Fresh, hearty, and quick to make, this flavorful sun-dried tomato and bean salad from Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis makes the perfect side dish, main dish, or even light lunch.
Here’s how to make the chef’s simple and satisfying salad.
De Laurentiis calls this salad ‘refreshing’
The Italian-American chef can put together fancy dishes requiring more steps but also knows how to create recipes that busy home cooks can use for quick meals. Her white bean and sun-dried tomato salad fits the bill, as she wrote on Giadzy.
“For this salad, I combine romaine lettuce and radicchio, then toss them with white beans and sun-dried tomatoes,” the Eat Better, Feel Better author said. “After a splash of red wine vinaigrette, I’m ready to dig in! It’s light, refreshing, and perfect for two.”
You only need 5 ingredients to make the chef’s quick and tasty salad
In addition to salt, pepper, and extra-virgin olive oil, De Laurentiis’ recipe just needs a few more ingredients: red wine vinegar, chopped romaine lettuce, chopped radicchio, canned white beans, and chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes.
“For this simple dinner,” De Laurentiis says in the Food Network video, link below, “I am making one of the easiest salads. …”
The beauty of this salad, the chef adds, is its “very quick and easy dressing.” The red wine vinegar is whisked with salt, pepper, and the olive oil. “This is the classic vinaigrette my mom made from day one. She’d either use red wine vinegar or sometimes she’d even use lemon juice, so you can just use lemon juice if you wanted to.”
De Laurentiis urges home cooks to keep in mind that they can have a delicious dressing, but it’s all for naught if it overpowers the rest of the dish.
“I don’t like to weigh down the lettuces. A lot of times you go to a restaurant and there’s just tons and tons of dressing,” she continued. “And you end up not even being able to taste the crunch from the lettuce. So, go light on the dressing; you can always add more.”
Between the slightly bitter radicchio, crunchy romaine, tender beans, and chewy, sweet sun-dried tomatoes, this nourishing salad packs a ton of flavor and texture.
Get the complete recipe, video, and reviews on Food Network’s site.
Reviewers loved Giada De Laurentiis’ impressive dish
With all that crunch and color, the chef’s salad caught the attention of Food Network reviewers.
“This salad couldn’t be any easier and so full of flavor. I love the taste of sweet with the salt. It’s very colorful and pretty to serve to guests. This definitely is not a boring salad,” one home cook wrote.
Another fan appreciated De Laurentiis’ easy dressing: “This salad turned out much better than I anticipated. I was a little wary about the dressing because I’ve never made my own, but it turned out great. The beans add a great, interesting texture.”
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