This past Saturday, we had a blast cooking and watching football. Greg’s dad was over and we decided to cook a few things for dinner… Greg made the main course: Masala Fried Shrimp, and I made a mushroom risotto, garlic bread, and this beautiful, amazingly delicious chopped copycat Maggiano’s salad.
I have a recipe pin board where I pin any recipes I really want to make in the near future. Every once in a while, when I’m stumped on what to cook, I’ll look back through it to get some ideas (from past me). I looked through it recently and remembered this amazing-looking salad (pin) called ‘My Maggiano Salad’ from Renee at Joy in Every Season. It’s a copycat recipe for a chopped salad from an Italian chain restaurant called Maggiano’s Little Italy.
When I read the name of the recipe, I knew the restaurant sounded familiar. I thought I had been to one with my mom and Greg in North Carolina. (and thanks to my Foursquare history, I found the exact date and time I was there! — Ha!) To prove myself right, I found out we were there at the Durham, NC location on Thursday, August 5th, 2010 at 12:22pm (pretty CRAZY — I knew all those check-ins would count for something)! I remember we were on a trip to Asheville, NC and we went through Durham on the way to pick up Rocky at a sail camp in Arapahoe, NC. It was a super fun trip, and we had a TON of good food! I also got a little curious if I had a Foodspotting photo from the time we went and I DID! I got the Margherita Flatbread (here’s the pic from FIVE years ago! ha!)
[lets be friends on Foursquare for those still using it!]
Anyways, this salad is Renee’s rendition of the house salad from Maggiano’s. It includes a crispy prosciutto, gorgonzola cheese, red onion, and a perfect dressing. The lettuce is chopped small, so that salad is quite easy to eat. You don’t have to worry about large leaves of lettuce hanging out of your mouth… it happens.
We all agreed that this salad was absolute perfection. Both Greg and his dad wildly approved, and we literally finished EVERYTHING that night, when we thought we’d have plenty of leftovers. It was SO yummy. Greg said it was the best homemade salad he’d ever had. I hope you enjoy, and view Renee’s blog Joy in Every Season here, she has plenty of amazing recipes and beautiful photography!
- Combine all ingredients except for oil & oregano in blender (or whisk in a bowl). Blend until smooth. With blender running, stream in olive oil. Add oregano and blend till mixed.
- Heat oil in large skillet over med heat. Add prosciutto and cook until brown and crispy. Remove from pan with slotted spoon and drain on paper towel. Set aside.
- In large bowl, toss the lettuce, onions, gorgonzola cheese, and crispy prosciutto bits. Lightly drizzle on dressing (start with a little, you can add more to your taste preference) and toss to combine.
- Recipe from Joy in Every Season
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