This is another fabulous Dave find which comes from the folks over at Once Upon a Time Chef. We ended up using assorted organic greens instead of the iceberg lettuce but either works well. The most important thing about this salad is the dressing which is amazing. It’s delicious, fresh, light, flavourful and super easy to make. We used feta cheese instead of ricotta and although we didn’t add sliced boiled eggs or anchovies you easily could and you would have a nice, big, fat dinner salad. So thanks to Once Upon a Time Chef for sharing this recipe because it has quickly become our summer favourite. Ingredients
For the Dressing
1 cup loosely packed fresh flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped (about one small bunch)
10 big leaves fresh basil
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, peeled
¼ cup red wine vinegar, good quality such as Pompeian Gourmet
¾ cup extra virgin olive oil, good quality such as Lucini or Colavita
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 ½ teaspoons honey For the Salad
1 large (or 2 small) head(s) romaine lettuce, washed, patted dry and cut into large, bite-size pieces
1 large red bell pepper,
chopped 1 cup chopped hothouse cucumbers
1 large carrot, peeled into ribbons
Handful grape tomatoes, halved or whole Handful pitted olives Ricotta Salata* (or Feta for a Greek twist), crumbled to taste
Directions
1. Make the dressing: Combine all dressing ingredients in a food processor and blitz to blend.
2. Place all salad ingredients in a large bowl. Right before serving, add about half of the dressing and toss well. Add more dressing little by little as necessary; be sure to dress greens very generously, otherwise salad will be bland. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Reserve leftover dressing for another use. *Ricotta salata is an Italian sheep’s milk cheese that has a salty, slightly tangy flavor, almost like a dry Italian feta. It is not the same as the wet ricotta in the tub. You can find it at Whole Foods, gourmet grocers or specialty cheese shops.
PS The beautiful photo comes from this great food blog.
Condofire 