Simple Italian Salad with Easy Vinaigrette

Simple Italian salad with easy vinaigrette.  I’ve made this two times in the past week because it’s so quick and delicious, there has yet to be any leftovers.  I start with a base of three organic hearts of romaine, I next add so very thinly sliced red onion, a can (or two) of low sodium organic black olives, 5-6 campari tomatoes cut into quarters, and a jar of drained peperoncini peppers.  Next I whisk together a simple dressing of extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice, a tiny bit of Dijon mustard, fresh garlic, and a lot of dried herbs.  I can’t say I consistently measure out any ingredients when I make this vinaigrette, I usually just toss stuff in a bowl and whisk together until it tastes just right, sampling in on the back of a spoon as I go.  The basics of a homemade vinaigrette are 1 part acid (vinegar of choice or citrus… usually lemon) and 3 parts olive oil.  Next you layer in the other flavors like fresh or dried herbs, Dijon or spicy brown mustard, garlic, peppers, Worcestershire, salt, pepper, etc, etc.  For this particular salad pictured I used marjoram, tarragon, thyme, basil, oregano, and a pinch of truffle salt.  However, a nice Italian seasoning blend would work perfectly as well.