Big Italian Salad

By jojomail1

The homemade vinaigrette is what makes it so good — think of it as a much, much improved version of that bottled Italian dressing sitting in your fridge door. It only takes a few minutes to make, yet it’s ten times better and so much healthier for you.

Ingredients

• For the Dressing
• 1 cup loosely packed fresh Italian parsley, roughly chopped
• 10 big leaves fresh basil
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, best quality such as Pompeian Gourmet
• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, best quality such as Lucini or Colavita
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1-1/2 teaspoons honey
• For the Salad
• 1 large head romaine lettuce, washed, dried and cut into large, bite-sized pieces
• 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup chopped hothouse cucumbers
• 1 large carrot, peeled into ribbons
• Handful grape tomatoes, halved
• Handful pitted olives
• Ricotta Salata (see note) or Feta, crumbled to taste

Details

Adapted from onceuponachef.com

Preparation

Step 1

Make the dressing: Combine all dressing ingredients in a food processor and blitz to blend.
Place all salad ingredients 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. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Reserve leftover dressing for another use.
Note: 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.