April 5, 2025

Italian Sub Salad

Name: Italian Sub Salad
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: -For the salad:; 1 10oz bag of shredded cabbage (or coleslaw mix); 1/4 pound of salami, sliced into thin strips; 1 medium sized shallot, cut in half and thinly sliced; 1/4 cup dried garbanzo beans, reconstituted (or 1/2 a 15oz can, rinsed); 1/2 cup shredded provolone or mozzarella (optional but recommended); -Dressing:; 1/4 cup red wine vinegar; 1/3 cup olive oil; 1 tsp dijon mustard; 1/4 cup grated pecorino or parm (optional but recommended); a pinch of chopped, fresh, thyme (optional); salt and pepper to taste

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It’s spring at last and I have salad on the brain. But not the kind where you stuff big leaves in your mouth and munch like a bunny, as the dressing sprays and the leaves tickle your nose. That has its time and place, but at the moment I’m craving Chopped Salads. In my opinion, they’re more filling, more forgiving with ingredient combinations and can be more full of nutrients.

This is one of those viral salads promoted by a celebrity and its very easy and very tasty. It packs nutrients, is high in protein, low in carbs and the perfect thing to nosh in the warm sun of spring as you start thinking about your health and your summer bod.

Although this recipe is based on the La Scala chopped salad, I’ve put my own spin on it. Traditionally this is made with iceberg lettuce, but I subbed shredded cabbage for a bit of extra nutrients and some crunch that doesn’t go soggy too quickly the way iceberg tends to. This salad is even better the next day, as the flavors meld together, so the use of a sturdier ingredient like cabbage makes this recipe a great one for a picnic or meal prep!

Buying pre-chopped cabbage is a great hack that cuts the down time to make this already quick salad even more. But its not necessary – if you’re strapped for funds, you may find buying a small head of cabbage and shredding it yourself much more economical. You can freeze what you don’t use now and use it for all sorts of other things.

Speaking of having things on hand, I only had dried chickpeas so I reconstituted those by placing them in a large bowl and covering with boiling water from the kettle. Place a small plate on top and let it sit … Chickpeas done like this taste much better than canned (I’ll fight you on that) but if you have a can in your pantry, go ahead and use that.

What is necessary in this recipe is the red wine vinegar in the dressing. RWV brings that excellent Italian Sub flavor out when it combines with all the other ingredients. That said, I get it. I also don’t know what else I would use RWV for and, even though the stuff has a long shelf life, I really don’t like buying a whole ingredient just to use for one thing! So. You’re an adult and can give yourself permission to use apple cider vinegar, if you have that on hand instead.