Big Italian Salad (129)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup loosely packed fresh Italian parsley leaves
• 1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
• ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• ⅓ cup red wine vinegar, best quality such as Pompeian Gourmet
• ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil, best quality such as Lucini or Colavita
• Heaping ¾ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 large head romaine lettuce (or 3 hearts), washed, dried and cut into large, bite-sized pieces
• 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup seeded and chopped hothouse cucumbers
• 1 to 2 carrots, peeled into ribbons
• Handful grape tomatoes, halved
• Handful pitted olives
• Ricotta Salata or Feta, crumbled to taste

Instructions:

1. Make the dressing: Combine all dressing ingredients in a food processor and blitz to blend.
2. Place all of the salad ingredients except for the cheese in a large bowl. Right before serving, add about half of the dressing and toss well. Add more dressing little by little as necessary; be sure to dress greens very generously, otherwise salad will be bland. Toss in the cheese, then taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary.
3. Note: Ricotta salata is an Italian sheep's milk cheese that has a salty, slightly tangy flavor, almost like a dry Italian feta. It is not the same as the wet ricotta in the tub. You can find it at Whole Foods, gourmet grocers or specialty cheese shops.
4. Note: Nutritional information was calculated assuming ½ cup of ricotta salata and all of the dressing was used.