Antipasto Salad with Pizza Croutons

As I child, I never understood the obligatory “house salad” that got tacked on to the Friday night pizza order and arrived in an aluminum tin. As a grown up, I crave crunchy greens more often and appreciate the simple beauty of iceberg lettuce with a bit of Italian dressing. This is one of the few salads I make constantly, because it relies on ingredients that are almost always in my fridge, it’s easy to riff on, and it always leaves me full. My version of the pizza parlor classic gets a few upgrades; like fresh mozzarella, ribbons of salami, and kalamata olives—instead of the black ones from the can. Because I’m still a child at heart, I use leftover pizza to make the best croutons imaginable.

Serves 2.

·      2 slices leftover pizza

·      1 head iceberg lettuce—chopped

·      2 tablespoons Italian dressing

·      ½ cup cherry tomatoes—quartered

·      ¼ cup pitted kalamata olives—quartered

·      ½ cup sweet peppers—thinly sliced

·      ½ cup Ciligini mozzarella—halved

·      ¼ cup salami—thinly sliced

Optional

·      ¼ cup marinated artichoke hearts—chopped

·      ¼ cup roasted red peppers—chopped

·      1 tablespoon fresh basil—chopped

·      Pepperoncini’s—thinly sliced

1.     Preheat oven or toaster oven to 400 degrees. Cut leftover pizza into 1/2-inch squares and arrange crust side down on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake the pizza croutons for 10 minutes or until the edges are crispy and browned.

2.     While the croutons bake, assemble your salad. In a large bowl, toss the chopped iceberg lettuce with the Italian dressing until lightly coated. Add the cherry tomatoes, kalamata, olives, sweet peppers, mozzarella, salami, and any additional toppings.

3.     Once the pizza croutons have cooled slightly, add them to the salad. Toss to combine and serve.