Description
A vibrant and flavorful Vegetarian Italian Chopped Salad featuring romaine, radicchio, cherry tomatoes, chickpeas, and provolone cheese, tossed in a zesty Italian vinaigrette. Perfect as a side dish or light meal with a satisfying mix of textures and tangy flavors.
Ingredients
Scale
Salad:
- 10 ounces chopped romaine lettuce (about 2 medium or 3 small heads, chopped)
- ½ medium head of radicchio, finely chopped (about 2 cups)
- ½ medium red onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
- 2 ribs celery, chopped
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup stemmed and thinly sliced pickled pepperoncini peppers
- ⅓ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed and roughly chopped
- 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained, or 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas
- 1 cup (4 ounces) ¼″ cubes of provolone cheese (optional)
Italian Vinaigrette:
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ⅓ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 10 twists freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt, more to taste
- Pinch of red pepper flakes, for heat (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare the salad ingredients: Wash and chop the romaine lettuce, finely chop the radicchio, chop the red onion and celery, thinly slice the cherry tomatoes and pepperoncini peppers, rinse and roughly chop the sun-dried tomatoes, and rinse and drain the chickpeas.
- Make the Italian vinaigrette: In a bowl or jar, whisk together the extra-virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, dried oregano, honey, pressed or minced garlic, freshly ground black pepper, salt, and optional red pepper flakes until well combined.
- Combine salad and dressing: In a large mixing bowl, combine all the chopped salad ingredients including the provolone cheese if using. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and toss thoroughly to evenly coat all the ingredients.
- Serve: Transfer the salad to a serving bowl or individual plates and serve immediately as a vibrant side dish or light meal.
Notes
- To make the salad vegan, omit the provolone cheese and substitute maple syrup for honey in the vinaigrette.
- If short on time, use pre-chopped romaine/radicchio mix and chop further into bite-sized pieces.
- Radicchio adds a slightly bitter flavor that enhances the salad, but if unavailable or disliked, it can be omitted.
- The salad is best served fresh but can be stored covered in the refrigerator for up to one day.
- Adjust salt and pepper to taste, and add more red pepper flakes if extra heat is desired.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 220 kcal
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 320 mg
- Fat: 14 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 20 g
- Fiber: 6 g
- Protein: 8 g
- Cholesterol: 12 mg
