Classic Chopped Italian Salad
Classic Chopped Italian Salad
- Total Time: 50 minutes
Description
Salads come in many shapes and sizes. Some are almost an afterthought of lettuce and fridge-drawer vegetables, but the Italian chopped salad is much more iconic. A thick bed of dressed Romaine lettuce topped with ALL the good toppings. A good chopped salad will have a mix of tangy pickled vegetables, cured meats, cheeses, and crunchy fresh vegetables.
While this salad was made to be served alongside hearty fare like pizza, chicken parmesan, or pasta dishes, it is plenty hearty enough to be the star of dinner on its own. It also makes wonderful lunches!
Homemade Italian Vinaigrette
I make my vinaigrette by combining fresh lemon juice, mustard, vinegar, olive oil, sugar, dried oregano, salt, and pepper in a glass jar with a lid. Shake it up for a few seconds to combine the ingredients and its ready to go!
You can definitely store this in the fridge for up to 1 week, but it’ll separate and solidify in the fridge so run the jar under some warm water and give it a shake to bring the dressing back to room temperature before serving.
You don’t have to make your own vinaigrette for this salad though. There is enough going on here that you could get away with a good quality store-bought vinaigrette like Newman’s Own. You don’t want a vinaigrette that’s overly sweet, and it should have lots of herbs and acidity.
Ingredients
1 lemon, juiced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
For the salad
2 heads romaine lettuce, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
4 ounces genoa salami, chopped
8 ounces fresh mozzarella, chopped
1/2 cup sliced pepperoncini
1/4 cup sliced roasted red peppers
10 fresh basil leaves, chopped
Instructions
Making the dressing:
In a jar with a lid add the lemon juice, mustard, vinegar, sugar, oregano, olive oil, kosher, salt, and black pepper. Add the lid and shake for 10 seconds until all of the ingredients are thoroughly combined. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.
Make the salad:
Add the chopped Romaine to a large bowl and drizzle with a few tablespoons of dressing. Top the romaine with the red onion, chickpeas, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, pepperoncini, roasted red peppers and basil. Stir together well before serving. Add more dressing, if desired.
Serve:
Serve the salad in bowls on its own or with pasta or pizza for a classic Italian meal.
Leftovers and storage:
If you are planning to store this salad for later, I would recommend storing it without the dressing.
If you do dress it and have some leftovers, that’s okay—the dressed salad will keep for 1-2 days in the fridge. The greens just wilt pretty quickly once they are dressed.
Notes
N/A
- Prep Time: 25 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
