Zesty Italian Chopped Salad Parmesan (Printable)
Crisp Italian chopped salad with Parmesan, roasted peppers, pepperoncini and a zesty lemon–red wine vinaigrette.
# What You'll Need:
→ Vegetables
01 - 2 cups romaine lettuce, chopped
02 - 1 cup radicchio, chopped
03 - 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
04 - 1 cup cucumber, diced
05 - 1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped
06 - 1/2 cup roasted red peppers, sliced
07 - 1/2 cup yellow bell pepper, chopped
08 - 1/2 cup pepperoncini peppers, sliced
→ Cheese
09 - 1/2 cup shaved Parmesan cheese
→ Dressing
10 - 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
11 - 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
12 - 1 tablespoon lemon juice
13 - 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
14 - 1 teaspoon dried oregano
15 - 1 garlic clove, minced
16 - 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
17 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
18 - 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
→ Optional Additions
19 - 1/3 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
# How to Make It:
01 - In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, dried oregano, minced garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper until fully emulsified. Set aside.
02 - In a large salad bowl, toss together the chopped romaine lettuce, radicchio, halved cherry tomatoes, diced cucumber, finely chopped red onion, sliced roasted red peppers, chopped yellow bell pepper, and sliced pepperoncini peppers.
03 - Scatter the shaved Parmesan and sliced Kalamata olives over the assembled vegetables.
04 - Pour the prepared dressing over the salad just before serving. Gently toss to coat all ingredients evenly.
05 - Serve immediately, garnished with additional shaved Parmesan if desired.
# Expert Suggestions:
01 -
- The combination of pepperoncini and radicchio gives every bite a tangy kick that wakes up your palate without overwhelming it.
- It comes together in twenty minutes flat with zero cooking, which means you get all the reward and none of the heat.
- The zesty dressing doubles as a marinade, so you will want to keep a jar of it in your fridge at all times.
02 -
- If you dress the salad more than ten minutes before serving, the radicchio and romaine will weep and you will end up with a soggy puddle instead of a crisp chop.
- Shaving your own Parmesan from a wedge instead of buying pre grated makes a noticeable difference in both texture and flavor.
03 -
- Finely chop everything to roughly the same size so you get a little bit of every ingredient in each forkful, which is the whole point of a chopped salad.
- Let the dressed salad sit for exactly two minutes before serving so the flavors marry, but the greens have not yet surrendered their crunch.