Black olives, fresh cheese, and tasty Italian flavors on a bed of lettuce make this delicious Italian Summer Salad a perfect lunch!
I know you guys have heard me rave about all the amazing recipes over at Goodie Godmother…and I have a TOTAL treat for you! I’ve got the Godmother herself here to guest blog for me today! She’s sharing her amazing Italian Summer Salad with you guys, and it looks terrific. Enjoy, and definitely go and check out Goodie Godmother if you haven’t already!
Hi everyone! I’m so glad to be here guest posting on Paige’s blog. I love reading her work and have enjoyed making several of her recipes for my family! My name is Mary, and I’m “The Godmother” behind GoodieGodmother.com. I blog about all sorts of recipes, inspired by life, travel, and my constant quest to balance my love of dessert with my love of fitting into my jeans. This is how you end up with a totally decadent chocolate cake and a low carb breakfast bake happily co-existing on the same website. 
Today, I’d like to share with you what I’m calling an Italian Summer Salad. Last year, my husband and I took a family road trip up to New York City to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We stopped in New Jersey looking for food and ended up at this little deli. It was the kind of place that offered only takeout, but the sandwiches were amazing! We finished our hoagies with a full understanding of the cult-like following earned by the New Jersey hoagie. The cuts were sliced perfectly, flavors were balanced, the bread was on point – lunch perfection!
I knew trying to replicate that at home would be a challenge, and so I decided to take inspiration instead and turn that salad into a sandwich. Italian subs aren’t exactly low in calories! I figured if I removed the bread, added lots of fresh garden greens, and made a delicious balsamic dressing, I’d still get the flavors I wanted without the road trip. This is also a great way to use some of those lovely garden herbs you might be growing!
The recipe was enough for two hungry adults and one toddler, and I believe we had a little leftover. Scale accordingly for your crowd, you’ll have plenty of dressing, so you don’t need to worry about scaling that unless you’re making for 10+. Plate this in a large bowl for family style serving. There’s something homey and fun about drizzling the dressing over the salad and mixing tableside. Serve the salad for a light lunch or easy weekday dinner, or let it be a starring side or substantial salad course for a larger meal.
If you like this recipe, I do hope you’ll pop over to my blog and check out some of my work. Thanks so much for letting me stop by, Paige! You’re fabulous! <3
I hope you enjoy, darlings!
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Ingredients
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 cups lettuce, chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh oregano leaves, chopped
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves, torn or julienned
- 4 ounces fresh mozzarella, chopped
- 2 ounces salami, chopped
- 2 ounces mild capicola, chopped
- ½ cup roasted red pepper, chopped
- ¼ cup chopped olives – green, black, kalamata… your choice!
Instructions
- Start by making the salad dressing. Combine all the ingredients in a mason jar or sealed bottle, and shake vigorously for 30 seconds to a minute until well combined. Set aside.
- Wash and chop your veggies and toppings if you haven’t already.
- Combine the lettuce, oregano, and basil, and place into a large salad dish
- Arrange the mozzarella, meats, red pepper, and olives over the greens.
- Serve immediately, adding dressing and combining the salad ingredients at the table. Enjoy!
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