Recipes

4 Italian Summer Recipes to Try


It’s July, that means there is no denying it, it’s officially summer. The days are longer and hotter. You’re probably reading this from the comfort of your air conditioned home or office, but in Italy, most people still don’t have AC in their homes. Summer calls for recipes that don’t require much time in the kitchen over a hot stove.

Farro Salad with Grilled Vegetables

farro salad recipe
Farro Salad with Grilled Vegetables and Mozzarella

The beauty of Farro Salad is not only how simple and nutritious it is, but how versatile. This recipe is a CDV favorite, we make it on our Wine and Cooking Under the Tuscan and Umbrian Sun. With the base of Farro, you can essentially add whatever you want to the mix. Add some chicken or tuna for more protein, leave out the cheese to make it vegan, got some leftover ingredients from another recipe, throw it in! Farro salad is really an “everything but the kitchen sink” kind of meal. This is one of those perfect summer recipes to bring to a BBQ or cookout, its healthy and always a crowd pleaser.

Click Here for our Farro Salad Recipe

Amalfi Caponata Salad

Caponata recipe
Caponata Salad with an Amalfi Twist

Caponata is traditionally a Sicilian dish, and we actually do make a Sicilian Caponata on our Favignana Cooking and Wine Vacations. This is an Amalfi spin on the popular dish that we make on our Cooking in Paradise on the Amalfi Coast Vacations.

This is one of those summer recipes doesn’t involve any cooking on the stove at all. You simply prepare the tomatoes, white beans, olives, onions and tuna and mix them together with day old bread. Think of it like Panzanella meets Caponata, with Tuna! This is a great recipe because you can make it quickly and it lasts in the fridge beautifully, the longer the flavors sit together, the more flavorful it will get. The Tuna, vegetables and olive oil make for a really well balanced and healthy Mediterranean dish.

Click Here for our Caponata Recipe

Panzanella

Panzanella summer recipes
Panzanella in Soriano

This was actually a poor mans dish in Italy. You mix together stale bread, and whatever you have laying around to make something to throw together on a hot summers day without having to cook much. Lately, Panzanella has been growing in popularity in the United States, and being served in restaurants as a specialty.

Our recipe is extra special, because we make the mayonnaise that it’s mixed with from scratch. On our Wine and Cooking Under the Tuscan and Umbrian Sun Vacation, we prepare the panzanella like this. Much like the Farro salad, though, you can alter it to include whatever you want of have on hand. Our recipe mixes carrots, celery, cucumbers, onions, tomatoes and hard boiled eggs together with our homemade mayonnaise and then we top it with a balsamic vinegar glaze for a special summer recipe touch.

Click Here for our Panzanella Recipe

Peach and Prosecco Sorbet

Summer recipes for Italian food
Peach and Prosecco Sorbet

What says summer better than an ice cold treat? I debated between putting vanilla gelato in this spot, but I really felt like a sorbet deserved the spotlight. This Peach and Prosecco sorbet is a perfect boozy treat for the hot summer days. The Prosecco is very understated when paired with fresh summer peaches. The beauty of this summer recipe is that you can substitute the peaches with really any fruit you like. Pears, strawberries, raspberries, anything that sounds good mixed with Prosecco, can make a perfect sorbet.

Click Here for our Peach and Prosecco Sorbet

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  • the farro salad recipe is spectacular, particularly if you happen to have home-grown tomatoes in your garden.it also works beautifully as a summer pot-luck dish because it can be scaled.