Artichoke and Roasted Red Pepper Salad with Roasted Pepper Dressing

Serves: 8

Ingredients

 * 8 Artichokes (medium size), prepared and cooked as directed for whole artichokes
 * 4 Red bell peppers
 * Lettuce leaves
 * ½ cup Red onion, sliced
 * ½ cup Ripe olives, sliced

Dressing

 * 1 Bell pepper (roasted), reserved from salad preparation
 * 1/3 cup Balsamic vinegar
 * ¼ cup White wine or cider vinegar
 * 2 cloves Garlic, minced
 * 1 Tsbp Basil (fresh), chopped or 1 tsp. crushed dried basil
 * 1 tsp Rosemary (fresh), chopped or ½ tsp. crushed dried rosemary

Steps

 * 1) Halve artichokes lengthwise; scoop out center petals and fuzzy centers. Remove outer leaves and reserve to garnish salad, or to use for snacks another time. Trim out hearts and slice thinly. Cover and set aside. #Place whole bell peppers under preheated broiler; broil under high heat until charred on all sides, turning frequently with tongs. Remove from oven; place in a paper bag for 15 minutes to steam skins. Trim off stems of peppers; remove seeds and ribs. Strip off skins; slice peppers into julienne strips. Reserve one-fourth of the bell pepper strips to prepare dressing.
 * 2) To assemble salads, arrange lettuce leaves on 8 salad plates. Arrange sliced artichoke hearts, remaining bell pepper strips, red onion and olive slices on lettuce. Garnish with a couple of cooked artichoke leaves, if desired.

Dressing

 * 1) In blender or food processor container place reserved bell pepper strips, vinegars, garlic, basil, rosemary and sugar. Cover and process until well blended and nearly smooth. Spoon dressing over salads.

Source

 * Vegetable of the Month: Artichoke by the US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, public domain government resource -- original source of recipe

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