Antipasto Salad with Sun-dried Tomato Dressing
Big life update for March 2023 - we are IN our new house. Living our best life, we’ve kicked apartment living to the curb, and we’ve spent the last 2+ weeks settling in. No couch, very little decor, and lots of floor dwelling, but we have loved every second. We’ve got a dining table, a bed-set, and a fully functioning kitchen, and that’s all we need to be quite happy settling into our new space. My personal highlights - not having to go downstairs + into a cold garage to grab either pots, pans, or an outfit for the day, and re-discovering all the things we’ve had packed away for the last 15 months. The pictures, the chachkis, the books - just so many things we’ve packed away and just not seen, but truly love. The other day we un-packed 3 matching white candle-sticks - nothing special or really spectacular (I think they’re from IKEA), but I remember these candle-sticks being one of the few pieces of decor we had in our very first house. They sat right in the center of our dining table - at the time I’m sure I thought they were cutting edge - but they’ve made it through all of our moves. They feel special, and unpacking them made me so excited to find them the perfect spot in our dream home.
But I’d be lying if I said the kitchen wasn’t just my absolute favorite. I love just looking at it. I am counting the days until our counter stools are delivered so I have a comfy place to sit while I just stare at it. I’m obsessed. And obsessed with getting in there to make meals. Admittedly our first few meals have been pretty basic, but cooking in there in any capacity has been a joy. And on 2 occasions I’ve snuck in a couple moments to re-charge and make my favorite Antipasto Salad with Sun-dried Tomato Dressing. It’s bold + vinegary + perfectly salty + kinda chunky, but in a fun, marinated vegetable kind of way. It’s like antipasto salad meets charcuterie board dip. Sounds weird, but really want I mean is it pairs perfectly with a cracker. Chunky olives, tomatoes, cubed salami, and mozzarella balls - it gives classic cheeseboard vibes + it’s as good piled on top of a cracker as it is on a fork.
Texture, baby
This salad is bold. It’s not a salad that’s 80/20 lettuce to mix-in ratio - more of a 50/50 mix. Everything gets tossed together so the greens are mixed in with the dressing + chunked up antipasto mix-ins. I feel like a salad like this has a casual “picnic” feel + it’s perfect. The mix-ins are cut into bite-size chunks - chunks being the operative word. The colors + texture - it stands out and you can look at the final product and clearly decipher what antipasto items you’ve got in there. Heavy on the delicious jarred stuff that I personally love to pile on a charcuterie board.
My x-factor - some toasted + roughly chopped walnuts mixed in. It’s like the crouton. A little bit of crunch + the nutty flavor pairs perfectly with all the antipasto goodness.
The best sun-dried tomato dressing
The sun-dried tomato dressing is the glue that holds it all together. Lemon-y + light, but a distinct sun-dried tomato flavor. It’s premium stuff. I love a thicker dressing that really coats the salad, so I add in Dijon + honey to thicken it up, and it all pairs perfectly together.
A couple tips for the dressing:
Remove about 75% of the tomatoes from the jar + place on a paper towel to absorb the oil, and add the remaining tomatoes directly from the jar to get some of the oil. It just helps moderate oil, and you can always add a bit more oil from the if you want to impact the texture.
Use a food processor! It just makes life so easy and avoids an oily mess on thee cutting board trying to chopped sun-dried tomatoes. Throw everything in the food processor all at once (this is when my handheld processor comes in handy) + let it do the work.
For the greens - go with your gut
It’s a bold + chunky salad. Like a charcuterie dip that also kinda reminds me a bruschetta kinda thing. It’s very delicious! Point being that if I want it to feel more like a traditional salad, I just pile on the arugula.
Bold + tangy + big anti-pasto vibes. It’s charcuterie board in salad form, and I’m thinking of it as a class Italian meat + cheeseboard reinvented. So delicious + such a good salad to have on hand for the busy week-days! Because its so chunky + filled with so many antipasto ingredients, it holds up super well. Great to make ahead of time for a get together or just ourselves (to keep us a step ahead of having chips for lunch).
For the dressing
1 8.5 oz. jar sun-dried tomatoes, drained (reserve oil)
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 c. Dijon
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp honey
For the salad
1 soppressata or cured salami log, cut into small cubes
1 8 oz. Container small mozzarella balls, halved
1 jar calvestrano olives, halved
1/2 c. marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
1/2 c. toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
1/4 c. sliced pepperoncinis, drained
A few handfuls of arugula (as much as desired; I used about 2-3 cups to start)
2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
Pinch of salt + pepper
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Start by adding all ingredients for the dressing to a food processor. Pulse to combine - you want the tomatoes to still be a little chunky + not totally pureed. Taste and add a a tsp or 2 of the reserved oil If you want a thinner consistency. Mine was a pretty thick dressing, which I like!
Start by placing the arugula in a large bowl and toss with 2 tbsp of the dressing. Toss to coat the greens. Add in all remaining salad ingredients, including herbs + seasoning, and another 2 tbsp dressing to the bowl. Toss to coat, mixing the greens + antipasto ingredients together, and add in more dressing a tablespoon at a time. Separate into bowls, topping each with a bit of leftover herbs + walnut pieces, and you’re set. Simple, quick, and so good.
