A delicious Italian salad with homemade croutons, slow roasted tomatoes and diced prosciutto. A little extra work with the homemade croutons and tomatoes really finishes this salad off, the Italian version of the favourite BLT!
A slight change in my normal posting schedule this week because it’s time for the Secret Recipe Club reveal day!
This month, my assignment was Christina’s blog, Mele Cotte. I headed straight to the “Scoop” and learned that even though her own culinary adventure didn’t start until her twenties, she has always been surrounded by good, Italian food!
Christina also says that she finds baking a good stress reliever, which I totally agree with! If there’s a lot going on, then you can bet anything I’ll be in the kitchen baking something up!
So, onto food…
I think that Italian is probably my favourite cuisine ever, so I couldn’t wait to look through Christina’s recipes!
Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day and I whole-heartedly believe it is the most important meal, so these Cherry Pop Tarts look perfect! And nut-free Chewy Granola Bars? Delish!
Whilst I obviously looked at all of the Desserts on offer, I wanted to change things up a bit and, since it’s been so hot here, I decided on this Italian BLT Salad.
I don’t often eat salad, I just find there are too many other things I’d prefer to eat, but when I saw all of the delicious additions to this salad, I knew that I wanted to try it!
Another reason I was completely sold on this salad? The homemade croutons and slow roasted tomatoes!
I am completely in love with homemade croutons, they are easy to make and soooo much better than shop bought!
And slow roasted tomatoes? I will NEVER buy shop bought again, homemade are absolutely mouth watering.
This salad comprises of lots of salad rocket (called arugula elsewhere), mozzarella, prosciutto, tomatoes and croutons, all topped off with a homemade vinaigrette!
You get a big hit of flavour in one bite, sweet, intense tomatoes, seasoned croutons, peppery rocket and creamy mozzarella!
This is a salad we will definitely be making again!
I couldn’t find roma tomatoes in the store, so I used 5 plum tomatoes. I roasted them in the oven for 2 hours and when they were done, I could not stop eating them! I’m surprised there were any left to make the salad!
Some day old bread was the perfect base for the croutons, I seasoned them with some salt, pepper and Italian seasoning then baked them in the oven until crispy.
Even though it takes extra time to make the croutons and tomatoes, it’s totally worth it! Once the salad is put together you won’t be disappointed, I love a normal BLT, but with the Italian twist this really makes it something special, it was absolutely delicious!
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Italian BLT Salad
Ingredients
- For the salad:
- 1/4 lb diced prosciutto
- 6-10 slow roasted Roma or Campari tomatoes (I couldn't find them, so used 5 Plum)
- 8 oz mozzarella, diced
- 4 oz fresh salad Rocket/Arugula
- Homemade Croutons
- Homemade Italian Vinaigrette
- For the tomatoes:
- 6-10 Roma or Campari tomatoes, quartered
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- A sprinkle of Italian seasoning
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- For the croutons:
- 1 small loaf of French bread, cut into 1 inch cubes (day old is best)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- A sprinkle of Italian seasoning
- 1/4 cup olive oil (I only used 2tbsp; this was plenty for the amount of bread I had)
- For the vinaigrette:
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- Salt and pepper
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
Instructions
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For the salad: Place a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the diced prosciutto and cook until brown, 3-4 minutes. Place some kitchen roll into a bowl and tip the cooked meat into the bowl to drain. Leave to cool.
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In a large bowl place the rocket, prosciutto, diced mozzarella and tomatoes. Toss in a few tablespoons of the vinaigrette, sprinkle with croutons and serve.
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For the tomatoes:Preheat oven to 150C/300F. Place quartered tomatoes into a large, non-stick roasting tin and season with salt, pepper and a little Italian seasoning. Drizzle the olive oil over the tomatoes and then toss until the tomatoes are covered.
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Place in the oven for 2-2 and 1/2 hours until they've reduced right down, they'll look almost shriveled! Leave to cool.
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For the croutons: Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Place the cubes of bread into a large non stick roasting tin and season with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Drizzle with olive oil and toss until all the bread is covered in the seasoning/oil mix.
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Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until golden and crispy. Leave to cool
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For the vinaigrette:
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Place all ingredients into a mini food chopper and blitz until smooth and creamy.
Recipe Notes
Recipe from Mele Cotte
Annie is a self-taught baker, recipe developer and food photographer. When not in the kitchen, she can be found with her head in a book or jotting down recipe ideas! 
