Leon Salad

The Leon Salad has been around since the 1960's.  It was first served at La Scala restaurant in Beverly Hills.  Through the years it has been altered a bit, adding additional ingredients.  I had one about 15 years ago that was unbelievable, so unbelievable I've been looking for a good recipe ever since.  This one comes close.   It's a good main dish meal, we had it for dinner during the summer when it's too hot to cook. Serve some nice crusty bread with it for a entree salad.  It would be a good dish for a buffet. It's hearty and has so many yummy things in it you just want to keep eating it. 

I made it again recently when we had guests over to watch the football game.  They brought the pizza and I made the salad. Perfect! 

This is a chopped salad so everything needs to be chopped into small dice.  Also make sure everything is very cold, the lettuce needs to be very crisp. 

The recipe:

Make the dressing.  In a medium size bowl combine:
4 tbsp red wine vinegar 
8 tbsp olive oil 
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dry mustard 
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes 
1 clove of garlic, minced 

Whisk it blend.  Next add in the following to the bowl:

1  15 oz can chickpeas, drained
4 oz provolone, diced
4 oz salami, diced
1/4 cup red onion, very thinly sliced

Mix it all, cover and chill.  Allow to marinate for a least one hour. 

Prepare the greens in a large bowl:
1 head of romaine, chopped 
8 to 10 large basil leaves, chopped 
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Add the salami mixture to the greens. Then add in:
1 large tomato, chopped 
1/4 cup pepperincini, sliced thin
1 small can sliced black olives
Add salt and Pepper, toss it all together, and enjoy!