Perfect Salad for a Crowd

I recently showed a picture of this salad and asked if anyone would be interested in the recipe. Sorry for the delay, but here it is.

This salad is perfect for a crowd of people. It has the tang of the parmesan vinaigrette, the amazing flavor from the roasted red peppers, the saltiness of capers and the crunch from the toasted pine nuts. What more could you want? The recipe I’m giving you will fill 2 large bowls, so feel free to cut it in half! If you are serving it for a large gathering, put one bowl at each end of the table.

One of the best things about this salad is the presentation because it looks so pretty. I would suggest serving it like this and then tossing it at the table.

I serve the dressing on the side, for two reasons. The first being that you guests can choose how much dressing they would like to use. The most important reason is that if you have leftovers, they won’t get soggy and you can just add some dressing to your salad the next day.

 This recipe will serve 16-18 people, as a side dish. This salad is delicious enough and hardy enough to serve as a main dish with some French bread on the side.

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Zesty Dinner Party Salad

Yield: 6-8

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

This delicious dinner salad is popular at every gathering I've had. It combines the sweet, flavorful roasted red peppers with the tangy artichoke hearts; it has the salty capers and the crunch of the pine nuts or almond slivers. The dressing is the star of the show with the parmesan cheese, red wine vinegar and some other herbs thrown in. This is sure to be a favorite in your house!

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Ingredients

Zesty Parmesan Dressing

• 1/2 cup fresh, grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp Italian Herb Seasoning
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp paprika (I use sweet Hungarian)
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Zesty Dinner Party Salad

• 1/2 head red leaf lettuce, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 head green leaf lettuce, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 small red onion, sliced very thinly and then sliced again so that the pieces are each 1/4 circle pieces
• 1 (14 oz) jar grilled artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped
• 1 (12 oz) jar (I use about 3/4 of the jar), roasted red peppers, drained and roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup capers, drained

Instructions

For Zesty Dressing

1. Place all ingredients into a small mason jar and shake vigorously to combine. You can pour all of it onto the bowl of salad or serve it alongside the salad so that your guests can add their own desired amount.
2. You might want to make a double batch of this dressing because it's so delicious that you'll want to use it on other salads, too!

Zesty Dinner Party Salad

1. Lay a bed of the combined, chopped lettuce into a large serving bowl. Place each additional ingredient in a pile on top, keeping each ingredient separated for a beautiful presentation. When guests are ready for the salad, you can toss the salad as-is or add the dressing and toss all of the ingredients together before serving.
2. As I mentioned previously, this salad is great for a larger gathering, so just double the recipe and serve in 2 large bowls.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

I hope you enjoy this recipe. I will be sharing more recipes for larger gatherings in the near future. This is the perfect salad for any celebration!

Thanks for stopping by my website!

xoxoTeresa