Portillo’s Chopped Salad with Sweet Italian Dressing

This chicken recipe, Portillo’s Chopped Salad with Sweet Italian Dressing, leans on white or regular balsamic vinegar, olive oil and garlic. It makes 8 servings as a main dish and takes about 35 minutes.

• Yield 8 servings as a main dish
• Ready in 35 minutes
• Prep 25 minutes
• Cook 10 minutes

Ingredients

Sweet Italian Dressing

• ⅓ cup white or regular balsamic vinegar
• ⅓ cup olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic , finely minced
• 2 teaspoons sugar , honey or maple syrup
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Salad

• 8 ounces about 1 cup or so uncooked Ditalini pasta
• 5 cups chopped lettuce , use what you like: romaine, spring mix, iceberg or a combo
• 1 cup chopped red cabbage
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes
• 3 green onions , chopped
• ½ – 1 cup cooked and crumbled bacon
• ¼ – ½ cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
• 2 cups cooked diced chicken

Instructions

1. For the dressing, combine all the 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.
2. In a pot of salted, boiling water, cook the pasta according to package directions. 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).
3. In a large bowl, toss together the lettuce, cabbage, tomatoes, and green onions. Add the cooled pasta, bacon, gorgonzola cheese, and chicken.
4. 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.

Dress it just before it goes to the table so the leaves stay crisp.