The fanciest of salads, in my opinion, looks visually stunning. Salads look so great in person and online because of the expression of colors. In this fancy Italian, we take colorful shredded green lettuce and paint it with a rainbow of colors and height. It’s a flavorful component-driven salad dressed with sliced salami, diced tomatoes, and grated Parmesan cheese. Baked chickpeas add the necessary crunch and tie it all together. Tossed with a simple Italian vinaigrette, this is a salad to make to impress your friends or a loved one.

Simple salads use simple components, but are slightly elevated. What does elevated mean? It means there was a little extra thought and finesse in curating or preparing. Elevated croutons are the spiced chickpeas. Good salami elevates the salad from cheap sliced deli salami. Good Parmesan is just good Parmesan. Don’t buy that cheap stuff. These small touches make the salad fancy. I just want more fancy salads.

Preparing the greens for this salad comes next. Believe it or not, romaine and iceberg lettuces do not have the same crunch. Iceberg tends to wilt faster than romaine, but holds onto the vinaigrette more when freshly tossed. Two lettuces make salads fancier, no doubt about it.

Before you assemble the salad, MAKE SURE that you are not jumping the gun. Ask yourself. Is the salad being served in the next 10 minutes? Do I need to refrigerate the lettuce because dinner isn’t ready? Asking questions will help present a fancy salad. Lettuce will start to wilt the minute it touches humidity and wetness, and the best salads get tossed right before you eat. It makes all the difference in making a good salad a great salad.

This is my go-to date night salad, or salad I make when I need a pick-me-up. Fancy salads don’t happen often, especially in restaurants nowadays. After making this, you will never take a fancy salad for granted again.