A delicious hearty Italian salad with an easy homemade dressing

Red & Green Italian Salad

This is a hearty beautiful salad and can make a meal by itself. It is something different to take on a picnic or pot-luck.

This is an easy recipe to adjust for specific diets like paleo, low-carb, vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free. Use gluten-free pasta or omit the pasta altogether if you want to. Omit the cheese if you avoid dairy.


RED & GREEN ITALIAN SALAD Recipe:

Salad Ingredients:

1 can jumbo pitted black olives
2 c. cooked gluten-free large shell macaroni, or other shape if desired
1 4-ounce jar pimentos with juice, sliced into strips
4 to 5 small zucchini, sliced thick
1 quart lightly steamed broccoli, cut into uniform bite-sized pieces
1 quart lightly steamed cauliflower, cut into uniform bite-sized pieces
1 medium red onion, sliced in rings
1 to 2 dozen small mushrooms, stemmed and sliced in half

Dressing ingredients:

1/2 c. good olive oil, or more
1/2 c. red wine vinegar
1 to 2 garlic cloves, well smashed
1/2 to 1 t. sweet paprika
1 t. fennel seed (soaked in water to soften, then drained)
1 t. dried oregano
BioSalt, to taste (recipe on this blog)
Fresh ground pepper, to taste
Mozzarella or Jack cheese, cubed, optional

Garnish:

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, optional


Method:

In a large bowl, toss the salad ingredients together.

In a separate mixing bowl, combine the salad dressing ingredients together. Season it well.

Pour the well-mixed dressing over the salad ingredients and toss together thoroughly.

Marinate 1 hour.

Serve garnished with Parmesan cheese, if desired.


Note: You can serve this salad on a bed of lettuce.


Enjoy,

Leila