Italian Chopped Salad

I found this recipe on Pinterest and I have been looking for good salads to take to work with me lately and I found this one and thought it would be easy enough to make. It was definitely easy and it looks like you could add pretty much whatever you want, to your liking. I added more pepperoncinis to mine and also added the rest of the bag of the mini pepperoni for more meat. I left out the artichoke hearts since I'm not a big fan. All in all, this salad was really really good! It lasted through 3 lunches at work and I'm eating the last of it for dinner tonight.

Italian Chopped Salad (8 servings):

*Dressing
1/2 c red wine vinegar
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp dry Italian seasoning
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
1/2 c olive oil

*Salad
1 c ditalini or other small pasta
3 c chopped romaine hearts
1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 (7.5 oz) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 c grape tomatoes, quartered
1 c cubed salami
1 c cubed Provolone
3/4 c chopped cucumber
1/2 c mini pepperoni
1/2 c sliced green onions
Pepperoncini peppers

To make dressing: Combine all the ingredients except the salt, pepper and olive oil in a blender. Season with salt and pepper. Blend to combine. Slowly stream in the olive oil to combine. Alternately, add all the ingredients to a jar and shake until completely combined and slightly thickened.

For salad: Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water. In a large bowl, combine the romaine, chickpeas, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, salami, cheese, cucumber, pepperoni and green onions. Top with desired amount of dressing and toss to coat. (I only added the dressing before I ate each serving to make sure the salad wasn't soggy!)

Serve the salad topped with desired amount of pepperoncini. Enjoy!




Dressing after it has been blended...






Enjoy!...