Here’s an authentic Italian chopped salad recipe that becomes a one-dish meal with the addition of delicious Primosale cheese and the accompaniment of a few slices of rustic Italian bread.

authentic Italian chopped salad with primo sale cheese

Classic Italian salad: how to make it and serve it.

Italian cuisine salads are simple, fresh, and chopped. An authentic Italian chopped salad recipe will ask you for seasonal vegetables, maybe a protein, and a very basic condiment, usually extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and vinegar. 

Proteins will not be present in an antipasto Italian salad, as they would weigh down the rest of the meal. The traditional Italian salad base, therefore, would be made of just lettuce, tomatoes, and carrots, to which cucumber, fennel, and radishes might be added.

I started with the classic Italian salad to make a delicious, tasty salad for Spring and Summer hot days.

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How to make an authentic Italian chopped salad 

The ingredients in this recipe are of the typical Italian salad: lettuce, tomatoes, and carrots. I added radishes because I loved the tangy contrast they add.

The seasoning is traditional as well: olive oil, salt, and vinegar. Many times, and this too, the vinegar for the Italian chopped salad is balsamic: it brings many aromatic notes and lots of umami hints.

A classic Italian salad with cheese

Primosale is an Italian fresh cheese made from cow milk. It is firm enough to be cubed and added to your salad, making it a main, light dish that only needs a slice or two of bread to make it a meal. Of course, you are free to substitute it with any other fresh cheese. 

An authentic Italian chopped salad with Primosale cheese

Prep Time 10 minutes
Servings 1 serving
Author Claudia Rinaldi

Ingredients

  • A bunch of lattughino or any other green baby salad
  • 1 cup of cherry tomatoes
  • 50 gr 1.7 oz of Primosale cheese
  • ½ carrot
  • 2 radishes
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

Instructions

  1. Clean and cut the lattughino leaves.
  2. Clean and cut the cherry tomatoes in half.
  3. Dice the Primosale.
  4. Peel and thinly slice the carrot (I used the peeler for ribbon-like slices).
  5. Thinly slice the radishes.
  6. Place everything in a bowl, and add the olive oil, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste.
  7. Mix - with your hands for perfect seasoning - and enjoy!

Enjoy your salad!

Claudia