Summertime cooking should be simple and tasty. From the kitchen of Marietta resident Marcelle David comes antipasto salad that can be enjoyed in summer or anytime of year.

“Antipasto salad is good anytime,” she said. “If you come home at the end of a busy day, you can certainly throw it together. It’s a meal in itself, but it’s a great side dish to accompany a pasta or grilled chicken or something like that.”

In the last eight years, David has focused on eating healthy though she still loves food. She practices moderation and limits her intake of certain foods though she does not entirely deprive herself of anything particular. She said the dish is healthy, which is important to her.

Her family — husband, Bill; their son and daughter-in-law, Brad and Sidney, and their children, Maggie and Emmie — also enjoy the salad. David said, “It’s easy to prepare. It’s good and chilled. It travels well.”

She also said it’s a versatile dish because the cook can chose what to put in it. To make a heartier salad, add tuna or sliced Italian meats. “If there’s something you don’t like (in the recipe), you just eliminate it from the list,” she said.

David said she has always loved to cook. She recalled when the city’s only grocery store was the A&P on Whitlock Avenue. Before Harry’s Farmers Market opened, she drove to the DeKalb Farmers Market to shop.

“My mom was a home cook,” said David, who also took her inspiration from Julia Childs and Martha Stewart in the ’70s. “We just like to eat.”

From the kitchen of Marcelle David
Antipasto Salad

INGREDIENTS

Combination of lettuces: Romaine, iceberg, red leaf and arugula

Marinated artichoke hearts, drained and sliced

Roasted red peppers, drained and sliced

Banana peppers, drained and sliced

Pint of cherry tomatoes, halved

Pitted Calamata olives, drained

Marinated mushrooms, drained and sliced

Hearts of Palm, drained and sliced

Red onion slices

Feta cheese, crumbled

DIRECTIONS

On a large platter combine the lettuces and sprinkle some of the dressing over the leaves.

Then arrange your selections of ingredients over the lettuce. David recommends keeping the items together arranging all the different colors, ending with onion slices and cheese randomly on top.

When ready to serve, dress with Italian salad dressing.

TIP: For a heartier salad, add albacore tuna in water (well drained), hard-boiled sliced eggs and salami.

Italian Salad Dressing

¾ cup vegetable oil (½ olive oil and ½ canola oil)

¼ cup cider vinegar or rice vinegar

2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 teaspoons sugar

1½ teaspoons salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon grated Parmesan cheese

½ teaspoon dry mustard, (Coleman’s brand recommended)

1½ teaspoons oregano leaves

DIRECTIONS

Mix and serve over salad.