My Nieces’ Favorite Salad
This is my niece Barb’s favorite salad. All my nieces love this, but if salad is on the menu and Barb is coming, this is the salad I have to make!
It’s really very easy. There are only few ingredients, marinated sun-dried tomatoes, marinated artichokes, parmesan cheese, lettuce and sometimes I add a little balsamic vinegar. That’s it! The key is to use sun-dried tomatoes and artichokes that are marinated in oil. The marinade gives the sun-dried tomatoes and artichokes more flavor, and the marinated oil that clings to the tomatoes and artichokes (plus the balsamic vinegar) is what forms the salad dressing. The hardest part is shaving the cheese. Easy, peasy!
The ingredients (except for the lettuce) are a little expensive. However, they have a very long shelf life, even after they are opened. So I always buy the big jars of marinated sun-dried tomatoes and marinated artichokes and the big piece of parmesan from Costco or Sam’s Club. It’s a bigger dollar outlay, but there’s a lot more for the dollar. And it’s nice to always have the ingredients in the refrigerator. You can use them for so many different dishes.
Another thing that’s nice about this salad is that the proportions don’t have to be exact. If you really like sun-dried tomatoes, add more. I love them so I almost always use more. (Just be careful not to add too much of the oil.) If you don’t have enough marinated artichokes, add less. I love parmesan, so I always add extra cheese! Either way, it’s all good!
I prefer using romaine lettuce for this salad because the leaves are sturdy enough to hold the oil and the heavy artichokes. The lighter leaf lettuces end up getting wimpy and limp. (No one wants a wimpy, limp salad!)
Rough cut the sun-dried tomatoes into bite-sized strips. (My last jar I bought from Costco was already pre-cut into julienne strips.) Then scape all the marinated oil on the cutting board with the tomato strips into the salad bowl.
Cut the artichokes into bite sized pieces, scrape them and their juices into the salad bowl. You shouldn’t need any extra oil other than the oil that stuck to the tomatoes and artichokes as you took them out of the jar. You don’t want too much oil or your salad will be too oily and soggy.
For fuller flavor, I will add a bit of good balsamic vinegar to the sun-dried tomatoes and artichokes. Barb likes it plain, however sometimes I don’t think there is enough flavor without the vinegar, so I usually add it in.
Don’t buy the parmesan cheese in the jar, or shredded cheese of any kind. You really want shaved pieces. If you use shredded cheese the flavor will be completely different. It will almost melt into the lettuce as opposed to getting a bite of cheese from the shavings. Trust me on this. You want a wedge of parmesan cheese that you shave.. Start at the narrow end of the piece of cheese, and using a vegetable peeler, shave the end of the cheese. I think a vegetable peeler is the easiest, but you can also use a cheese grater that has a slicer, but watch you fingers! (If you use a grater or a mandolin I actually suggest investing in a kevlar slicing glove. They are inexpensive, especially compared to a trip to the emergency room.)
One added bonus on this salad is you can actually prepare it a day in advance. Make sure to layer the cut sun-dried tomatoes, the artichoke pieces, the oil from the cutting board and the vinegar in the bottom of the salad bowl. Mix well.
Carefully place the shredded romaine on top of the tomatoes and artichokes. Do not mix in the lettuce. Wrap the shaved parmesan cheese in plastic wrap or a small ziplock bag and place on top to the romaine.
Very tightly cover the salad bowl with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Take the salad out of the refrigerator about 10 or 15 minutes before mixing. This will give the oil at the bottom of the bowl enough time to liquify. Unwrap the parmesan and place about 2/3 of it on top of the romaine, reserving the rest for the garnish.. Toss the salad, carefully scraping up the oil at the bottom. When the salad is well mixed, top with the remaining cheese and serve.
This is a good summer salad because it can stand up to the summer heat for a bit.
Marinated Sun-dried Tomato
and Artichoke Salad
Ingredients:
1 Cup Marinated Sun-dried Tomatoes packed in oil (leaving the oils attached)
1 Cup Marinated Artichokes (leaving the oils attached)
1 to 2T Balsamic Vineagar (optional)
7 Cups chopped (about 1 1/2 heads) washed Romaine Lettuce
2 to 3 oz Chunk Parmesan Cheese
Instructions:
Cut the sun-dried tomatoes into strips. Scrape the tomatoes and all of the oil remaining on the cutting board into a salad bowl.
Cut the Marinated artichokes into bite-sized pieces. Scrape the cut artichokes and their oil in the salad bowl.
If using, sprinkle the balsamic vinegar on the tomatoes and artichokes. Mix the tomatoes, artichokes and vinegar well.
Place the chopped romaine on the tomato and artichoke mixture.
Carefully shave the parmesan cheese with a vegetable peeler. Place 2/3 of the cheese in the bowl. Reserve the rest for the garnish.
Toss the salad, mixing thoroughly. Garnish with the remaining cheese. Serve.
