Baby Spinach, Arugula Salad with Italian Dressing

There aren't many non-Indian restaurants that we go to. Mainly because of our diet. There is one restaurant that we do go to often. That is Bertucci's. Kids eat cheese pizza and we get pizza without cheese but with many vegetarian toppings. In this restaurant, they serve salad as part of the lunch menu. Both myself and my husband love that salad. When we were eating there, I was telling that I could make it myself at home. But he said "Dressing is the one which makes it good". I tried to mimic it and I can't say if it is the same, but it is pretty close to it.

Ingredients:
For the dressing:
Juice of 1 lemon
Vinegar - add it to lemon juice to make it 1/4 cup
Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 1/2 cup
Salt - to taste (I used 1 tsp)
Sugar - 2 tsp (optional)
Black pepper - 1/2 TBSP crushed into coarse powder (Remember, I am an asian Indian. Go easy on this if you don't like heat)
Garlic - 1 pod grated
Dried parsley - 1/2 tsp
Dried Oregano - 1/2 tsp
Dried Basil - 1 tsp

Method:
Juice the lemon and pour it into a measuring cup. Top it off with vinegar to make it 1/4 cup. Vinegar's tang is different from lemon's tang. I like the mixture. Feel free to use only lemon juice. Add salt, pepper, sugar to it. Take all the dried herbs and rub them on your palm and add it to the mixture. Whisk it well. While continuing to whisk, add olive oil. Mix all of it and use in the salad. It stays fine in the refrigerator for 3 days.

For the Salad:
Baby Spinach - 1 3 Oz box
Arugula - 1 3 Oz box
English Cucumber - 2
Grape or cherry tomatoes - 1 pint or based on how much you love tomatoes
Black Olives - 3/4 cup drained and halved
Optional garnish - parmesan cheese (I didn't use it. But restaurant serves with it)

Method:
Toss everything together. Add dressing. I like more dressing in my salad, but there are people who like less. Go with your taste. Serve immediately.

On a side note, 'Hometown Seeds' contacted me to see if I can write about them on the blog. They sell seeds as the name says from herb seeds to vegetable seeds to flower seeds. Check it out if you are interested in growing your own herbs.

Disclaimer: I am not getting any monetary compensation from Hometown Seeds to provide with the link here.

Have a great weekend.