Antipasto Salad originally published on Food and Fond Memories on February 5, 2010 by sandyaxelrod Leave a Comment (Edit)
Antipasto Salad
Antipasto Salad
Last week my husband and I went to the “Battle of the Sexes” at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center with our friends Jackie and Alan. This event was as much for the fun of it as it was for the prize money. Usually there is a hush over the crown as the riders guide their horse to jump over the hurdles during the Winter Equestrian Festival here in Wellington, Florida. But Saturday night we were all encouraged to cheer on our favorite riders, many of whom are Olympic Medal Winners. The night was perfect, clear, starry and moonlit. The Equestrian facility is state of the art. Steve and I have witnessed its transformation over the years and now it is at its most beautiful. We used to cater events there when we were in the catering business. This was always a bit of a challenge because we had to bring everything in including an on site kitchen. The events we catered there were normally for 400-500 guests so, as you can imagine, setting up was quite time consuming. Also we had to time deliveries around the show schedule because we couldn’t risk spooking the horses. One event, in particular, was difficult because it was Dressage. Dressage is truly amazing! The riders have their horses literally doing dances to music. But because of the precision involved we even had to be careful how we covered the tables with the linens. No flinging cloths over the tables. It took 2-3 people to set each table. These memories made Saturday nights casual event even more fun for us so we cheered louder than anyone. Also appearing before and during the show were the world famous Budweiser Clydesdales and assorted acts from Mallory Square in Key West. And I have to say that Jackie and I were really glad the women trounced the men for the second year in a row!!
After all of the athleticism of the horses and riders I was in the mood for a great big salad for dinner. Something not too heavy but hearty enough to fill us up. I decided to make my Antipasto Salad which is my version of a salad we had in Manhattan eons ago with Steve’s parents. We went to a little Italian restaurant there in the early 70’s after attending the Boat Show at Madison Square Garden. I can’t tell you the name of the restaurant or anything else we ate but the salad was memorable to be sure.
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Antipasto Salad
This salad has everything in it that you would find on an antipasto platter just already cut up for easy eating.
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
1 head of Romaine, roughly chopped
1/2 head of Red Cabbage, sliced then roughly chopped
2 Belgian Endive, thinly sliced
2 cups Arugula, thick stems removed
1 Fennel bulb, cored and thinly sliced
1 English Cucumber, peeled and sliced
2 Heirloom tomatoes, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
3/4–1 cup pimento stuffed olives, sliced
2 cans water packed tuna, drained and flaked
1 can Hearts of Palm, drained and sliced
1 small can Garbanzo beans, drained
3/4 lb. thickly sliced genoa salami, cut into cubes
1/2 lb. thickly sliced aged sharp provolone, cut into cubes
4 hard boiled eggs, sliced
For the dressing:
1/4 cup Aged Balsamic Vinegar
2 tbsps. Red Wine Vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsps. assorted herbs, minced (Italian parsley, basil, marjoram & thyme)
Kosher salt and pepper
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Instructions
Layer all of the salad ingredients in a very large salad bowl.
Mix all of the dressing ingredients except for the oil in a bowl. Whisk in the oil in a thin stream and keep whisking until dressing thickens and is completely emulsified. Pour desired amount of dressing over salad and toss.
- Prep Time: 20-30 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: Chopping
- Cuisine: Italian
