I have quite a number of blogger friends who are expecting babies right now. Last week I brought Peanut Butter Bonbons the Size of Texas to a virtual baby shower. And this week I’m evening out those delicious sweet calories with jars of Italian Chopped Salad with Creamy Caesar Dressing, a salad I concocted just for my sweet friend and expectant momma, Aggie.
I’ve been “virtual” friends with Aggie for awhile now, but we didn’t actually meet until last fall when we were guests of Harry and David in Oregon. Spending a few days with her, finding each other at the lovely Magnolia Inn’s coffee pot early each morning, my collected feelings about Aggie were quickly affirmed. She’s a peach. And I’m so blessed to call her friend.
Aggie’s Kitchen is a great resource for simple family meals, and one that I specifically visit for tasty salads and beans recipes. I also adore how Aggie always finds ways to honor her family and Italian roots.
I embraced her beautiful Italian heritage and created a fresh colorful salad with a creamy homemade Caesar dressing. And I layered it all up in a jar, just for the fun of it!
The salad has all kinds of good things going on. There are garbanzo beans on the bottom layer, mingling with the Caesar dressing. Then shredded carrots, fresh-from-the-garden sweet cherry tomatoes, and chopped kalamata olives, romaine, and Italian parsley. The jar is topped off with peppery arugula, fresh shaved Parmesan, and a sprinkling of toasted pine nuts and freshly cracked black pepper. I like to serve the salad with slices of fresh lemon for squeezing over the top. It adds just the perfect finishing touch.
If you like Caesar dressing, I beg you to give this super flavorful one a try. It’s creamy, but in a light way, using a combination of Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, olive oil, and white wine vinegar…plus it gets added yumminess from Worcestershire, whole grain Dijon, and Frank’s RedHot sauce. The mayonnaise not only added some creaminess, it also dodged the raw egg issue that is typical of homemade Caesar dressing, without sacrificing that beautiful eggy flavor. My husband, a harsh critic of Caesar salads, took only one bite before saying, “Wow, you can make this again.” Yes, it’s that good.
Italian Chopped Salad in a Jar {with Creamy Caesar Dressing}
Ingredients
- for the creamy Caesar dressing:
- ⅓ c. Greek yogurt
- ⅓ c. mayonnaise
- 6 anchovy fillets minced
- 4 large garlic cloves minced
- ⅓ c. grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 T. white wine vinegar
- 1 T. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp. Dijon whole grain mustard
- 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp. Frank’s RedHot sauce
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- for the Italian chopped salad:
- 1 15- oz. can garbanzo beans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 2 c. shredded carrots
- 2 c. halved cherry tomatoes
- ½ c. rough chopped kalamata olives
- 6 c. chopped romaine lettuce
- ⅓ c. rough chopped Italian parsley
- 1 c. packed baby arugula
- ¼ c. toasted pine nuts
- shaved Parmesan cheese and freshly ground black pepper for topping the salad
- ½ lemon cut into 6 wedges, for sprinkling over the salad
Instructions
for the creamy Caesar dressing:
- Combine all ingredients in a blender and blitz until smooth and creamy. Or place ingredients in a small bowl and use an immersion blender to combine.
- Refrigerate until ready to use.
for the Italian chopped salad:
- Wash and dry 6 pint size jars. Divide garbanzo beans evenly between the jars. To each jar, spoon 2 tablespoons prepared creamy Caesar dressing over the beans. It’s important to make this your first layer, so the dressing doesn’t make the lettuces soggy.
- Next divide the shredded carrots evenly between the jars, followed by the cherry tomatoes, and then the kalamata olives. Divide the lettuce and parsley evenly between the jars, compacting the layer enough to leave 1” of headspace in the jars. Top with baby arugula, followed by pine nuts, shaved Parmesan, and freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately, or cover individual jars with lids and refrigerate until ready to eat.
- To serve, provide a dinner plate for each jar, to pour the jar of salad out onto. This will allow for everything to mingle together and distribute, for a variety of flavors and textures in each bite. Serve each salad with a fresh slice of lemon, to squeeze over the top right before eating. This salad can be made several hours before serving.
I’ve done this for years when going to meetings or other events where I’m not sure there’ll be something there I can eat. But with much fewer ingredients so as to keep it simple. Rice on the bottom, curried chickpeas in the middle, small salad on the top. In a cleaned nut butter glass jar.
Thanks for sharing how you do this, Cecile. I love the idea of incorporating rice!
The other day my daughter-in-law asked me to teach her how to cook. I am so excited – it’s gonna be fun! She will love this salad – so it’s on the list. And I will show her your inspiring blog.
That is FABulous, Pamela! I hope you both like this salad, we really like that dressing! Thanks for sharing my recipes/site with your daughter-in-law. Happy New Year!
What a wonderful salad, and of course, I love the jar!
Love this! After all, everything tastes better in a jar, right?!
Brenda, what a CUTE way to serve salad. I’m pinning this to do SOON. My husband loves caesar dressing, so this will be a must try. PS~ Love your words about Aggie. :-) She is a peach! {you too GirlFriend!}.
This is seriously some delicious salad! I love that you served it in jars, so clever!
Salad in a jar…pretty genius! Perfect for Aggies shower!
I LOVE everything about this salad Brenda!! You really know my tastes well :) The jar looks so pretty with all those colorful veggies, yum!
I can’t thank you enough for your friendship and for being part of this sweet surprise! xoxo
These are lovely. So vibrant! Could you just shake the salad in the jar and eat it out of the jar? Or is that too cumbersome?
Hi Summer – yes, you definitely could do that. I think the dressing is loose enough to get distributed. But you’ll be eating the salad more in layers.
This looks so good and easy!
Such a pretty and colorful salad… and I LOVE that it’s in a jar! Perfect for a shower :)
What a delicious looking salad. I love that you made it in a jar. Nice party for Aggie with delicious recipes.
Wonderful idea for a baby shower!! *congrats to aggie!* Love salad layers in a jar
what a great idea for a party!! We are having a party in a few weeks, I might need to do this!!
Looks so wonderful Brenda!
There is nothing better than a really good Caesar dressing (with anchovies!) and these jarred salads are absolutely adorable, Brenda.
I love the idea of putting salad in mason jars–perfect for work or on the go! Yum!
Love the salad in a jar idea, and the ingredients sound so good! I’m not one to shy away from anchovies, either.
I am just in love with this idea! So great for packed lunches, picnics or suppers outside!!!