BBQ Time! Antipasto Salad

BBQ Time! And the beat goes on: WNCTIMES Summer Online  BBQ Recipe Tour!

Choosing a side dish for a barbecue is just as important as what you grill! 

A no-cook summer salad with a lemony, garlicky dressing. And salami. Long sweet peppers show up at farmers' markets during the peak of the season and may be sold as long sweet yellow, sweet banana, Hungarian Sweet, or Cubanelle. For this antipasto salad recipe, you can substitute two medium red, orange, or yellow bell peppers (don't use the green ones).

INGREDIENTS

1 garlic clove, finely grated
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar
½ tsp. crushed dried oregano
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
3 Italian long sweet peppers, thinly sliced into rounds
1 small red onion, thinly sliced, rinsed
1 14-oz. can artichoke hearts, drained, patted dry, halved
1 8-oz. ball fresh mozzarella, torn into pieces
4 oz. salami, preferably fennel, thinly sliced
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
1 lemon
2 cups basil leaves

RECIPE PREPARATION
Mix garlic, oil, vinegar, oregano, and red pepper flakes in a large bowl. Add sweet peppers, onion, artichokes, mozzarella, and salami and toss to coat; season with salt and black pepper. Let sit, tossing occasionally, at least 15 minutes.
Zest half of lemon over salad and add basil; toss to combine. Season with more salt and black pepper if needed.
Do Ahead: Salad (without lemon zest and basil) can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.
Recipe by Andy Baraghani