Italian Summer Salad With Basil Dressing (2024)

I'd planned on making our usual mixed salad this evening when the colorful pyramids of fresh vegetables at our local market talked me into making something different, something like an Italian Summer Salad with Basil Dressing. A fresh tossed salad is the perfect accompaniment to any meal and it may even be a meal in itself. It all depends on what you like and what you want to add.

For this recipe you will need: salad greens, radicchio, English cucumber, celery, grape tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, scallions, peperoncini, sunflower seeds, pecorino cheese, lemon juice, white balsamic vinegar, fresh basil leaves, Dijon mustard, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder.

Picking the vegetables for a summer salad

I hadn't thought about making an Italian salad until we were at the Market. Our typical first coursedidn't seem the least bit appealing.

I suppose the "talking" vegetables did a great job of convincing me to forget the usual and go for an Italian Summer Salad recipe.

Selecting the salad base

• I grabbed a head of bright green romaine from the neat stack and placed it in the cart's basket. This would be my base.
• Then I spotted the beautiful purple globes of radicchio and tossed one into the grocery cart.

Picking out the additions

• Celery and an English cucumber {we like this variety since it has less seeds} are a must in our salad so one of each joined the other vegetables.
• And what would an Italian salad be without tomatoes? I looked around and spotted the little ruby red grape tomatoes piled in small trays just waiting for me to add them to the group in the cart.
• I looked around searching for a little bit more variety when I remembered we had some fantastic purply-black cherry tomatoes waiting to be picked on our potted plant on the patio.

Adding some zip

• Something oniony was needed. Hmmm! I looked around and picked up a package of scallions.
• Now, the Italian summer salad needed something with tangy zing. The lightbulb turned on in the brain -- peperoncini! Now we were getting somewhere. I rolled over to the pickle department. Found it! The jar joined the veggies.
• If there was a salad in front of my Hubby it needed to have olives. Luckily we had some spicy pimento stuffed green olives at home.Perfecto!

Finishing the Italian Salad

Now the tossed salad needed some kind of nutty crunch plus a delicious cheese. I turned the cart around and pushed to where all the bulk items were on display.

There they were -- sunflower seeds! Italy has lots of sunflowers. Roasted and toasted sunflower seeds would taste great on the fresh vegetables.

And the cheese would be pecorino. At home we had a hunk of pecorino and some shaved pieces on top would be ideal.

Basil Dressing the finishing touch

Now, what about a salad dressing? Basil! We have so much basil we're using it in vases as herb bouquets.

I've mentioned before the problem of sticking basil in water -- it roots. Then we have to find some place to bury the roots. *sigh* We can only make so much pesto. The basil dressing uses up a healthy amount of basil leaves so basil dressing it will be.

Tonight we're going to enjoy Italian Summer Salad with Basil Dressing.

And who knows, tomorrow I'm may make a chef style salad for our al fresco dinner.

Mangiare dovrebbe essere un'avventura{Eating should be an adventure}

And before your meal, how about a nice light Aperol Spritz? This drink is one of the most popular in the Venice area!

Tutti a tavola è pronto.

Un caro saluto, alla prossima.

YOU MAY NEED...

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We are huge fans of white balsamic vinegar. It blends well with other ingredients and it seems to be milder than the red balsamic. For the vinaigrette recipe it doesn't alter the color of the dressing which is a plus for us. Try it and see if you don't like it. We always have both the red and white balsamic on hand.

Italian Summer Salad With Basil Dressing

A delightful crunchy salad that uses the freshest vegetables of the season. Your salad variations are only limited to your imagination. Make the salad a first course or add some additions such as meat, beans, eggs, additional cheese and have it has a light summer meal. Delicious and satisfying!

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