Italian Chopped Salad

Whether this Italian Chopped Salad truly has any Italian origin or not ceases to matter once you've tasted it. Imagine the best Italian deli sandwich you've ever tasted … only without the bread. Trust me, you won't even miss it.

There's a local pizza chain in the area where I live and they make a salad like this that I crave But since there's not a location very close to me, I used my best memory and a little ingenuity to come up with this recipe.

4 Important Things

1. The ingredients | There are lots of recipes for salads by this name online and there's quite a range of suggested ingredients! But I have clear preferences for how it's put together. It should have salami, fresh pecorino, garbanzo beans ( canned or homecooked from dry), roasted red peppers, a sweet spicy pepper such as peppadews, tomatoes and red onion. You can make substitutes of pepperoni, mozzarella, fresh red peppers, pepperoncinis, white onion … but I can't vouch for the flavors like I can the ones I list!
2. The "chop" size | Because it's a "chopped" salad, I think the size of the chop is important. For it be perfect, the dice of everything should be about ¼ inch square. It might sound picky … and you don't have to get the ruler out! … but it really does matter!
3. The lettuce | I like the sturdiness of romaine to hold the weight of the other ingredients and to stand up to the vinaigrette and, but in a pinch, green leaf lettuce will work just fine. Again, though, the chop is important. Slice across the leaves, then slice in the opposite direction to create small bite-sized pieces. Remember, it's a "chopped" salad.
4. The dressing | The best dressing for this is my standard homemade Dijon vinaigrette. I usually measure (and by that, I mean that I "eyeball" it!) and shake it to mix in a jar. The measurements given in the recipe card below will provide more than you need for one salad. It keeps well in the refrigerator, but if the olive oil solidifies, just let it sit out for a bit to come back to temperature.

Toss the lettuce with all the other ingredients and ½ to ¾ cups of vinaigrette. Start slow with the vinaigrette and add more only after tasting.