Summer Salads without Lettuce

not every salad needs greens....

This past weekend we hosted a very impromptu neighbor dinner party in our backyard. I looked around at kids playing with the dog and others climbing a tree and truly almost cried from happiness. It was a perfect moment and one I think I’ve been waiting for since I aged out of running around with reckless abandon. One of my favorite things in the world is to cook for others and enjoy the meal along side them. It’s why Shared Plates exists and why I have a cabinet full of family-style platters. It gives me time to try out new ideas and also quietly log feedback based off what people ate and didn’t eat so much of…we didn’t have any leftovers this time around so I thought it a good opportunity to share the recipes.

We served :

-Summer Panzanella Salad (recipe below)
-Antipasto Melon Salad (recipe below)
-Simple Grilled Chicken
-Homemade Merguez Sausages 
-Grilled Garlic Scabes, Green Onions and Candy Onion Bulb
-Crispy Guanciale (if you've never had, find it immediately and enjoy)
-Fresh Naan Bread
-Vanilla Cake Crumble with Peaches and Whip Cream (literally leftover cake scraps from my freezer turned into an amazing trifle) 

Summer Panzanella Salad 

yield: 4-6 servings 

prep time: 15 minutes

Salad:
1 Crusty Baguette or Small Sourdough Loaf
2 Large Heirloom Tomatoes, cut into large chunks right before tossing/serving salad
2 Ripe Peaches, cut into large chunks
1 small Shallot, thin sliced
1/3 cup Feta, crumbled
½ cup Mixed Soft Herbs- heavy on the basil plus any of the following mint, scallion, dill, parsely
Salt and Pepper  

Red Wine Vinaigrette: 

¼ cup Olive Oil 
2 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
1 ½ tsp Dijon Mustard
½ tsp Honey 
Salt and pepper 

Preheat oven to 350°

Whisk together all the dressing ingredients. Set aside.

Tear bread into large but edible-in-one-bite chunks. Toss onto a sheet tray and toast for 10 minutes, until crunchy but not dark in color.

Gently mix together sliced tomatoes, peaches and shallots. Season with salt and pepper. Add bread, herbs and drizzle with dressing. Toss to coat, taking care to not destroy the tomatoes. Serve immediately. 

If you’d like to prep some of the salad ahead, I recommend making the dressing, slicing the peaches and shallots and toasting the bread. Wait to cut the tomatoes and to mix everything together until ready to serve. You want the bread to stay as crusty as possible while people enjoy their meal. 

Antipasto Melon Salad 

yield: 4-6 servings 

prep time: 10 minutes 

3 cups Cantaloupe or Sweet Summer Melon, large diced 
1 cup Ricotta Cheese
1 – 6 oz jar Marinated Artichokes, drained and rough chopped
4 oz Prosciutto di Parma, thinly sliced and torn into small pieces
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
Drizzle of Olive Oil 
Kosher Salt and Fresh Cracked Pepper 

Schmear the bottom of a serving platter with ricotta. Sprinkle ricotta with salt and drizzle with lemon juice. Top ricotta with diced melon and artichokes. Scatter torn prosciutto over melon and artichokes. Drizzle everything with olive oil and a few cracks of fresh black pepper. 

This can be made ahead and kept in the refrigerator.