Italian Chopped Salad
This salad is like the best Italian deli sandwich without the bread and is inspired by the salad at a local pizza chain.
Ingredients
- 1 large head of romaine lettuce cut in small bite-sized pieces
- 4 ounces salami chopped in ¼-inch dice
- 4 ounces fresh pecorino cheese (not aged) chopped in ¼-inch dice
- ½ cup cooked chickpeas See notes
- ½ cup roasted red peppers chopped in ¼-inch dice
- ¼ cup peppadew peppers chopped small
- ¼ cup red onion chopped in ¼-inch dice
- 1 medium tomato chopped in ¼-inch dice
For the Dijon Vinaigrette
- 1 cup olive oil
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon granulated garlic
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- After everything is diced, mix in a large bowl.
- Mix all the ingredients for the vinaigrette in a jar and shake till well combined.
- Pour about ½ cup of vinaigrette over the salad ingredients and stir to mix well. Taste, and only add more vinaigrette as needed.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- I like to use romaine lettuce because of the way it holds up to the other ingredients and the vinaigrette, but green leaf lettuce is a good choice, too.
- You can make substitutions if you want … pepperoni instead of salami, mozzarella instead of pecorino, fresh red peppers instead of roasted, pepperoncinis instead of peppadews, etc … and it will still be delicious. It just won't be THIS salad.
- Peppadews are small red peppers that are slightly sweet and slightly spicy. Pepperoncinis are not at all slightly sweet and sometimes too spicy.
- I don't mind having some of the vinaigrette kept over in the fridge because I use it so often on most salads. However, feel free to scale the recipe down if you prefer.
- To cook dried chickpeas, soak ⅓ cup for 8-12 hours, then bring them to a low boil in a large pot. Simmer for 1-2 hours on the stove (depending on how soft you want them). A slow cooker can also be used: set on High for 4 hours, or on Low for 8-9. Another alternative is using the Instant Pot. Set it on manual for 12 minutes.