Herb-Loaded Chopped Italian Salad

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My husband and I will occasionally attempt a month long paleo-esqe diet when we feel the need to slim down. To keep things manageable, we always select one that allows “cheat”  meals (and  wine too). A topic of great debate during this month is what to put on the cheat meal menus. My go to option, which I will argue for zealously, is the Sicilian Sub from the Lost Dog Cafe. I’m pretty sure this might be the best sandwich in the world  – or at least it seems that way in my carb deprived state.  So what does my go to 800 calorie Italian sub splurge meal have to do with this chopped Italian salad? Simple – it was the inspiration behind this recipe.

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Herb-Loaded Chopped Italian Salad Inspiration

I started started seeing “Italian Sub Salads” in my pinterest feed a few months ago and thought to myself – could I make a chopped Italian salad that was just as good as my favorite sub? As a huge salad lover, I was intrigued by the challenge and began experimenting right away. I began my quest by pouring through my massive cookbook collection in search of inspiration. After perusing my Italian collection and favorite salad books I had some ideas on what to include in my salad but I felt the need to read more. Eventually I came across a recipe on the internet that seemed pretty close to I was looking for. It was “Nancy’s Chopped Salad” from the Smitten Kitchen, one of my favorite blogs. I knew as soon as I read the recipe that it would be great (I think it was the 4 cloves of garlic in the vinaigrette that tipped me off.) In the end, I had to make several modifications to achieve my desired result. These included modifying the vinaigrette, adding a few more toppings, and loading the salad with herbs from my garden. Before I shared my recipe, I will review what I have learned from my research and experimentation with chopped Italian salads in case you are looking to experiment as well.

On Chopped Italian Salads

Based on my research, I have come to think of chopped Italian salads as being the sum of four parts:

The Core Ingredients: Pretty much every chopped Italian salad recipe I saw had the following ingredients

• Meat: typically salami and/or pepperoni; sometimes turkey or ham too (basically any meat you would find on a Italian sub). I included smoked turkey in one of my experiments. I was good but I think it took away from the Italian-ness.
• Cheese: typically provolone, sometimes Parmesan or mozzarella. I use smoked mozzarella because I LOVE IT.
• Beans: typically chickpeas but sometimes white beans
• Tomatoes: typically halved cherry tomatoes, sometimes diced tomato
• Red Onion and Peperoncinis: always, always, always

The Base: Most chopped salads has some kind of lettuce type base. Romaine, iceberg, spinach and radicchio were most common but you could certainly experiment with others. I used fennel once and that was pretty tasty.

The Extras: This is where you can really get carried away. I generally try to take a less is more approach with my salad creations but artichoke hearts and black olives were non-negotiable for me – they had to be included. Other extras include, but are not limited to bell peppers, sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms, pine-nuts, hearts of palm, capers, anchovies, and green onions.

The Vinaigrette: Most recipes call for a vinaigrette made with red wine vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice and some seasoning. Oregano is also almost always included (as it should be). I went a little rogue on my vinaigrette recipe using apple cider vinegar and a ton of herbs.

Herb-Loaded Chopped Italian Salad

• Prep Time: 40 minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 6-12 servings 1x
• Cuisine: Italian

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Description

This salad is LARGE! You will need a big mixing bowl when assembling. I think it can serves 6 as a main course or up to 12 as a side. You can scale it down but I think it keeps fairly well and like to have left overs for lunch. 

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

The Salad

• ½ small head iceberg lettuce, washed, cored, and cut into bite-size strips
• 1 small head radicchio, washed, cored, and cut into ribbons
• 1 15 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 4 oz can sliced black olives
• 1 6 oz jar marinated artichoke hearts, roughly chopped
• 5–10 peperoncinis, sliced into rings
• ½ lb salami, sliced into narrow strips (about ¼″ wide)*
• ½ lb smoked mozzarella, sliced into narrow strips (about ¼″ wide)*
• 10 oz cherry tomatoes, washed and halved and sprinkled with salt
• 1 small red onion, peeled, halved and sliced paper thin*
• 10 to 15  basil leaves, cut into strips
• ¼ cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped (optional)
• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano (optional)

The Vinaigrette

• 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• 1–2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
• 1–2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped (approx 5 to 10 leaves)
• ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar*
• ⅓ cup good quality extra virgin  olive oil
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ¼ tsp red pepper

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Instructions

Vinaigrette

1. Combine the garlic, herbs, and vinegar in a small bowl 
2. Blitz the mixture with an immersion blender until pureed.  If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can use of food processor. 
3. Add the lemon juice, salt, black pepper, and red pepper.  Stir to combine.
4. Slowly whisk in olive oil. Set aside.

Salad

1. Combine the salami, cheese, red onion, chickpeas, and fresh herbs in a large bowl. Pour dressing over ingredients and toss to combine. 
2. Once ingredients are well mixed and coated add the artichoke hearts, olives, peperoncinis, and tomatoes.
3. Lastly, slowly mix in the lettuce and radicchio. 
4. Serve immediately.

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Notes

I used sliced Genoa salami from the deli to keep things easy and because I like the longer strips you can achieve. You can also use hard salami. Just peel it, slice it thin, and then cut into ¼″ wide ribbons.

You can find really good smoked mozzarella at Whole Foods and other high end grocery stores and specialty shops. You can use provolone as a substitute.

I find I can slice red onion extremely thin with a good serrated knife. You can also use a mandolin for the job if you prefer.

While I have a MASSIVE collection of vinegars, I’ve been out of red wine vinegar for several years now. I realized by accident that ACV is a good substitute and now I prefer it. Maybe someday I will come across a recipe where the swap doesn’t work but it hasn’t happened yet. 

This salad takes a bit of time to prepare with all the chopping and blending but I think it is well worth the effort. I hope you give this chopped Italian salad a try and love it as much as I do! I won’t claim it’s health food but it’s probably healthier than a loaded Italian sub.