The Best Italian Green Salad Food

BIG ITALIAN SALAD

Steps:

• 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.

THE BEST ITALIAN GREEN SALAD

Steps:

• Use a pre-washed bag of lettuce or, if starting with a head of lettuce, make sure the leaves are rinsed and dried. Place the lettuce in a large bowl.
• If using the white part of the green onions, rinse and dry the green onions, snip off the root end and slice the white part of the onion thinly. Add the white onion slices to your salad.
• If you are using the 9 ounces of lettuce called for, you can just add the dressing ingredients one at a time to the salad and toss with two spoons to mix well.
• If you would rather make the dressing separately, add the dressing ingredients to a small bowl or container and whisk to combine. (If you have a lid on the container, you can shake it up to mix it.) Pour the mixed dressing onto the lettuce and toss well with two spoons. (Use less dressing if you have less than 9 ounces of lettuce.)
• Serve immediately and finish leftovers within an hour or so. Leftover salad will get soggy, but keep it refrigerated if saving it and eat it within a day or so.

ITALIAN LEAFY GREEN SALAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the romaine, escarole, radicchio, red-leaf, scallions, red pepper, green pepper and cherry tomatoes.
• Whisk together the grapeseed oil, basil, vinegar, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Pour over salad, toss and serve immediately.

ITALIAN GREENS AND HERB SALAD

Steps:

• Blend the lemon juice, lemon peel, honey, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in a blender. With the machine running, gradually blend in the oil.
• Toss the lettuce, endive, olives, parsley, and basil in a large bowl with enough dressing to coat. Season the salad with more salt and pepper, to taste, and serve.

QUICK ITALIAN SALAD

Steps:

• For the dressing: In a blender, add the olive oil, mayonnaise, Parmesan, parsley, sugar, vinegar, black pepper, salt, red pepper flakes, garlic and lemon juice and blend until pureed.
• For the salad: Put the romaine and iceberg greens in a large bowl and toss with the dressing. Top the salad with the pepperoncini, olives, tomatoes and onions. Sprinkle with Parmesan at the end.

ITALIAN GREEN SALAD

Steps:

• Mix em up, dress it up.

TOSSED ITALIAN GARDEN SALAD

Steps:

• in a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the first 11 ingredients; shake well. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Just before serving, combine the greens, cucumbers, tomatoes and carrots in a salad bowl. Drizzle with dressing; toss to coat.