This salad from the cookbook Pizza Night, by Alexandra Stafford is nostalgic in the best way, reminiscent of an old-school pizzeria salad bar, but much better, especially if you use new-crop chickpeas cooked from scratch, instead of canned. She says:
"This salad is a meal unto itself, one I do in fact serve for dinner when it’s not pizza night. Loaded with all of my favorite things—cured meats, sharp cheese, briny olives, and loads of vegetables—it’s satisfying and filling and endlessly adaptable to what you have on hand."
- 1 head romaine lettuce, finely sliced
- 1½ cups cooked chickpeas, drained
- 2 ounces salami, cut into ¼-inch-thick slices
- 1 small red onion, finely sliced
- 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
- 1 cucumber, peeled and roughly chopped (about 1 cup)
- ½ cup cubed provolone cheese (2 to 3 ounces)
- ½ cup wrinkly black oil-cured olives or olive of choice
- ⅓ cup Italian Dressing (see below), plus more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Flaky sea salt
Serves 4
- In a large bowl, combine the romaine, chickpeas, salami, onion, tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber, provolone, and olives. Add the dressing and season with black pepper to taste. Toss to combine. Taste and add more dressing, a pinch of sea salt if necessary, and more pepper to taste.
Italian Dressing
Makes 1⅓ cups
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 garlic clove, finely minced or grated on a Microplane
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the mustard, oregano, garlic, sugar, vinegar, lemon juice, and salt.
- Stream in the olive oil, whisking constantly until the dressing is emulsified. Transfer to a storage jar and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
“Pizza Night” Copyright © 2024 by Alexandra Stafford. Photographs copyright © 2024 by Eva Kolenko. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Crown Publishing.