Don’t you hate it when someone asks you to bring the salad to a big get-together? You start obsessing about the carrot-haters and the dressing and whether anyone is going to touch the salad when it’s surrounded by sausage balls, mac-n-cheese and garlic smashed potatoes.
Fear not! This is not the time to compromise your salad into mediocrity: a sad bowl of iceberg lettuce, tomatoes and cheddar cheese surrounded by bottles of salad dressing. Practically everyone loves Italian food, so go bold! Try this Chopped Antipasto Salad. It’s got loads of colorful veggies – lettuce, red onion, Roma tomatoes, cucumbers and pepperoncini – along with big-flavored showstoppers like pepperoni and mortadella, Gorgonzola, feta and olives. EVEN MEN EAT THIS SALAD. And dressing it early only helps the flavor.
I made this salad for Thanksgiving lunch at Mom’s, and she kept it. She sent me home with turkey, dressing, gravy, rolls, macaroni and cheese, sweet potato casserole and pie, but she kept the salad. All of it. This is the kind of salad you make room for.
Chopped Antipasto Salad
Adapted from Buca di Beppo
- 1 small head of iceberg lettuce, chopped
- 1 ounce (about 5 thin slices) pepperoni, diced*
- 1 ounce (about 5 thin slices) mortadella, diced*
- 1 ounce red onion, diced (about 1/8 cup)
- 1 ounce (1 sandwich slice) Provolone, diced
- 2 Roma tomatoes, diced
- 2 ounces cucumber, diced (about 1/3 cucumber)
- 1/4 cup Gorgonzola, crumbled
- 1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
- 2 pepperoncinis, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 cup Italian vinaigrette dressing (recommended: Marie’s)*
Garnish:
- 3 whole pepperoncini
- 2 black olives
- 2 green olives
- Place the lettuce, pepperoni, mortadella, red onion, Provolone, 1 diced Roma tomato, cucumbers, Gorgonzola, feta, chopped pepperoncini and oregano into a mixing bowl. Toss.
- Add the dressing and toss again until fully incorporated.
- Mound salad mixture on a chilled plate, getting as much height as possible.
- Place the remaining tomatoes around the outside of the salad.
- Garnish with whole pepperoncini and olives, and serve.
*Gluten-Free Tip: Be sure to use GF deli meats and a GF Italian salad dressing.
[ad name=”space”]
Looks fantastic!
Sounds yummy – I think I’d like it stuffed into a super fresh pita as a sandwich filling.
Cristine: Thanks!
Dana: I was thinking exactly the same thing. It’d be a great pita-filler and perfect for picnics when the weather gets warmer, which could be tomorrow in Tennessee.
Rebecca, Great looking salad. The flavors sound amazing!
zesty
My mouth is watering! And it sounds perfect after all the heavy Thanksgiving fare. Do you use bottled Italian vinaigrette or make your own? thanks for the recipe!
I loved it not only because of the taste, but it was chopped up all the same size and was drop dead beautiful. We ate on it some more, it was sent to another mother-in-law who ate the rest. I was proud.
This is seriously the.best.salad.ever.! The Husband and I always, always, always order this at Bucca. Interestingly enough, I was craving this over the weekend but we didn’t have time to go into the city.
This is the only salad my meat-and-potatoes-eating boyfriend actually looks forward to ordering at a restaurant. When he asked me to find the recipe for him I almost fell over. Good ol' Google led me to this one, and after trying it we think it's a great match! Thanks for the recipe. We'll be making it often!
Thank you so much for this recipe! This is awesome! We went to a party with all Italian food. Everyone loved it! I replaced the iceberg for romaine, just because I only like iceberg on a sandwich. I'm keeping this recipe as a favorite, I will make it again and again.
I used to go to a restaurant back home that had an antipasto salad. It was delicious. It had salmai, ham, cheese, olives, and pickled veggies. I am wondering how they pickle the veggies. They were pickled cauliflower, carrots, peppers, celery, etc.Thanks.
it comes already pickled in a jar!!:)
Any idea how many this serves?
According to the restaurant, the salad feeds about 6 people. If you're serving it as a small side salad, you'll be able to feed even more. The flavor is very intense, so it doesn't take a huge portion to make a big impression.