Big Italian Salad

• servings: 6 servings

Ingredients

1 cup loosely packed fresh Italian parsley leaves

1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves

¼ teaspoon dried oregano

2 cloves garlic, peeled

⅓ cup red wine vinegar, best quality such as Pompeian Gourmet

¾ cup extra virgin olive oil, best quality such as Lucini or Colavita

Heaping ¾ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

2 teaspoons honey

1 large head romaine lettuce (or 3 hearts), washed, dried and cut into large, bite-sized pieces

1 large red bell pepper, chopped

1 cup seeded and chopped hothouse cucumbers

1 to 2 carrots, peeled into ribbons

Handful grape tomatoes, halved

Handful pitted olives

Ricotta Salata or Feta, crumbled to taste

Directions

Make the dressing: Combine all dressing ingredients in a food processor and blitz to blend.

Place all of the salad ingredients except for the cheese 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. Toss in the cheese, then taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary.

Note: 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.

Note: Nutritional information was calculated assuming ½ cup of ricotta salata and all of the dressing was used.

Nutrition

• Calories: 338
• Total Fat: 31 g
• Saturated Fat: 6 g
• Cholesterol: 11 mg
• Sodium: 393 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 12 g
• Dietary Fiber: 5 g
• Total Sugars: 6 g
• Protein: 5 g