Mega Italian Salad

• servings: 6 servings
• active time: 10 minutes
• total time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

3 slices white sandwich bread (, ~1.75 cm / 3/4" thick, crust off, cut into cubes (Note 1)

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 pinches salt

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp red wine vinegar (Note 2)

4 tsp freshly grated parmesan (Note 1)

2 tsp sugar (any)

1/4 tsp each garlic powder

1/4 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp chilli flakes (red pepper flakes), optional)

1/2 tsp cooking/kosher salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

1 head cos / romaine lettuce (, chopped into large or small bite size pieces (Note 3)

2 large tomatoes (, cut into 6 to 8 wedges, then each wedge in half)

1/2 green capsicum/bell pepper (, 1.5cm / 2/3" cubes)

1/2 red onion (, finely sliced)

1 cup whole pitted kalamata olives (Note 4)

1/4 cup (tightly packed) finely grated parmesan

Directions

Croutons: Preheat oven to 200°C/390°F (180°C fan). Toss bread with oil and salt. Spread on a tray and bake 15 minutes, stirring twice, until golden and fully crisp. Cool on tray.

Dressing: Shake ingredients in a jar.

Make salad: Set aside some parmesan for garnish. Place croutons and all remaining salad ingredients in a large bowl. Pour Dressing over, toss well.

Serve: Transfer salad into a serving bowl. Sprinkle with reserved parmesan. Serve immediately!

Nutrition

• Calories: 226 kcal
• Total Fat: 17 g
• Saturated Fat: 3 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 13 g
• Trans Fat: 1 g
• Cholesterol: 3 mg
• Sodium: 852 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 15 g
• Dietary Fiber: 2 g
• Total Sugars: 4 g
• Protein: 4 g