Ingredients
For the salad
Lettuces of choice
6 strips bacon
1⁄2 red onion, minced
2 cups tomatoes, diced, or small tomatoes, halved
8 ounces fresh mozzarella, diced
For the croutons
1 8-inch long ciabatta, cut into small cubes
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 sundried tomatoes, minced
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
2⁄3 teaspoon dried basil
1⁄8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil
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For the dressing_
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 garlic clove, minced
1⁄4 teaspoon onion powder
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh chives, minced
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated or shredded
Instructions
1. Heat oven to 375*F. Spread bacon over rack set in baking sheet. Bake until crispy, about 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, combine garlic, sundried tomatoes, salt, basil, cayenne and olive oil for croutons in food processor or mini-grinder.
3. Massage sundried tomato mixture into bread cubes, making sure each cube is coated.
4. When bacon is finished, remove rack from baking sheet and crumble bacon. Stir coated bread crumbs into bacon fat on baking sheet, reduce oven to 350*F and bake croutons for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until crispy and golden brown.
5. Mix all dressing ingredients together in small bowl.
6. In large salad bowl, combine lettuce, crumbled bacon, red onion, tomatoes, mozzarella, and croutons. Mix well and add desired amount of dressing to coat. Serve remaining dressing on the side.
[Photo forthcoming]
Comments
This recipe is from the ever awesome Kayotic Kitchen. As a shock, it’s the first recipe I’ve made of hers that I didn’t think was perfect as written. I omitted the avocado the original recipe called for, since I’m the only one in the house who likes it. I feel like I also should have omitted the mozzarella because it didn’t add anything to the salad in my opinion. It’s a very busy salad!
Everything else, though, was amazing. The dressing rocked and the croutons were just small cubes of perfection. I think Art would have been happy to just have a bowl of croutons to munch on. I did use a large tomato and that proved to be a bit too watery, but I think that’s because I choose the wrong tomato. Make sure not to let your tomato water down the salad!
This recipe makes a meal for 3-4 people, so plan your lettuce accordingly.
Sadly, no picture of this one.
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