Meatball Salad with Creamy Basil-Parmesan Dressing

Meatballs in a salad?! Weird or genius?  I’m firmly in the camp of genius after trying this recipe.I have never seen a meatball salad on a menu at a restaurant or come across a recipe in any of the thousands of cookbooks I own, until Jessica Merchant’s The Pretty Dish cookbook.  I was intrigued and decided to give it a try, making a few tweaks to the original recipe and giving it a creamy basil-Parmesan dressing.  It’s so so good!There was a time in my life where meatballs really weirded me out.  Maybe I was just having bad renditions of this Italian-American classic, poorly made or poorly executed?  Anyway, I’ve gotten over that and now love them any way I can get them.

Dinner salads are one of my favorite things to make because the variations and flavor combinations are truly endless.  You can basically make a salad out of anything, as this recipe proves!  It makes you feel healthy, regardless of what you actually put in it because…salad is inherently healthy, right?Mixed greens + arugula are the perfect combination of salad greens here because they are flavorful enough to stand up to the meatballs.  I love to add cherry tomatoes for that classic meatball and tomato sauce pairing.  Shavings of Parmesan cheese put this firmly into Italian food territory.

The basil-Parmesan dressing might be my favorite part.  I’ve had many compliments on the dressing when I’ve served it-I even made it for a catering event I did for 60 people!  I think I may have to make this my “house” dressing.  It’s super creamy and cheesy, reminiscent of Caesar but just better somehow!  The addition of basil gives it even more flavor and freshness.This would make a great summer dinner or make-ahead meal.  You can make the meatballs and dressing whenever you have free time, and store in the refrigerator or freeze the meatballs for easy use.

Warm weather begs for more easy dinner recipes, especially light salads that barely require any intervention or cooking.  The meatballs require a quick sear and finish in the oven and all you have to do is throw the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and mix in the dressing.  Now you can enjoy your dinner on the patio!

[tasty-recipe id=”36235″]