Oh, this is the stuff that Italian dreams are made of, Portillo's Chopped Salad, creamy dressing, lots of bacon, cheese, pasta, what's not to love...
It's Monday, I was going to post a healthy salad and then I thought, no, why would I do that when I can share this knockoff Portillo's Chopped Salad with all of you. If you're not familiar with Portillo's, it's a famous Italian restaurant in Chicago who's humble beginnings go back to 1963 when it all started as a hot dog stand.
Over the years, Portillo’s has developed a huge fan base that includes many Hollywood actors, professional athletes, and politicians – you can see many of their pictures hanging on their restaurant walls.
SWEET ITALIAN DRESSING:
1/3 cup white or regular balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 teaspoons sugar, honey or maple
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
SALAD:
8 ounces (about 1 cup or so) uncooked Ditalini pasta (see note)
5 cups chopped lettuce (use what you like: romaine, spring mix, iceberg or a combo)
1 cup chopped red cabbage (see note)
1 cup chopped tomatoes
3 green onions, chopped
1/2 - 1 cup cooked and crumbled bacon
1/4 - 1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
2 cups cooked, diced chicken (see note)
Steps
Combine all the dressing ingredients in a blender or jar. Process or shake until well-combined. Add additional salt and pepper to taste, if needed. You can make and refrigerate the dressing a week or two in advance.
Cook the pasta according to package directions in boiling, salted water. Drain and rinse quickly with cool water so it doesn't stick together while it cools. Pour a few tablespoons of the dressing over the pasta and stir lightly. Set aside to cool to room temperature (spreading it into a flatter layer - versus mounded in a bowl - will speed up the cooling process).
In a large bowl, toss together the lettuce, cabbage, tomatoes, and green onions. Add the cooled pasta, bacon, gorgonzola cheese, and chicken.
To serve, you can toss the salad with the dressing before serving - or, if you anticipate leftovers, add dressing only to the portions of salad served and then store the dressing and salad separately for fabulous leftovers.
Notes
Pasta: ditalini pasta is a tiny tube-shaped pasta. If you can't find it, you can easily substitute another small pasta shape. Even small elbow macaroni would work. You're looking for about 3 cups cooked pasta when it's all said and done.
Lettuce: the lettuce is really customizable, the original Portillo's salad is a combination of iceberg, romaine and red cabbage.
A rotisserie chicken works great here, as well as any other kind of leftover cooked/grilled chicken (the more flavorful, the better!). You could also leave the chicken out completely for a side dish salad.
Vinegar: white balsamic vinegar works really well, but regular dark balsamic will work, too, just keep in mind that the darker dressing will add color to the salad.. I think you could easily use red or white wine vinegar, too.
Leftovers: this salad makes the best leftovers. If you aren't going to eat the entire salad, just don't add the dressing until you serve it so it doesn't get soggy.
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