Antipasto Salad
In Italian, antipasto means "before the meal"––or appetizer. It's typically a platter of cured meats, cheeses, olives, and various pickled vegetables. The appetizer can be served as a platter with each of the foods separated, on small skewers or toothpicks, or mixed into a hearty salad. It's more common in America to have the latter of the three––which is better, health-wise anyway. Anything to get those extra greens in, right? This salad is a perfect appetizer to any Mediterranean meal. It's got plenty of vegetables, meat, and fat––so, it's also perfect as a light lunch. My family always serves this in platter form on holidays and other occasions where everyone's together!
Antipasto Salad
Prep Time: 10 min Cook Time: 0 min Total Time: 10 min Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
Antipasto Salad
2 romaine hearts, chopped
¼lb sopressata, thinly sliced and quartered
¼lb pepperoni, thinly sliced and quartered
⅛lb salami, thinly sliced and quartered
12oz. jar of marinated artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
1 red pepper, roasted (or 12pz. jar of marinated roasted red pepper, drained)
1 cup marinated olives, drained
1 cup grape tomatoes
¼ cup marinated peperoncini, drained and thinly sliced
Red Wine Vinaigrette
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar
1½ tsp dijon mustard
¼ tsp oregano
¼ tsp rosemary
sea salt and black pepper to taste
Preparation
Combine all salad ingredients in a large mixing bowl, make sure the cold cuts don’t all clump together, and set aside.
To make the dressing, combine all ingredients in a blender or small food processor. (If making in advance, store in a cruet––it will separate, so you’ll have to shake it up before pouring it over your salad).
Toss salad with vinaigrette, serve room temperature, and enjoy!
