Chopped Italian Salad with Vinny R’s Italian Dressing

For years now, Friday night has been “pizza night” at our house, which means takeout pizza and a salad. Since I discovered–and fell in love–with this Italian bombshell, it’s the salad I make every single week. I’m not alone in my adoration–known by many fans as “Nancy’s Salad,” the recipe (created by Los Angeles chef and baker Nancy Silverton, and served at her restaurant Mozza) has a cult following online.

Packed with hearty ingredients like salami, sharp aged provolone, cold crunchy lettuces, pepperoncini and tossed with an Italian dressing, this salad has all the satisfying flavors of an Italian sub. The colorful mix is also cold, crunchy and refreshing, making it ideal to serve as a side kick (with pizza, pasta, or crispy cutlets) or on its own as a main course on a warm summer night.

Before the salad is assembled, Nancy is very particular about the ingredients. The red onion is soaked in ice water to remove its sharp edge (I do the same thing with the radicchio, to make it less bitter). The cherry tomatoes are lightly salted to bring out their best flavor.

Nancy’s dressing is seasoned with a flavorful pulp of freshly grated garlic and oregano. Here’s where I stray from the recipe. I use garlic and Vinny R’s Italian seasoning, an aromatic mix of oregano, basil, rosemary, fennel and black pepper. The blend infuses the oil and vinegar with knockout, authentic Italian restaurant flavor–and makes a killer all-purpose dressing.

Don’t skip the final squeeze of fresh lemon juice, it balances the rich, hearty flavors and a delicious bright finish. Note that you’ll use about half of the dressing for this salad. Use leftovers to make pasta salad or drizzle over a Caprese.

Chopped Italian Salad with Vinny R’s Italian Dressing

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Servings

4

Prep Time

25 minutes

Feel free to mix up the ingredients with what you have on hand. You can swap in iceberg lettuce for romaine, use Parmesan or feta instead of provolone, or toss in olives and cucumbers if you like. You can refrigerate the vinaigrette in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Ingredients

For the dressing

• 2 ½ tablespoon red wine vinegar

• 2 tablespoon Vinny R’s seasoning

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• Freshly squeezed juice from ½ lemon (1 tablespoon), or more to taste

• 1 medium clove garlic, smashed grated

• ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

• 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed

For the salad

• ½ small red onion, cut in half from top to bottom

• 2 heads hearts of romaine lettuce (or 1 head iceberg)

• 1 head radicchio

• 1 pint small, sweet cherry tomatoes, such as Sun Golds or Sweet 100s, cut into halves

• Kosher salt

• 1 ½ cup no-salt-added chickpeas, drained

• ¼ pound aged provolone, cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices, then cut into ¼-inch-wide strips

• ¼ pound Genoa salami, cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices, then cut into ¼-inch-wide strips

• ¼ cup pepperoncini slices, drained

• Freshly squeezed juice from ½ lemon (1 tablespoon), or more to taste

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Directions

1. Whisk together the vinegar, Vinny R’s seasoning, lemon juice, grated garlic and the salt in a medium bowl. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes (to marinate the herbs). Add the oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly to form an emulsified vinaigrette. Taste for seasoning and add salt or lemon juice as needed. The yield is a generous cup; you'll use up to ½ cup for this salad, and the remainder can be refrigerated for another use (up to 3 days).

2. Chop the onion and place it in a small bowl of ice water to sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Drain the onion and pat dry with paper towels before adding to the salad.

3. Chop the radicchio and soak it in ice water for 10 minutes (I do this in my salad spinner). Cut the romaine hearts in lettuce in half, discard the core, then cut them lengthwise into ¼-inch-wide strips. Repeat with the remaining halves. Cut the tomatoes in half, season them with salt to taste, and toss gently.

4. Combine the lettuce, radicchio, tomatoes, chickpeas, provolone, salami, pepperoncini and onion in a large, wide bowl. Season with salt to taste and toss to thoroughly combine. Drizzle about 6 tablespoons of the vinaigrette over the salad, then sprinkle with the lemon juice; toss gently to coat the salad evenly. Taste, and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette, plus salt and/or lemon juice as needed.

5. Transfer the salad to a large platter or divide it among individual plates, piling it like a mountain.

Recipe Note

Recipe lightly adapted from The Mozza Cookbook (Knopf, 2011) and The Washington Post.