Sometimes you want a big antipasto platter of separate offerings all ready to be chosen and put on your plate and other times you just want a big salad full of fresh seasonal produce, meats, and cheeses and call it dinner. Today I have for you an Italian antipasto salad for those nights you want your dinner in a bowl.
Hello, all! How is September treating you?
We’re not doing too bad here. The change in temperature to more reasonable temps has been wonderful and the plants are really enjoying all the rain we’ve been having. Definitely easier to contemplate cooking something! A plus considering my line of work. š
Summer is waning, but it is still warm enough to have a quick salad for dinner. In fact, there are nights in the dead of winter when I don’t want to cook (or at least cook much) and salad is a great idea.
One of my favorite things about this antipasto salad is that you can switch out the fresh parts of the salad for what looks good when you are making it. Think seasonally and you can’t go wrong.
Right now that’s local tomatoes and fresh green and yellow beans. Soon I might see lots of apples and delicata squash. In January, broccoli and bell peppers, while out of season, are usually still tasty. In May, asparagus and radishes or beets would be perfect.
Have fun and mix it up a bit! Recipes are not pronouncements from on high, but guides and roadmaps which you can adapt to your own tastes.
How do you Make Italian Antipasto Salad?
To make an Italian antipasto salad fill a bowl with chopped vegetables, such as tomatoes and green beans. Then add chopped salami, marinated white beans and artichokes, olives, fresh mozzarella, and sliced basil. Toss the salad with a homemade vinaigrette.
- Marinate the white beans in vinaigrette.
- Cook the green beans.
- Chop the tomatoes, salami, onions, and artichokes.
- Add the beans and chopped veggies to a bowl with mozzarella, olives, and basil.
- Pour over the vinaigrette, toss, and serve.
Before I even begin cooking, I start by seeing what is in season. Right now I’m inspired by green (and yellow) beans so this antipasto salad has green beans. Also, tomatoes since the tomatoes are lovely right now.
To begin making the salad, mix the vinaigrette and pour it over the white beans so they can marinate a little. You can even do this in the morning or the night before if you want more flavor in the beans. I like butter beans, but you can use navy beans or cannellini beans.
Then trim and chop the green beans and cook them until crisp-tender. Stop the cooking by putting them in ice water or at least in cool water in the pot (drain, rinse the pot to cool it, and refill with cold tap water).
Chop and slice everything that needs chopping. Dice the salami, chop the tomatoes, quarter the artichokes, slice the onion and basil. You can do this while the water is heating and the beans are cooking.
Tip: Don’t feel you have to stick everything in little bowls. That’s for photos! If you want a composed salad, use a large cutting board and separate out all the ingredients in piles. Then, when everything is prepped, add each ingredient to the serving bowl.
Once everything is ready, add in all into the serving bowl. Scoop out the white beans and add them. Then pour over the dressing. This salad is great with some crusty bread on the side!
What are those wide flat beans?
When you are out shopping, especially at farmers’ markets and farm stands, you may come across wide flat green beans or wide flat yellow beans. And you may wonder what they are and what you do with them.
Those wide flat beans are Romano beans or Italian green (or yellow) beans. They are simply a different shape of snap beans and one which originated in Italy. Hence the name!
Romano beans can be used just like the more usual round green beans and have a tender pod and edible seeds.
One note is that they do not take overcooking well! They are best raw or at the crisp-tender stage, as I have them in this salad.
Italian Salads
If you are interested in trying some other Italian inspired salads, I have a few!
Of course I have a caprese salad. In fact I have two! A tomato burrata caprese and a heirloom tomato caprese.
But I also have other great Italian salads. There is more to Italian salad than caprese! I have an Italian orange, radicchio and red onion salad; an Italian green bean salad with burrata; a grilled Italian pasta salad; and a fried mozzarella, tomato, and arugula salad. All tasty and worth trying. If you want more, visit my salad category for ALL my salads.
If you try my recipe for Italian Antipasto Salad, I would love to hear from you in the comments with your experience and rating! And Iām happy to answer any questions you might have.
You can connect with me by subscribing to my emails (see the form in the sidebar or below the recipe card), liking my FACEBOOK page, or by following me on PINTEREST.
ā Happy Eating, Annemarie
Italian Antipasto Salad with Green Beans
Ingredients
- 1 15-oz can butter beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 lb green beans (or green and yellow), cut into 1-2 inch lengths
- 2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
- 4 oz thick sliced (1/4 inch thick) salami, diced
- 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup black and green olives, pitted
- 6 oz perlini size fresh mozzarella balls, or a larger mozzarella chopped into 1 inch pieces
- 8 oz marinated artichoke hearts, quartered
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
Vinaigrette
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 small clove garlic, finely minced
- 1 tsp anchovy paste
Instructions
- Place the butter beans in a small bowl. Mix together the vinaigrette ingredients and pour it over the beans. Toss to combine and set the beans aside as you make the rest of the salad.
- Set out a large bowl of ice water. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the green beans and cook until just tender, but with a little bite left to them, about 3-4 minutes. Drain the green beans and immediately put them in the ice water to chill.
- Fill a large serving bowl with the cooked green beans, tomatoes, salami, onion, mozzarella, artichoke hearts, and basil. Scoop out the butter beans from the dressing and add them. Then pour the dressing over the whole salad and toss.
BitofBaconHQ Pet Corner
Here is the non-furry member of our pet family! This is Rose the aquatic turtle. She is an Eastern Painted Turtle and has been living with us for about 8 years now.
To give her a walk we put away all the cats behind doors and put the dog upstairs so she can have free rein to walk all over our kitchen and sitting room. (They have wood floors. No rugs for the turtle!) We do this during tank cleaning and filter cleaning so we are already in cleaning mode and we can clean up the floor when she’s done.
She loves to pose for photos and posed quite nicely for this one on our pebble tiles.
Thao @ In Good Flavor says
50% of my dinner this summer has been salad, and it is usually a basic iceberg and/or mixed greens with chicken or salmon. I’m still on an a salad roll but it’s time to switch it up. This antipasto looks amazing and is calling my name!! I’m also thinking of doing this with tuna as well!
justalittlebitofbacon says
I hear you, Thao! It’s easy to stick with the same recipes. This antipasto would be great with tuna. Especially the Italian oil packed tuna. Yum. š