Chopped Italian Salad
To make Chopped Italian Salad, whisk a red wine vinaigrette, toss it with chopped romaine, salami, mozzarella, chickpeas, and olives, then finish with Parmesan.
A chopped Italian salad works because you should not need to conduct a search party with your fork. Romaine, cherry tomatoes, chickpeas, salami, mozzarella, pepperoncini, red onion, Kalamata olives, and Parmesan are all cut small enough that a normal bite can contain more than lettuce and one deeply disappointing tomato half. The dressing is a sharp little vinaigrette of olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, Dijon, garlic, salt, and black pepper. Dijon helps the oil and vinegar stay emulsified long enough to coat all those chopped surfaces, while the pepperoncini and olives bring enough briny punch that the salad eats more like an antipasto platter that learned organizational skills. Toss it well, add the Parmesan last, and serve immediately for the most crunch. You can also give it up to 30 minutes in the refrigerator if you like the flavors more settled and the romaine just slightly relaxed. Beyond that, the dressing starts winning its argument with the lettuce. This is salad, not a long-term storage agreement.
