I don’t know many shows on the Food Network but my sister got me interested in The Sandwich King. She knows my obsession with yummy, gourmet sandwiches and this show is right up my alley. If you’re bored one day, take time to peruse his website. He had several dishes I’m excited to try. This recipe for the Italian Chopped Salad made it on my meal planner and it was a HUGE hit with my family. I have never made a part lettuce, part pasta salad before and so I wanted to give this a try.
I had some ladies over for lunch and this salad was a big hit! It was so full of amazing flavor. The crunchy-saltiness of the bacon with the smooth gorgonzola cheese all topped with the Sweet Italian dressing made for a great combination! This recipe so half the amounts if you are serving it as a side dish.
Ingredients
- 12 oz. small noodle pasta cooked, drained and cooled
- 1 lb. bacon cooked and crumbled
- 1 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
- 1 head romaine lettuce chopped
- 1/2 red onion minced
- 2 to matoes diced
- 1 cup croutons
- SWEET ITALIAN DRESSING
- 3 tsp. dry Italian dressing seasoning
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 cup red vinegar
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 3/4 cup olive oil
Instructions
- For the dressing: Place the vinegar, honey, Italian sesaoning mix, garlic and same salt and pepper in a blender or food processor. While the machine is running, slowly drizzle the olive oil until the dressing is combined and emulsified. Adjust the seasoning if necessary, or add more oil if you want it less acidic.
- For the salad: Cook the pasta until tender and then drain and let cool for a few minutes while preparing the salad. Cook the bacon in a pan until crisp and golden brown. Drain the bacon on a paper towel until it cools and then chop into smaller pieces. Cut the romaine lettuce into bite sized pieces and place in a a large salad bowl. Cut the red onions into small pieces as well. Cut the tomatoes into bite sized pieces. To the lettuce, add the crumbled bacon, pasta, red onions, gorgonzola cheese and croutons.Add the croutons. Drizzle the dressing on the salad and toss together until all is well coated. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.
- Heavily adapted from The Sandwich King
