Devin is a huge fan of chopped salads. When veggies are chopped finely, you get a flavor explosion in your mouth as the ingredients mingle, thus requiring significantly less dressing. There are two key things to remember when attempting to master the perfect, restaurant-quality salad — always dry the lettuce well and remove the seeds from tomatoes and cucumbers. If you omit either of these steps, you’re pretty much guaranteeing a soggy salad.

Antipasto Chopped Salad

Antipasto Chopped Salad

Devin is a huge fan of chopped salads. When veggies are chopped finely, you get a flavor explosion in your mouth as the ingredients mingle, thus requiring significantly less dressing. There are two key things to remember when attempting to master the perfect, restaurant-quality salad — always dry the lettuce well and remove the seeds from tomatoes and cucumbers. If you omit either of these steps, you’re pretty much guaranteeing a soggy salad.
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Servings: 3 appetizer portions (or 1 entree serving), makes 5 cups total
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups finely shredded romaine lettuce
  • 2 cups finely shredded arugula leaves
  • 1/4 cup finely slivered fresh basil leaves
  • 1 1/4 cup shredded low-fat mozzarella, divided
  • 1 ounce (1/4-inch cubes) 97% lean deli ham
  • 1 ounce slivers or 1/4-inch cubes reduced-fat salami
  • 1 medium Roma tomato, seeded and finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup finely slivered roasted red bell pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon minced jarred hot chiles
  • 2 tablespoons Red Wine Vinaigrette (see recipe)

Method
 

  1. Combine the lettuce, arugula, basil, mozzarella, ham, salami, tomato, bell pepper, and chiles in a large bowl and toss until well combined. Add the Red Wine Vinaigrette and toss until the dressing is evenly distributed. Serve immediately.

Notes

Each appetizer portion (about 1 2/3 cups) has: 101 calories, 8 g protein, 7 g carbohydrates, 5 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 13 mg cholesterol, 3 g fiber, 306 mg sodium. Each entree serving (5 cups) has: 304 calories, 23 g protein, 22 g carbohydrates, 16 g fat, 4 g saturated fat, 38 mg cholesterol, 8 g fiber, 919 mg sodium.
Recipe taken from Devin Alexander’s THE MOST DECADENT DIET EVER! Copyright © 2008 by Devin Alexander, published by Broadway Books, a division of Random House Inc.
Photo Credit: Theresa Raffetto

The dressing on this salad has its own page — get the full recipe for Red Wine Vinaigrette.