Mess in a Bowl Salad with Homemade Vinaigrette

First, prepare your salad ingredients: chop the romaine lettuce and tomatoes, slice the red onion, and add chickpeas and olives to a large bowl. If desired, add pepperoncini peppers. 

Next, make the vinaigrette: In a small jar or bowl, combine the minced garlic clove, finely chopped shallots, a pinch of sugar, kosher salt and pepper (adjust to taste, the author used 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper), 2 tsp oregano, the juice of 1/2 lemon, 2-3 tbsp red wine vinegar, and 1/4 cup plain oil (such as canola or olive oil). Shake it up in a jar or whisk it up in a bowl until well combined.

Pour the prepared vinaigrette over the salad ingredients and toss to coat. Top the salad with store-bought tzatziki before serving.