Antipasto Potato Salad

May 20, 2024 by 4 Comments

antipasto with potatoes

This is the season for outdoor cooking with BBQ’s, picnic’s, parties, graduations and all sorts of get-together’s. As you can see from my previous few posts lately, I’ve been on a salad kick.

This antipasto potato salad is perfect for any of those occasions, I think you’re going to love it!

This is not your traditional American potato salad made with mayo, which by the way I think is delicious too. This one is called an antipasto potato salad because it’s filled with ingredients you would find on a nice big antipasto platter with the addition of potatoes.

antipasto salad

For the potatoes I used a mix of red and white thin skinned potatoes because that’s what I had, but you can use your favorite kind just don’t use a baking potato or a russet. I also left the skin on but you can certainly peel the skin off as well.

antipasto and potatoes

This is such a nice Italian twist on traditional potato salad, it’s dressed with a delicious red wine vinaigrette so you can put this out and serve it worry free in regards to spoiling because no mayonnaise is required.

Enjoy!

Antipasto Potato Salad
 
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Think of a nice big Italian antipasto salad, add some cooked potatoes and this is the delicious result. This recipe is adapted from Delish
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Ingredients
  • 2 lbs. of cooked red or white skinned potatoes, cooked until a knife goes through easily, cooled then cut bite size. ( you can peel them if you like)
  • 1 cup of salami, sliced. into quarters or diced
  • 1 can or jar of artichoke hearts, drained of liquid
  • 2 cups sliced cherry tomatoes
  • 1 container of bocconcini mozzarella, or the pearl size, drained of liquid
  • ½ red onion, sliced in half moons
  • a mix of olives, I like kalamata and castelvetrano, a cup or more
  • a handful each of fresh parsley and basil, chopped
  • VINAIGRETTE
  • ½ cup of good extra virgin olive oil
  • ¼ cup red wine vinegar
  • 2 small garlic cloves, grated
  • 1 dollop of Djion mustard
  • oregano and salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Shake the dressing in a jar.
  2. Place the salad ingredients into a big bowl, tossing in the herbs.
  3. Then arrange and place everything onto a big platter and spoon desired amount of the dressing over the top right before serving.
  4. Toss gently.

 

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4 Comments Filed Under: Party Foods, Salads, Summer, Vegetables Tagged: , , , ,

Berry Salad with Leafy Greens and Balls of Fresh Mozzarella

May 9, 2024 by 3 Comments

fresh berry. salad

This fresh berry salad is bright and flavorful and pretty to look at because of all the vibrant colors. It’s a showstopper salad to serve at your next big party or get- together. It literally goes with so many things you might have as a main course.

You might think, “fruit in a salad?” I’m here to say, “Oh yes!”

berry salad ingredients

Beautiful leafy greens are the base for this salad along with juicy, ripe fresh blueberries and strawberries. Creamy avocado, crisp cucumbers and red onion along with balls of bocconcini, fresh mozzarella. For the crunch factor there’s candied pecans and pepitas.

berries and mozzarella balls

Present this salad in one of your biggest bowls or prettiest platters and it will be the talk of the party when you bring it out.

Always dress it right before serving with a homemade vinaigrette, don’t use that bottled stuff!

Enjoy

5.0 from 1 reviews
Berry Salad with Leafy Greens and Balls of Fresh Mozzarella
 
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A showstopper summer salad to serve for your summer parties. and get-togethers.
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Ingredients
  • The ingredient amounts are not listed, just go with the flow according how big your salad will be.
  • ****************
  • leafy greens for the base
  • fresh strawberries, sliced into quarters
  • fresh blueberries
  • bocconcini balls or pearl size fresh mozzarella
  • red onion
  • avocado, diced
  • cucumbers, seeds scooped out and sliced
  • candied pecans and pepitas, please find these, it goes so well
Instructions
  1. Place the base of the leafy greens into a beautiful big bowl or platter.
  2. Then arrange all the rest of the ingredients all around.
  3. Spoon the balsamic vinaigrette all around at the last minute before serving, salt and pepper to taste.
  4. **************
  5. HOMEMADE BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE
  6. one cup of good quality olive oil
  7. one half cup of a quality balsamic vinegar
  8. small garlic clove, grated
  9. a dollop of dijon mustard
  10. salt and pepper
  11. Shake it all together in a jar and taste for your liking, you can add a little honey if you want but I find that a good quality rich balsamic vinegar has sweetness to it and there's no need for it.

 

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3 Comments Filed Under: Fruit, Party Foods, Salads, Side Dishes, Summer Tagged: , , , , ,

Summertime Orzo Salad

April 18, 2024 by 2 Comments

summer orzo salad

Spring is officially here and the warmer weather has arrived and so has grilling season. I know you can grill all year long but I much prefer doing it in the warmer weather. This orzo salad is the perfect side dish to anything you’ll be putting on your grill.

orzo pasta

It’s bright, fresh, colorful, easy to serve, and great for summer parties because you can leave it out and eat it at room temp and you don’t have to worry about it spoiling.

pasta salad

You might want to throw some colored bell peppers on the grill and cook them ahead before you assemble this salad. I usually grill a red, yellow and  orange pepper ahead of time, a day or two before, the grilled peppers really give the salad a nice flavor.

grilling shrimp

And like I said this orzo salad goes with anything you put on the grill from seafood, veggies, pork, beef and chicken.

grilling chicken

This will be your go to summer entertaining salad and side dish, hope you enjoy!

Summertime Orzo Salad
 
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This orzo salad is your go to summer side dish and salad with whatever you're grilling outside.
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Ingredients
  • LIST OF INGREDIENTS, YOU CAN USE MORE OR LESS, DON"T WORRY ABOUT EXACT AMOUNTS.
  • 1 lb. orzo pasta, cooked and drained and cooled
  • 1 red yellow and orange bell peppers, grilled then diced
  • a mix of green castelvetrano and either nicoise or kalamata olives, you can slice them in half
  • 1 can of chick peas, drained and rinsed
  • ½ can or so of canned artichoke hearts, drained
  • red onion, chopped
  • feta cheese, crumbled
  • 1 or 2 handfuls of arugula
  • lemon wedges for garnish
Instructions
  1. Toss everything together in a big bowl, adjusting for salt and pepper.
  2. FOR THE DRESSING
  3. /4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
  4. small grated garlic clove
  5. teaspoon of dijon mustard
  6. /3 to ½ cup of olive oil
  7. salt and pepper to taste
  8. Place in a jar and shake or whisk it all together until it all emulsifies
  9. You can double the dressing if you like if you don't have enough

 

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2 Comments Filed Under: Party Foods, Pasta, Salads, Side Dishes, Summer Tagged: , ,