Tuscan Salad

Not all salads are created equal. My Tuscan grandparent’s salads contained vegetables, fruit, nuts and protein. The ingredients of any salad depended on what was picked from the garden that morning, with a little helped from selected canned fruits and beans. Tuscan salads come in many forms and they were never boring. The following salad contains many of the possibilities that as of any given day will appear on the table. Note: Iceberg lettuce was not grown in our gardens.

Dressings for one head of Romaine lettuce:

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil. (Typically 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar)
2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1 clove finely chopped garlic
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 lemon, juiced

Options: Balsamic or Raspberry Balsamic vinaigrette

Possible salad ingredients;

1 head romaine lettuce, torn. May also include other dark greens.
1 15-oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
½ cup pitted black or fermented olives
2 tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped
½ thinly sliced red onion
½ thinly sliced fennel.
¼ cup chopped walnuts
1 small can mandarin oranges
2 eggs, hard boiled and sliced
½ cup thinly shaved parmigiana cheese

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