Big Italian Salad

Crunchy, colorful, and bursting with flavor, this salad is the perfect side to brighten any hearty Italian dinner, from pasta to pizza.

Servings: servings

Ingredients

For the Vinaigrette

1 cup loosely packed fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, peeled
⅓ cup red wine vinegar, best quality such as Pompeian Gourmet
¾ cup extra virgin olive oil, best quality such as Lucini or Colavita
Heaping ¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons honey

For the Salad

1 large head romaine lettuce, or 3 hearts, washed, dried and cut into large, bite-sized pieces
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup seeded and chopped hothouse cucumbers
1 to 2 carrots, peeled into ribbons
Handful grape tomatoes, halved
Handful pitted olives
Ricotta Salata or Feta, crumbled to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the dressing: Combine all dressing ingredients in a food processor and blitz to blend.
Place all of the salad ingredients except for the cheese in a large bowl. Right before serving, add about half of the dressing and toss well. Add more dressing little by little as necessary; be sure to dress greens very generously, otherwise salad will be bland. Toss in the cheese, then taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary.

Notes

Ricotta salata is an Italian sheep's milk cheese that has a salty, slightly tangy flavor, almost like a dry Italian feta. It is not the same as the wet ricotta in the tub. You can find it at Whole Foods, gourmet grocers or specialty cheese shops.

Nutritional information was calculated assuming ½ cup of ricotta salata and all of the dressing was used.

Nutrition Information

Per serving (6 servings)Calories: 338kcalCarbohydrates: 12gProtein: 5gFat: 31gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 393mgFiber: 5gSugar: 6g

Nutritional Data Disclaimer

This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.

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