Italian Restaurant Salad

This is the closest thing you will ever get to the iconic Olive Garden salad. I won’t even try to recreate those breadsticks because that is an impossible task.

Recipe adapted from Lasagna: A Baked Pasta Cookbook by Anna Hezel

what you need:

• 1 large garlic clove
• 2 T mayo
• 2 T red wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp sugar
• 4 T olive oil
• 4 T vegetable oil
• Kosher Salt
• Ground black pepper
• 1 head of iceberg lettuce, cored and chopped up
• 1 stalk of celery thinly sliced
• 1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 6 peperoncini, thinly sliced
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese

what you need to do:

• In a medium bowl, smash your garlic with your fork with a big pinch of salt to form a thick paste.
• Whisk in the mayo, vinegar, oregano, and sugar.
• Slowly, drizzle in the oils, whisking pretty quickly to combine the oils with the acids (this is called emulsifying #science).
• Season to taste with salt and pepper and store in the fridge until you are ready to serve.
• Now, grab a big ole salad bowl and combine the lettuce and all of the veggies.
• When ready to serve, toss with the dressing and the parmesan.
• Crack with fresh ground pepper to serve!