Living with uncertainty can lead to a lot of stress eating (we’ve all seen the memes on social media). Luckily, we don’t have to give up big flavors for healthy eating. Here’s a salad dressing recipe that you can use on any fresh veggies of your choice from Executive Chef Jose Mejia from Olive & Hay at Meritage Resort & Spa (meritagecollection.com) in Napa. You can still enjoy the same crunch of chips that you get with without all the other stuff.
The Big Italian Salad at Olive & Hay
Italian Dressing:
Set 1:
3 ½ Tbs garlic
⅔ cups red bell pepper
⅔ cups shallot
3 ⅓ Tbs thyme-picked-no stems
3 ⅓ Tbs oregano-picked-no stems
Set 2:
1 ¾ cups O+H olive oil
½ cup chardonnay vinegar
⅓ cups fresh lemon juice
1 ⅔ Tbs salt
1 ⅔ Tbs sugar
1. Take all of set 1 and rough chop, then place inside a food processor.
2. Process a couple of times, scraping down the sides as to ensure everything becomes the same size.
3. Mix set 2 together in another container until incorporated, and then add half of it to the processor with set 1.
4. Process for a few seconds, then add the rest of set 2.
5. Process all for 30 seconds, then dress your salad.
Executive Chef Jose Mejia
Photography by: courtesy of Meritage Resort & Spa
