Copycat Italian Salad Dressing Recipe Is Inspired By the Oldest Italian Restaurant In Texas (9 Ingredients, 5 Minutes) by Donna John

Do you watch food videos that come through your news feed? Me, too, and sometimes they pay off! When I watched Alex Snodgrass of The Defined Dish get excited about finally getting the proportions right for a salad recipe her and her mom love from an Italian restaurant in Dallas, Texas, I knew I had to make it that night. Not only is homemade Italian dressing one of my favorites, but the copycat recipe called for two ingredients in my fridge that had been waiting patiently to be used: olive brine and pepperoncini brine.

This easy Italian salad dressing recipe inspired by Campisi's dinner salad is tangy and delicious. Here is what you need from your fridge and pantry to make the restaurant-style salad dressing: white vinegar, olive oil, Parmesan cheese (read about the health benefits of Parmesan), pepperoncini brine (from a jar of pepperoncini peppers), olive brine (from a jar of olives), granulated sugar, a fresh garlic clove, salt and black pepper.

After making this delicious Italian dressing, I wanted to learn more about the family-owned restaurant. "The mysterious history of the Campisi family in America begins back in 1904, when my great-grandparents, Carlo 'Papa' and Antonia Campisi, immigrated from Sicily to New Orleans. They settled in Dallas thanks to a telegram from a cousin who wrote of a grocery store for sale for $800. Soon after, Papa was in the grocery business..." writes David Campisi on the restaurant's website.

The "American Dream" was a reality to the Campisi family. "Thanks to you, our loyal patrons, numerous local and national awards have been bestowed upon us over the years. The awards include Best Pizza, Best Italian, and Bon Appetit magazine’s One of the Best Pizzerias in America. We feel honored to be the oldest Italian restaurant in Texas."

The restaurant describes the dinner salad on the menu as, "Our dinner salad with house Italian dressing, onions, whole olives, pepperoncini peppers." My salad base was not exactly the same as the restaurant's version, but the star of the show was the Italian dressing. The homemade oil and vinegar-based salad dressing would also be delicious on grain salads or pasta salads. As Alex Snodgrass says, "if you know, you know."

Cooking Tip: Always keep the brine from your empty jars of olives and pepperoncini. You can use it in salad dressing, marinades, potato salads, cole slaw, pasta salads and more.

Cuisine: Italian
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup white vinegar
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 tablespoon pepperoncini brine (from a jar of pepperoncini peppers)
• 1 tablespoon olive brine (from a jar of olives)
• pinch of granulated sugar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• salt, to taste
• black pepper, to taste

Here's how to make it:

1. Put all the ingredients into a mason jar or salad dressing cruet. (If you don't have a jar or cruet, put the ingredients into a small bowl.)
   
2. Shake! (Or whisk if you are using a bowl.)
   
3. Use as desired.
   
4. Store the dressing in the jar or salad dressing cruet until ready to use.
   

Recipe cooking times, nutritional information and servings are approximate and provided for your convenience. However, 30Seconds is not responsible for the outcome of any recipe, nor may you have the same results because of variations in ingredients, temperatures, altitude, errors, omissions or cooking/baking abilities. Any nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and it is up to the individual to ascertain accuracy. To ensure image quality, we may occasionally use stock photography.

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