Copycat Pasta Express Salad
This copycat Pasta Express salad is a dead ringer for the original and can be made for just a fraction of the price.
Ingredients
Salad dressing
- ½ cup olive oil
- ⅓ cup red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoon honey
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper course ground
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
Optional additional salad dressing ingredients
- 2 teaspoon garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon dijon mustard
Salad
- 1 head iceberg lettuce
- 1 bunch green leaf lettuce
- 1 small red onion
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese finely grated
Instructions
Make the salad dressing
- Combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, honey, salt, Italian seasoning, pepper, and cayenne pepper in a glass jar with a tightly fitted lid.
- Shake well and set aside.
Marinade the red onions
- Cut a medium red onion into rings and place into a medium bowl.
- Add ¼ cup of the salad dressing to the red onion rings and toss well. Set aside. For best results allow the red onions to marinate until the onions soften, but 10 minutes minimum.
Assemble the salad
- Cut the iceberg lettuce and the green leaf lettuce into small, bite sized pieces and place into an extra large bowl.
- Pour the desired amount of the dressing over the lettuce. Start with just a little and add as needed. A little goes a long way. Toss well to coat all the pieces of lettuce.
- Add the desired amount of marinated red onion slices.
- Sprinkle the finely grated Parmesan cheese over the salad and toss well.
- Serve immediately.