italian chop chop salad

ep. 1 of salads that don't suck

Do you guys smell what I’m smelling? Stanky provolone, crisssp lettuce, fresh basil, spicy roasted chickpeas???

Oh you don’t……well it’s probably because you haven’t made this salad yet!!!!!!! In fear of appearing like the stock images of girls laughing with salads in their hands, I will tame my excitement for this new series of “salads that don’t suck” BUT I am, in reality, very excited.

me eating this salad

First, because I know a salad has so much potential beyond your average bowl of lettuce and kitchen scraps. Like we really be throwing spinach, bell pepper, hemp seeds, last week’s chicken and some random beans in a bowl and thinking it’s gonna taste fire? No, it just tastes like I hate myself. And salads that don’t suck would never make you hate yourself.

But reason two I’m excited, is because this time of year and moving forward, I want to be cooking less during the day so I can allot for 4 hours of pickleball play a day with my boyfriend. This is me coming out as a closeted pickleball player btw. I got into it last summer, and I only play outside when it’s warm (unlike my bf who went so far to join a league during the winter and plays tournaments now - like relax it’s not that serious, but what a man thing to do) Anyway, having a salad prepped for a few days at a time is just so fire and I love it. And I love this salad and you should make it, thank you.

italian chop chop

• 14 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• 8 banana peppers/pepperoncinis, thinly sliced

• 5 oz sharp provolone, diced

• 1 cup soppressata, sliced in 1” strips

• 1 small head iceberg lettuce, shredded

• 1/2 head radicchio, shredded

• 1/2 medium red onion, finely sliced

• 5 oz mozzarella pearls

• 1/3 cup shredded parm

• 20 cherry tomatoes, quartered

• 4 oz castelvetrano olives, torn in halves

• 1 handful basil leaves, julienned

• crushed red pepper flakes, dried oregano, salt + pepper to taste

dressing:

• 5 garlic stuffed olives (so good, trust - I used mezzetta)

• 1/2 tbsp dried oregano

• 1 fresh garlic clove, grated

• 1/3 cup olive oil

• 1.5 tbsp red wine vinegar

• lots of freshly cracked black pepper

• pinch of salt + crushed red pepper flakes

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

1. for the chickpeas: preheat oven to 400 F. rinse, drain and dry them very well. transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet and drizzle with enough olive oil to generously coat each chickie. sprinkle with dried oregano, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, pepper and honestly any other spice you like! Can’t go wrong here. bake, shaking the pan half way for even browning, for about 35-40 min. once they’re golden brown and crispy, let them cool before adding to the salad. you can keep them on the side/even make a double batch to add them later so they don’t get soggy.

2. for the dressing: mix all the ingredients together, tasting for more lemon, salt or vinegar based on your pref!

3. add all the salad ingredients to a big ass bowl - mix with the dressing, sprinkle with more dried oregano, red pepper flakes and ENJOYYYYYY shoveling this into your mouth. Since iceberg is a soggy lil lettuce, I wouldn’t make this too far in advance - should be good for the next day BUT even better so, keep dressing on the side and you should be golden.

I hope you try this xoxo counting down the days til pasta salad summaaaa

<333 katie

BTW!

If you didn’t already - join our group chat! It’s our lil community where we do our cookbook club, share recent discoveries, recipe reviews and ask any questions! Pull up!