Foodie Friday: Italian Sub Salad

 

I’m learning to do a better job of finding a recipe I like and then tweaking it to use what we have or to alter it here or there to better fit our tastes. This week’s find was just such an experiment, and you can do the same with it!

            I found this recipe for an Italian sub salad and was (admittedly) skeptical that it would really taste like an Italian sub. I. Was. Wrong. It really did taste just like one – even with my alterations!

            Let’s start by talking about the dressing. The original recipe calls for extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, Italian seasoning, minced garlic, and salt. I didn’t have red wine vinegar or minced garlic, but I did have white vinegar and garlic powder! So here is my version of the dressing:

Italian Dressing:
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 Tablespoons White Vinegar
½ Tablespoon Italian Seasoning
½ Teaspoon Garlic Powder
¼ Teaspoon Salt

            The recipe called for 8 cups of chopped romaine, but what I had on hand was a bag of spinach and ½ a red cabbage. I chopped and combined those, and it tasted great!

            The recipe also called for sliced turkey, salami, turkey pepperoni, and Capicola. I had to look up Capicola because I didn’t even know what it was. (And you might guess it did not make it into my salad.) Actually only the turkey and turkey pepperoni made it into mine. It’s what we had.

            I didn’t have red onion, but I had white, so I used that. And I decided not to use pickled banana peppers, but to use regular diced peppers, because I had them. (I did pour in a little pickle juice, though.

            I totally forgot to add the black olives, but next time I will.

            So here was my lineup for the salad:

8 cups greens (I used spinach and red cabbage) chopped
6 ounces sliced turkey, chopped
6 ounces turkey pepperoni, chopped
1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup cherry tomatoes chopped
¼ cup onion, diced
¼ cup bell peppers, diced
1 Tablespoon dill pickle brine
¼ cup black olives, sliced

Mix salad ingredients in large bowl and pour dressing over it. Mix well. Serve.

            It held up for us for a couple of days, but with the dressing on it, it won’t last forever. I think we got five servings out of this! It was delicious and pairs well with wheat bread, pretzels, or chips, if you do want a little bit of carb/grain fun on the side.