Marinated Vegetable Salad

I’ve had a few requests for this. It's hard to capture because it’s different every time I make it. So consider these guidelines, not a recipe.

Marinated vegetable salad is hard crunchy veggies with a vinaigrette. I also add olives, artichokes and/or capers and legumes. It’s best to make it the night before so the flavors can settle. Some people blanch the veggies first. I’m too lazy. They probably absorb more flavor it you do.

Choose a combination of the following hard veggies you have on hand:
• Celery
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Zucchini
• Summer squash
• Green beans
• Wax beans
• Asparagus
• Red onion
• Sweet onion
• Carrots (shredded or sliced)
• Cabbage (red, green, or savoy) sliced
• Green bell pepper
• Red bell pepper
• Cherry tomatoes
• Fresh corn (removed from cobb)

Consider frozen veggies if you need to:
• Green peas
• Lima beans
• Corn

Choose one or two marinated items
• Green olives
• Black olives
• Capers

Chose one or two legumes
• Kidney beans
• Chick peas
• Canelli beans
• Fava beans


Dressing
Assemble dressing in measuring cup by mixing all ingredients together.
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup of red wine vinegar
• Juice of one lemon
• Juice of one orange
• 2-3 cloves of garlic crushed
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon mustard
• Plenty of fresh ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
* Red pepper flakes (optional)


Combine vegetables, marinated ingredients, and legumes into a large plastic bowl. I use the huge Thatsa Bowl from Tupperware. So this is a large recipe. If you go smaller, scale back your oil. Drizzle combined veggies with dressing. (Instead of making your own dressing, you can use a bottle of store bought Italian. This is a great option to reduce fat grams). Stir to coat. Cover bowl. Shake to coat. Let marinate overnight in refrigerator.

This receipe travels well to parties. It can sit in the sun without wilting. It can be made in advance. There's rarely another one on the buffet. It's a convenient lunch for work. At dinner, it can be served on the side with any grilled items, pasta items, or even pizza. To make it a meal, consider serving on a bed of lettuce or spinach topped with feta cheese, sliced grilled chicken, or sliced chicken sausage.