This is food-porn at it’s finest, people.
You know how sometimes, you think salad, and it’s WAY LESS appealing/appetizing than some other food item that could potentially be on the menu? You have bites here and there that are less than mind-blowing. Mmmm iceberg lettuce. Yum. :-/
This salad is completely the opposite. It’s sultry, luscious, and sassy, making your heart skip a beat with every bite. Laying on a bed of peppery arugula is sweet melon draped in sheets of salty prosciutto. Creamy mozzarella, tangy marinated artichokes, and Roland’s oven roasted red peppers marinated in garlic* accompany them, never allowing a dull moment. No no! The whole dish is dressed with a simple Italian basil vinaigrette. I can’t stress to you enough how much I LOVE THIS SALAD!!
If salad month can be made of salads like this, I don’t think I’d ever want to go back!
I don’t have any more words… You’re going to have to try this one, and let it speak for itself.
Do you have a swoon-worthy salad that you love? I’d love to hear about it!
Seductive Italian Salad
By
Published: May 20th, 2012
Ingredients
For the salad:
½ of a Cantaloupe
3 Ounces Prosciutto
12 Cups Arugula
12 ounces Marinated Artichoke Hearts
¾ Cup Roland Oven Roasted Red Peppers, Marinated in Garlic*
4 ounces sliced Fresh Mozzarella
For the dressing (adapted from the Vitamix cookbook):
5 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
½ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
¼ Teaspoon Sugar
½ Teaspoon Sea Salt
1/8 Teaspoon Pepper
1 Teaspoon Dijon Mustard
1 Garlic Clove
¼ Cup Fresh Chopped Basil
Instructions
Using a melon baller, scoop out 20 melon spheres from the cantaloupe. You can also simply cut into chunks, they just won’t look as pretty. Cut each slice of prosciutto into thirds, and wrap around the cantaloupe. Set aside. Slice the peppers into ¼ inch strips, halve the artichoke hearts if they’re big, and slice the mozzarella into bite sized chunks. To assemble the salad, divide the arugula onto four plates, then top with the artichokes, peppers, and mozzarella. Finally, place 5 of the prosciutto wrapped melon balls on top of each salad. Serve with half of the Italian Basil Vinaigrette recipe (below).
Italian Basil Vinaigrette:
Place all dressing ingredients in a blender, and mix on high until well combined.
Prep time: 20 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Calories per serving: 434
Fat per serving: 33.3g
Saturated Fat per serving: 7.3g
Cholesterol per serving: 54.8mg
Sodium per serving: 1229.9mg
Carbohydrates per serving: 22.7g
Fiber per serving: 5.7g
Sugars per serving: 12.2g
Protein per serving: 19.3g
*I didn’t get paid by Roland to mention them in this post. They gave me a bag of these lovely roasted red peppers at Camp Blogaway because I loved them so much. Thassssit. I love them, so I used them.
Always loving a pork-tastic salad! Looks awesome
Thanks, Nathan! Putting the Christina Peters photography tips in action!
OMG! That looks fantastic. I can’t wait to try it. You are now the salad goddess in my book.
Aww Cathy! You’re too sweet! Thank you!
Awesome salad! The prosciutto-wrapped cantaloupe looks fantastic on top, and I love all of the colors. Yum.
Thanks Carrie!
Yum! Looks delicious and I love prosciutto and melon!
Thanks so much!! 😀
Huge bites of glorious cheese mixed with prosciutto and melon yummmm
“making your heart skip a beat with every bite”
It looks so good, i don’t know if I actually want my heart skipping a beat. I dont know if it’ll start back up again. 🙂
Looks great Nat!