Italian Salad - General Cooking Principles
Italian cuisine is not only pizza and pasta with all kinds of fillings. It is also a lot of delicious and healthy salads, which are not so difficult to cook at home. Most Italian salads are made from vegetables, seafood, meat, olives and, of course, cheese. Cheese - the business card of Italian cuisine. Mozzarella, Parmesan, Sicilian pecorino, grana padana - all these (and not only) varieties are actively used to make a variety of salads. The cheeses used differ not only by name, but also by type: soft, hard, whey, semi-soft or with mold. These types are found in most Italian salads. The dishes are filled mainly with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and various home-made sauces. In many salads, there is ham, pasta, tomatoes, shrimp, different varieties of salads, basil and various spices (marjoram, oregano, thyme, rosemary, fennel and others). Italian salads can be purely vegetarian, fish or meat, as well as hot or cold.
Italian Salad - Preparing Food and Dishes
Italian salads are usually served on flat serving plates, but the dish itself is prepared in a deep bowl, in which it is convenient to mix all the ingredients with the dressing. You will also need a small bowl or saucepan, frying pan, pan, knives, grater and cutting board.
All products must be thoroughly washed and dried, especially for vegetables and greens, as they are mainly used in raw form. Pre-cut meats are usually fried with spices, then salad is added. Seafood is washed with water and subjected to heat treatment (boiled or lightly fried in olive oil). Italian Salad Recipes:
Recipe 1: Italian Salad
This simple, but at the same time, refined salad is ideal for a light breakfast, dinner or picnic. It is desirable that certain types of cheese, tomatoes and salad, but if there are none, you can use regular products.
Ingredients Required:
- “Lady Fingers” variety tomatoes - 250 g;
- Mozzarella Cheese - 300 g;
- Salad “Ice Mountain” - half of the head;
- Basil - 1 small bunch;
- Sour cream - 100 g;
- Salt, pepper;
- Olive oil - 30 ml;
- Lemon juice - 60 ml.
Preparation Method:
For the preparation of Italian salad will need a wide salad bowl. Carefully wash the tomatoes, cut the stalks and cut them into thin slices. Putting tomatoes in a salad bowl. Cheese balls take out of the brine and squeeze the liquid. 30 ml of brine should be left for the preparation of refills. Put the “Mozzarella” on top of the tomatoes. Lettuce leaves wash, dry, tear hands with any shape and lay out on cheese with tomatoes. Rinse the basil with water, separate the leaves from the stem and chop finely. Prepare the sauce in a blender: mix sour cream, lemon juice, olive oil, pickle, basil and pepper. Season the salad with cooked sauce. Optionally, you can add a little sea salt.
Recipe 2: Italian Pasta Salad
This salad belongs to the category of vegetarian low-calorie dishes. Despite this, it turns out very nourishing and healthy snack.
Ingredients Required:
- Ring-shaped pasta - 150 g;
- Zucchini - 300 g;
- Salt;
- Young spinach leaves - 250 g;
- Garlic - 1 clove;
- Basil - 1 small bunch;
- Olives (pitted) - 12 pieces;
- Lemon juice - 45 ml;
- Parmesan cheese - 35 g;
- Black pepper (ground);
- Vegetable broth - 100 ml.
Preparation Method:
Cook the pasta in salted water until cooked, turn back after cooking in a colander. Zucchini, basil and spinach are well washed. Cut hard stalks from spinach, cut zucchini flesh into thin circles. From basil stalks we cut off leaves. Garlic clean and chop (but not finely). Blender lay garlic, olives, basil, add lemon juice and vegetable broth. We puriy all components to homogeneous mass. Season with pepper and salt. In a deep dish, lay out the pasta, spinach and zucchini and season with cooked sauce. We decorate the finished Italian salad with pasta with grated Parmesan cheese.
Recipe 3: Italian ham salad
This dish attracts not only the simplicity of preparation, but also an unforgettable spicy taste. This salad is a great treat for guests, especially men will appreciate it. The dish is prepared immediately before serving and served in the form of heat.
Ingredients Required:
- Violet (red) onions - 3 small heads;
- Dried Parma ham (can be replaced with smoked breast) - 10-11 thin slices;
- Arugula - 3 handfuls;
- Green Salad - 50 g;
- Thyme - 1 sprig;
- Pine nuts - a small handful;
- Salt;
- Olive oil;
- Parmesan cheese - 40 g;
- Balsamic vinegar.
Preparation Method:
Bulbs clean and cut into small slices. We take a pan with a non-stick coating, pour the oil, heat it up and fry the bacon or ham until a crispy brown crust. Take out the meat and add some olive oil. Put onion, thyme, nuts in a frying pan, add a little of everything. Fry foods about five minutes until golden brown. Mix the roasted ingredients with a cape and lay out in a beautiful salad bowl. Add the salad and arugula. Sprinkle the dish with vinegar and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese. This Italian salad must be served before it gets cold.
Recipe 4: Italian salad with figs and ham
Incredibly delicious Italian salad, which will be appreciated by any gourmet. Such a salad can be found in the menu of Italian restaurants, but why go somewhere when you can cook such a delicious meal at home?
Ingredients Required:
- Figs - the number depends on the number of people;
- Parma ham - to taste;
- Mozzarella Cheese;
- Basil (purple and green);
- Honey;
- Lemon juice.
Preparation Method:
Make a small incision on each fig in the form of a cross. Fingers squeeze figs so that the flesh is visible. We put the figs on a wide flat dish, on top of each fig put slices of Parma ham. Spread Mozzarella cheese. Cooking honey and lemon juice dressing and pouring over her salad. We decorate the dish with chopped basil.
Recipe 5: Italian salad with beef and onions
This fragrant and savory dish is sure to become a frequent guest at any festive table, be it a birthday, anniversary date or just a family dinner. Men will be crazy about this salad, and the ladies - too.
Ingredients Required:
- A quarter cup of dry red wine;
- 18 ml of balsamic vinegar;
- Beef tenderloin - 240 g;
- Half a teaspoon of dried rosemary;
- Clove of garlic;
- 2-3 green onion feathers;
- Olive oil - 45 ml;
- The head of a purple bow;
- 1 tomato;
- Half a glass of crushed basil leaves;
- Lettuce - a few leaves;
- Salt - to taste;
- A pinch of red pepper;
- Parmesan cheese - to taste.
Preparation Method:
First you need to marinate the beef. Meat washed and cut into small pieces, spread in a bowl. Add to the meat marinade of wine, rosemary, vinegar, a tablespoon of olive oil and chopped garlic. Put the meat in the fridge for 3 hours to marinate. Fry the meat until golden brown. Put the meat in a glass bowl. Tomatoes, onions and my basil. Cut the red onion into thin half rings, add to the meat. Green onions and basil finely cut, lay out in a salad. Finely chop the tomatoes, add to the rest of the products. Cooking dressing from the remaining oil, two tablespoons of vinegar, red pepper and salt. Pour the salad with it, mix all the ingredients of the Italian salad thoroughly. We lay lettuce leaves on serving plates, put salad on top of it and sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese.
Italian salad - secrets and tips from the best chefs
Even the simplest Italian salad can be turned into a real culinary masterpiece, if you use some secrets and little tricks. First, it is necessary to carefully observe the proportions of both the main ingredients and the dressings. The best Italian chefs believe that the chef should not spare oil and should be careful with vinegar and especially with salt. Much attention needs to be paid to the design of the dish, as the Italians say - “every cook is a little more and an artist”. You should also observe the sequence of adding ingredients. So, all kinds of salads are laid out last, and they are never cut, and torn hands. And the most important secret of Italian salads is that they are prepared only from the freshest and highest quality products.
