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Italians know their way around a salad. The country's abundance of fresh produce and emphasis on cooking seasonally means there are a ton of refreshing salad options for every summer party and gathering. So this summer, take your cue from Italy and prepare some of these amazing and filling salads that celebrate juicy, garden-fresh tomatoes, all kinds of cheeses, and even seafood.
Panzanella is a tomato lover's dream. Use the best farmers market tomatoes — or ones you grow yourself — you can get, because they're central to this salad. Salting the tomatoes brings out some of their liquid, which is then used in the dressing for more tomato flavor. Big chunks of crusty ciabatta croutons soak up the dressing.
Recipe: Serious Eats
Take all of the best parts of an antipasto platter and throw them together for this wonderful salad. It's full of briny, salty, and rich things like artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, and salami. A creamy lemon and parmesan dressing brings it all together.
Recipe: Modern Proper
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Caprese is one of the joys of summer for anyone who loves tomatoes. Thick slices of tomato (heirloom are the best and most beautiful!) are layered with creamy fresh mozzarella and drizzled with olive oil and an easy balsamic vinegar reduction. Don't skimp on the fresh basil.
Recipe: Allrecipes
If a huge green salad is what you're after to impress your guests at a dinner party, this aptly named Big Italian Salad is perfect. It's got thousands of great reviews, and it's super easy to clean up because you make the creamy vinaigrette dressing right in the salad bowl.
Recipe: Food & Wine
This seafood salad is a show stopper. Scallops, shrimp, mussels, and squid are prepared separately so as not to overcook them, then combined with a bright and tangy lemon and garlic dressing. Celery and fennel give it crunch, but the seafood is the star.
Recipe: Serious Eats
This is a substantial version of panzanella that takes a cue from traditional pizza flavors. Parmesan, oregano, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, and both black and green olives all mingle together into a very familiar pizzeria flavor. Fresh arugula makes it a little more like a typical salad than traditional panzanella.
Recipe: Giadzy
Mortadella is like amazing, rich and flavorful Italian-style boloney. It's cut into strips in this salad, along with celery and artichoke hearts for a unique combination. It also gets a hefty squeeze of lemon juice and a liberal amount of Grana Padano cheese.
Recipe: Lidia's Italy
Forget everything you know about American-style tuna salad. This one is a green salad with olive oil-packed tuna and cannellini beans mixed in. Capers give a salty pop, while fennel gives it a slight licorice flavor.
Recipe: Giadzy
Here's an interesting recipe for when you're inundated with garden tomatoes but sick of BLTs and caprese. Chunked tomatoes are dressed in a caper, anchovy, and shallot vinaigrette that packs tons of salty, briny flavor. Since you whisk the anchovies into the dressing, even avowed anchovy haters might enjoy this.
Recipe: Lidia's Italy
For a hearty Italian salad, reach for tortellini. Once you've cooked it, you're done with the hard part of this recipe. Mix them with chicken, mozzarella pearls, cherry tomatoes, and lots of your favorite prepared pesto.
Recipe: Modern Proper
Who doesn't love a good chopped salad for a summer dinner? This one is kind of an Italian-style kitchen sink salad, with a little bit of everything, but you can use your favorites or what you have on hand. The tangy dressing is made with red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, and oregano.
Recipe: Modern Proper