Rosa Grande pepperoni, diced
6 oz small mozzarella pearls (I like BelGioioso pearls, but the Belgioioso ciliegine is great too! Just halve those because they’re larger.)
6 oz marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
1/4 cup jarred pepperoncini peppers (such as Mezzetta), chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 cucumber, seeded and chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Dressing Ingredients:

1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp dried oregano
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions:

Toss all salad ingredients together. Set aside.

Put the minced garlic on a cutting board and sprinkle 1/2 tsp salt over top. Using a sharp knife, mix the minced garlic with the salt by running your knife back and forth over the two ingredients, forming a paste. Sprinkle the oregano over the paste. Run the knife back and forth over the paste and oregano until they’re mixed. (This will soften the oregano and allow the paste to mix best within the dressing.) Add the paste to a small bowl. Add vinegar. While whisking the vinegar and paste, drizzle in the olive oil. Dress the salad and serve immediately.