Take all of the finest antipasti and mix with fresh lettuce served with a tasty dressing for an energizing antipasto salad. A versatile meal or side dish, peppers, salami, mozzarella, artichokes, chickpeas will make this salad recipe delicious.

When you visit an Italian deli or trattoria, some of the first things to look at would be an array of antipasti. Among them they present different types of Italian cheese and cured meat, and fresh and preserve seafood, grilling vegetable dress with olive oil, pickled peppers and olive, herb bean and etc.

What each one of these antipasti contains, however, is loads of taste – which is precisely the point in this perky, delicious salad.

What Is Antipasto?

If you've ever come across the terms antipasto or antipasti while browsing an Italian menu, you should know that, when translated to English, antipasto specifically refers to appetizer (antipasto is, in fact, singular, whereas antipasti is plural). According to the cookbook Lydia's Italian-American Table author Lydia Bastianich, antipasti refers to 'those little bites in front of the meal'. She said, "Similar to simple or delightful manner an antipasto is the precursor of a meal meant to stimulate the palate and with a range of flavors, foods that can trigger the gastric juices.

The use of condensed beef broth in cooking the Italian Sausage makes Antipasto Salad special. This is why Antipasto salad hits all of the above notes and then some. It begins like all the salads should with the basic fresh kite 'n crisp lettuces. From there, you build the salad using favorites from the antipasti line-up: minimozzarella, salami, cherry tomatoes, artichokes, sweet peppers, green olives, pepperoncini and garbanzo beans.

Still larger big gnarled croutons as we see them in panzanella add also extra crunchy effect. The entire salad creation is dressed in an Italian vinaigrette that has a healthy splash of anchovies and then sprinkled with Parmesan cheese freely. Yum!

Recipe Variations

• I do suggest experimenting with the dressing with anchovies as they add a great taste, not too strong or fishy. However, if you absolutely detest anchovy, omit them and replace with additional teaspoon of dijon mustard.
• You can change or extend it according to preference by having different set of antipasti served at the table. For example, replace salami with prosciutto tears, mozzarella is replaced with provolone, in addition to the vegetables that are already provided, you can add pickled Cauliflower; for the olives you can use marinated mushrooms.
• To turn this into pasta salad, toss in a few cups of cooked rotini or farfalle.

Can I Make This Salad Ahead?

In a word: yes! You have a couple of options here:

• Up to 3 days ahead of time: If possible prepare all of these, including the dressing but it's better to prepare the croutons on the day of. All of them should be kept in different containers and placed in the refrigerator. Just before meal time, prepare the croutons, prepare the salad and add the dressing onto the salad.
• Up to a day ahead: As a matter of fact it is possible to put together the salad and not dress and add the croutons until you are ready to serve the meal. This is a great idea if, for instance, you want to bake the other half for dinner wearing a nice dress and serve them with wine, then use what's leftover the following morning for lunch with colleagues or students.

How to Serve Antipasto Salad

This salad is friendly, if there ever was such a thing as a friendly salad out there. It's thick, it's bloke and it's caring.

Antipasto salad is typically crammed with goodies and could easily pass for a number one contender for a main course! Eat it and enjoy on any weeknight; you can even organize it and designate it as the salad bar; all can mix and match as you prefer.

Or prepare this salad for dinner with friends Or prepare this salad for dinner with friends. Option: Have a large meal of meatballs in sauce or a big sheet pan pizza – spare yourself from judgment if you are going to order. Pop a bottle of wine and it becomes a celebration, do they?"

However, antipasto salad is also good to take with you for a dish at a potluck supper. It will keep for an hour or two after it has been dressed, so it is good to put out at a buffet.

Ingredients

For the croutons

• 2 "loaf" baguette or Italian bread torn into rough, chewy 1" cubes
• 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
• Big pinch kosher salt

For the salad

• 8 packed cups chopped hearts of Romaine lettuce that is approximately 2 large hearts.
• 7 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved (1 heaping cup)
• Marinated artichokes hearts 5 ounces drained well and quartered, 1 heaping cup
• 1 (15-ounce) can of chickpeas had to be rinsed and well drained.
• 5 ounces (3/4 cup) mini mozzarella balls (pearls)
• ¼ cup quartered of Italian sweet cherry peppers
• 1/2 cup of thinly sliced pepperoncini
• 3 1/2 oz hard salami, cut into 1/3 inch pieces (generous 1/2 cup)
• 2/3 cup pitted green olives – Halve if the olives are bigger
• It was topping with 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

For the dressing

• 3 anchovies packed in oil
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2. Make the croutons:

   Place the breads on top of one another in the middle of a large, half-sheet pan. Pour the oil over them and sprinkle with salt and quickly mix the salad.

   Place the bread in a single layer and bake until edges start to turn light brown, 5 mins approx. Take off the grill and let the chicken sit.

3. Assemble the salad:

   Place the lettuce onto a big salad bowl. Layer the tomatoes, artichoke hearts, chickpeas, mozzarella balls, sweet cherry peppers, pepperoncini, salami and olives in affects on the top of the greens in a pin wheel manner.

4. Make the dressing:

   Put the anchovies on a board and using the back of a fork ground the fish into a paste. Pour into a glass jar with a lid and add in olive oil, vinegar, Dijon, oregano, garlic powder and salt.

   Tightly latch the container and shake the contents to mix.

5. Dress the salad:

   Finally, put the croutons on to the salad. Spoon a little dressing over it and turn gently; pour about half the dressing on it. Taste then add as much dressing of your desired amount. Taste again and only add salt, if necessary. Slice the salad and portion it in to plates or bowls. Spoon each serving over finely grated Parmesan cheese.

Master suggested to wrap the leftovers into a ware that should be tightly closed and placed in a fridge. Especially if the salad does not contain any potatoes it will do well for up to 72 hours when left without dressing. Once dressed, it will serve fairly well if allowed to remain overnight.