This recipe was inspired by a salad at my favorite sandwich shop/pork emporium Tails & Trotters. It’s a basic Italian chopped salad, but is hearty enough to eat as a meal, extremely versatile, and refreshing. While hearty enough for a meal, it also pairs really well with pasta or pizza 🙂
Crunchy lettuce, thinly sliced cured meats, chunks of cheese, crunchy veggies, fresh herbs and it all gets tossed in a simple Italian vinaigrette. It’s a great way to use up leftover sandwich meat and cheese and you can throw in any leftover veggies/lettuce you want to use up. Pair it with a crusty piece of bread (with olive oil for dunking!) for a hearty dinner salad.
Ingredient highlight
Iceberg lettuce! This lettuce has a bad rep for having no nutritional value. While it might not be as nutrient-dense as it’s other leafy green friends, it does contain vitamin A, folate, potassium, and calcium. It also has a high water content, making it hydrating and refreshing. I love pairing it with other greens/lettuces (like radicchio) to have a balance of crunchy, refreshing lettuce and more grassy, flavorful lettuce.
Servings 4 People
Prep Time 15 minutes Ingredients
- 1 head fennel, halved lengthwise cored, thinly sliced (about 3 cups)
- ½ red onion thinly sliced
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 small head iceberg lettuce or 2 heads romaine, thinly sliced (about 4 cups)
- 1 small head radicchio thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
- 1 cucumber peeled, halved lengthwise, seeds removed, thinly sliced (about 1 ½ cups)*
- 4 oz prosciutto salami, and/or ham thinly sliced
- 3 oz provolone cheese, thinly sliced
- 1 cup thinly sliced basil
- ¼ cup Mama Lils Peppers (or olives or pepperoncinis) (optional)**
- Black pepper
- Crusty bread or baguette for serving (optional)
For the dressing:
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp oregano or italian seasoning
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- *I’ve also made this with watermelon radish and it was delicious. You can use any raw crunchy veg.
- **These little locally made pickled peppers level up any salad, avocado toast, and taco. Highly recommended!
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, add fennel, red onion, vinegar and salt. Mix to combine. Set aside to marinate for at least 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl, add the lettuce, radicchio, cucumber, meat, and cheese.
- Add all dressing ingredients to a jar with a tight fitting lid. Shake vigorously to combine.
- Add fennel/red onion (leaving the liquid behind) to the large bowl. Pour ⅔ of dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Taste and add more dressing, if needed.
- Serve topped with basil, peppers/olives/pepperoncinis (if using), freshly grated black pepper, and a side of crusty bread (if using).
Items you can prep ahead (optional)
- Prep and wash your lettuce mix
- Make dressing
- Prep and pickle your fennel and red onion (you can do this ahead and just store in the fridge)
- Prep your cucumber or radish
- Slice up your meat and cheese
Substitutions:
- To make vegetarian: substitute the meat with Crispy Chickpeas!
- To make vegan: see above + skip the cheese and add avocado.
- While hearty enough for a meal, it’s also delicious paired with pasta or pizza.
- Use any combination of lettuce, but try to have a fresh crunchy lettuce in there like romaine, little gems, or frisee.
- If you don’t have red wine vinegar, you can substitute with champagne vinegar, white wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar
- Use any cured meats and cheese you’d like here
- For the cucumber/radish – you can use any raw crunchy veggie here
Storage:
-
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer:
- Store leftover dressing salad in the fridge and eat within 2 days (otherwise it will get too soggy – see notes below)
Leftovers + Repurposing:
- If you don’t plan on eating this all at once, only dress however much salad you think you’ll eat. Since many of the veggies/lettuce has high water content, the dressing will draw water out if it sits overnight.
- If you do have leftover dressed salad, it will still be fine to eat the next day – it will just be very wet. Still delicious!
- Eat it for dinner with pasta and enjoy for lunch the next day with a slice of crusty bread.
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