Find a Recipe!

Just a Little Bit of Bacon

where comfort food meets the farm stand

  • Home
  • Recipes
    • beverages
    • desserts
    • grilling and bbq
    • main courses
    • quick dinners
    • side dishes
    • soups and stews
  • mediterranean recipes
    • italian recipes
      • italian comfort food
      • italian antipasti
      • fundamentals of italian cooking
    • spanish recipes
      • spanish tapas
    • french recipes
      • french comfort food
    • greek recipes
  • holiday favorites
    • christmas
    • easter dinner
    • thanksgiving feast
  • resources
    • dinner and party menus
    • farmers’ market
      • ingredient spotlight
    • roundup post
  • About
    • Privacy Policy
  • Contact

Italian Inspired Summer Grilling Menu

June 21, 2017 By justalittlebitofbacon Leave a Comment

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. Click here for details.

When summer heat is in full swing around here, I’m looking for easy recipes featuring the best of summer fresh produce and don’t make me stand in front of a hot stove in the evening! Summer is time for starting up the grill and I have for you today a great summer grilling menu with a tasty Italian theme.

This Italian inspired summer grilling menu features a knockout grilled lamb and figs recipe and is full of easy party ideas perfect for hot summer days. | justalittlebitofbacon.comWhen I was thinking about what to write for my next menu, the answer was simple! I haven’t been in the mood to turn on my oven for the past few evenings and I know I’m not the only one.

Instead I’ve been firing up the grill and putting together all sorts of great summer dinners. Grilled bruschetta, fruit, meats, and all sorts of veggies. With the grates for larger items and a grill pan or basket for smaller/more delicate ones, there are very few foods which can’t go on the grill.

I personally like to grill a few parts of dinner and combine those recipes with simple salads, fruity drinks, and cold desserts. That way you get plenty of use out of your grill, but you have a variety of flavors and textures to enjoy. Like this summer menu for the grill! Here you are going to grill an appetizer and the main course, while rounding out the menu with other flavors.

Peaches and a Daiquiri to Start the Meal

Balsamic grilled peaches wrapped with prosciutto make for a great sweet and salty start of the menu! Add in creamy burrata and a balsamic glaze and this appetizer will be gone before you know it. If you’re not sure about burrata, it’s a wonderfully soft and creamy cheese. Worth searching out!

For a drink to to pair with the peaches, I chose my super fruity frozen strawberry daiquiri. This daiquiri uses frozen strawberries so it’s all fruit with only a little bit of ice on top mixed with the lime. I’m thinking that with all those strawberries this cocktail counts as healthy! Right? 🙂 Healthy or not, it is summer in a glass, and perfectly chilly cocktail to sip on a warm evening.

Layered Frozen Strawberry Lime Daiquiri - This frozen strawberry daiquiri is all about intense fruit flavor from frozen strawberries pureed with rum and lime juice. For an extra festive touch make some lime daiquiri too and layer it on top of the strawberry daiquiri. | justalittlebitofbacon.com
Layered Frozen Strawberry and Lime Daiquiri
Balsamic Grilled Peaches with Burrata and Prosciutto - Sweet, salty, creamy, and tart combine in this recipe to create a recipe full of bold flavors. Juicy, sweet peaches are wrapped in prosciutto and seared on the grill, then drizzled with balsamic vinegar and paired with burrata. Wonderful as an appetizer or as a side dish. | justalittlebitofbacon.com
Balsamic Grilled Peaches with Burrata and Prosciutto

Lamb for the Main Course

These grilled lamb chops continue the theme of using fresh, seasonal produce since they are paired with a fig sauce. Juicy, fresh figs and balsamic vinegar make for a sweet and sour sauce which I love with lamb, and counterbalances the smokey, grilled flavor of the meat.

With the main course squared way, we need some sides! I chose my no-knead rosemary bread and my fava bean salad as the sides in this summer menu. You will need to turn on the oven to bake the bread, but you can time that to do it in the morning while the weather is cooler. You will be amazed at how easy and tasty this bread is with its beautiful crust and the flavor of olive oil permeating every bite.

As for the fava bean salad, you totally need to find some fava beans (also called broad beans) at least once this summer. And what better time to find them then when you are making a great dinner! You can do all the peeling and prepping the day before and then it’s a matter of minutes to put the salad together.

Other great sides for this dinner would be a homemade Caesar salad or an heirloom tomato caprese salad. Both great Italian themed recipes!

And to drink? I would go for a big, red wine. One with a fair amount of fruit. Keeping with the Italian theme, a Nero d’Avola, Primitivo, or Nebbiolo would all be great wines for this dinner.

Lamb rib chops are grilled and served with a sauce of fresh figs, port, and balsamic in this simple and elegant main course. | justalittlebitofbacon.com
Grilled Lamb Chops with Fresh Fig Port Sauce
Love making artisan bread but want it to be quick and easy? This rosemary no knead bread bakes up like a dream in your dutch oven and only takes a few minutes of work. | justalittlebitofbacon.com
Olive Oil and Rosemary No Knead Bread
One great way to enjoy fava beans is in this healthy spring inspired fresh fava bean and parmesan salad, which is tossed lightly with a little olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. Simple, but oh so good! | justalittlebitofbacon.com
Fresh Fava Bean and Parmesan Salad

End on a Sweet Note

With no churn ice cream, you don’t need an ice cream maker, though you do need a hand mixer. You’ll whip all sorts of air into your ricotta cannoli ice cream and then set it in the freezer to chill. Five minutes of work!

Add some chopped chocolate and pistachios for toppings and you have a cold cannoli in a bowl. And I think the perfect way to end a summer’s grilling dinner.

No ice cream machine? Try no churn ricotta ice cream! It's spiced with cinnamon and topped with toasted pistachios and chopped chocolate. Cannoli filling in frozen form which you can make in minutes. | justalittlebitofbacon.com
No Churn Ricotta Ice Cream

This Italian inspired summer grilling menu features a knockout grilled lamb and figs recipe and is full of easy party ideas perfect for hot summer days. | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Save

Related Posts:

  • 6 Favorite Grilling Recipes for Summer
    6 Favorite Grilling Recipes for Summer
  • Grilled Mediterranean Chicken Thighs with Olives and Tomatoes
    Grilled Mediterranean Chicken Thighs with Olives and…
  • Grilled Italian Pasta Salad
    Grilled Italian Pasta Salad
  • Grilled Sicilian Swordfish with Oregano and Summer Squash
    Grilled Sicilian Swordfish with Oregano and Summer Squash
  • Small Easter Menu with Rack of Lamb
    Small Easter Menu with Rack of Lamb
  • Grilled Halloumi and French Lentil Salad
    Grilled Halloumi and French Lentil Salad

Filed Under: dinner and party menus, italian recipes, roundup post, summer

« Smoked Gouda and Asparagus Omelette
Italian Chicken Pesto Panini »

Follow me on:

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter

Don’t miss a post!

Get new recipes in your inbox every week!

Disclosure:

Justalittlebitofbacon is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Hello, I’m Annemarie

Welcome to my kitchen! I’m a Italian-American girl who loves fresh foods, local ingredients, and all sorts of comfort foods. Here you will find Mediterranean flavors and recipes from a New England perspective.

Don’t miss a post!

Sign up here to have new recipes delivered to your inbox every week.

Follow me on:

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Spring Flings

Raspberry Orange Streusel Bars - Raspberries pair with an orange cream filling and are topped by an oatmeal streusel in these flavorful and easy bar cookies. And, to make them extra fun and colorful, you can drizzle them with a raspberry glaze! | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Orange Raspberry Streusel Bars

Strawberry Lime Vodka Collins - Throw away the collins mix! Homemade strawberry syrup is the secret to this seriously tasty and seriously refreshing strawberry collins. | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Strawberry Vodka Collins

Leftover Lamb Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce - What to do with leftover lamb roast? Make these incredibly yummy lamb gyros and top them with a 5 minute tzatziki sauce. | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Leftover Lamb Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce

For a fresh take on Italian bread salad, make a spring panzanella salad with peas, arugula, mint, and cherry tomatoes all tossed in a bright, lemony dressing. | justalittlebitofbacon.com #saladrecipes #italianrecipes #panzanella #tomatobreadsalad #springrecipes

Spring Panzanella Salad with Peas, Arugula, and Mint

Rhubarb Orange Compote - Don't know what to do with rhubarb? Try this quick and easy rhubarb compote recipe. Spoon it over ice cream and cake and it's awesome on pancakes! | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Rhubarb Orange Compote

Want to know how to cook baby artichokes? In this easy recipe baby artichokes are trimmed up, topped with parsleyed bread crumbs and made into a baked artichoke gratin. Great holiday dish! | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Baby Artichoke Gratin with Parsleyed Crumbs

Reader Favorites

Chocolate Chip Butterscotch Bars - These one bowl bars have all the comfort of an old-fashioned butterscotch bar and the added pleasure of gooey chocolate chips in every bite. | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Chocolate Chip Butterscotch Bars

Pan Fried Spanish Cauliflower Tapas - These breaded fried cauliflower bites are a simple and tasty tapas dish you should make at your next get-together! Just a quick dunking in egg and breadcrumbs and a minute in a skillet and you are all done. Can be made ahead and reheated! | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Pan Fried Spanish Cauliflower Tapas

Slow Cooker Potato Leek Soup - Comforting, creamy, cheesy, and now even easier to make, this potato leek soup delivers all the flavor for only minutes of work. | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Cheesy Slow Cooker Potato Leek Soup

My Favorite Bread and Sausage Stuffing - This classic combination of bread, pork sausage, aromatics, and lots of sage produces a stuffing that says Thanksgiving to me. | justalittlebitofbacon.com

My Favorite Sausage Bread Stuffing

Pear Quick Bread with Streusel Topping - What to do with those overripe pears sitting on your counter? Make an easy pear quick bread from them! Great for breakfast, for snacks, and it freezes well. | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Pear Quick Bread with Streusel Topping

This easy flourless chocolate cake is amazingly dense, rich and decadent. Every bite is packed with intense bittersweet chocolate flavor. | justalittlebitofbacon.com

Easy Flourless Chocolate Cake

Copyright © 2022 — Just a Little Bit of Bacon • All rights reserved. Privacy Policy • Disclaimer

Genesis Framework • Foodie Pro Theme • by Shay Bocks