My favourite big Italian salad. The homemade dressing is seriously tasty! The croutons and dusting of parmesan is the perfect finishing touch that everybody loves. Serve with pasta, a cosy lasagne or big tray of cannelloni. Lots of suggestions in the post!{No video today because I thought this was quite straight forward. But if you want one, leave me a message below!}
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time15 minutesmins
Course: Side Salad
Cuisine: American-Italian, Italian
Keyword: italian salad, side salad
Servings: 6
Calories: 226cal
Author: Nagi
Ingredients
Croutons:
3sliceswhite sandwich bread, ~1.75 cm / 3/4" thick, crust off, cut into cubes (Note 1)
1tbspextra virgin olive oil
2pinchessalt
Italian Dressing:
1/4cupextra virgin olive oil
2tbspred wine vinegar(Note 2)
4tspfreshly grated parmesan(Note 1)
2tspsugar(any)
1/4tspeach garlic powder
1/4tspdried basil
1/4tspchilli flakes(red pepper flakes), optional
1/2tspcooking/kosher salt
1/8tspblack pepper
Salad:
1headcos / romaine lettuce, chopped into large or small bite size pieces (Note 3)
2large tomatoes, cut into 6 to 8 wedges, then each wedge in half
Croutons: Preheat oven to 200°C/390°F (180°C fan). Toss bread with oil and salt. Spread on a tray and bake 15 minutes, stirring twice, until golden and fully crisp. Cool on tray.
Dressing: Shake ingredients in a jar.
Make salad: Set aside some parmesan for garnish. Place croutons and all remaining salad ingredients in a large bowl. Pour Dressing over, toss well.
Serve: Transfer salad into a serving bowl. Sprinkle with reserved parmesan. Serve immediately!
Notes
1. Bread - I like using everyday white sandwich bread here, not sourdough or other chewy artisan bread. I like the soft crumble of croutons in this salad. Use any bread you've got though - anything is better than no croutons!Thicker slices = bigger croutons = bigger impact. But even worth making with everyday thin sandwich bread.2. Red wine vinegar is my favourite vinegar to use. White wine vinegar can also be used. Substitute with apple cider vinegar or sherry vinegar.3. Lettuce - Best substitute is iceberg, else use any lettuce of choice (crispier better than delicate). Chop into bite-size pieces - I do large because I like voluminous salads. If you are feeding little people you may want to chop smaller.4. Olives - I like whole kalamata for best flavour and texture. I find some other regular black olives too firm for my taste. But you can use any of your favourite olives.5. Storage - Best made fresh! Once dressed, the lettuce will wilt and not be very nice after around 30 minutes. Best way to store is to keep the dressing separate from the salad. Keep croutons in the pantry, parmesan in a container, then remaining salad ingredients jumbled up together in the fridge. It will hold like this for 24 hours, 48 hours it's still ok. Not great beyond this.6. Nutrition per serving.