Antipasto Salad With Citrus-Vodka Vinagrette

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This recipe appeared as part of the second-place winner of ICSA XVI. It is a splendid Italian antipasto salad.

Here is what you will need:

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For the salad:
1 head Romaine lettuce
1 head red leaf lettuce
1 package cherry tomatoes
1 carrot
1 head red cabbage
1/2 red onion
1 package mozarella cheese
1 block parmesan cheese
1 package sliced Genoa salami
1 package large sliced pepperoni
1 bottle pickled Italian vegetables (you know the kind, with cauliflower, carrots, pepperoncini, etc)
1 bottle Italian (not stuffed) olives

For the dressing:
6 large lemons
1/2 cup olive oil
Dijon mustard
1/4 cup Citrus-flavored vodka (no need for fancy here, either)
salt
pepper

Here is where we are going...

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And here is how we get there...

First, chop up your lettuce. I only use a little bit of the red leaf lettuce, for color:

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Throw this in a bowl.

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Using a peeler, shred your carrot onto the lettuce.

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Now, time to chop. Start with the red cabbage. Don't use the whole thing, we just want enough to add some festive color to the dish. About this much:

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Now chop your 1/2 red onion by slicing as thin as you can manage, the quartering the slices like so:

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Now cut your cherry tomatoes. Cut them at their equator as shown (the stem being the "North pole"):

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The end result should look something like this:

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Throw everything in the salad and grate about a half a cup of the parmesan cheese in as well. Toss this up, and plate it on a salad platter:

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Now for the dressing. To start, squeeze your fresh lemons.

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You want to end up with about a cup of fresh lemon juice:

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Add 1/2 cup of olive oil...

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Add 1/4 cup Dijon mustard...

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Add 1/4 cup of citrus-flavored vodka. The flavored vodkas are sweetened, so this ingredient takes the place of the sugar that usually goes into this dressing.

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When you're done, add some salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste, whisk it all up and it should look something like this:

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Time to put it all together. Cut your meats and mozzarella cheese into strips.

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Place the pickled vegetables around the edge, top with the olives, and artfully place your meats and cheeses over the salad. Who wouldn't want to eat this?

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