White Balsamic Salad

This recipe is the last one from Christmas. I served this salad on Christmas Eve with Baked Ziti and Roasted Vegetable Lasagna, but I've prepared it many times before and it goes well with so many dishes, from pizza, to grilled meat, to sandwiches. The recipe below is loosely based on the salad that used to be on the menu at CPK, but I modify the ingredients to suit our tastes. CPK used arugula and romaine, but I pretty much stick to romaine, sometimes adding some red leaf lettuce to dress it up. On Christmas Eve, I couldn't find the head of red cabbage I had bought (later that night I found it in a bag with some candy for the stockings -- whoops!) so I left it out. I do like it better with the cabbage -- mostly for the crunch and color.

The dressing is surprisingly spicy -- from the garlic. If you don't like a strong garlic flavor, halve the amount, you'll still have a very tasty dressing. I have a hard time finding White Balsamic Vinegar in any local grocery stores, but I find it a Trader Joe's if you have one of those nearby.

I made this up ahead of time, so the picture is before I dressed it. It looks so pretty in my Santa salad bowl.

White Balsamic Salad

1/2 c. white balsamic vinegar
1 c. olive oil (I use a mixture of EVOO and lighter tasting olive oil -- about 1:1)
1 T. minced garlic
1/4 t. herbes de provence
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. finely grated lemon peel
1/8 t. pepper
2 heads romaine (or a mixture of romaine and another lettuce)
2 c. shredded red cabbage
6 roma tomatoes
6 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
12 kalamata olives, pitted and roughly chopped

Combine dressing ingredients. Toss with salad ingredients and serve immediately.

Pin It