Cool Summer Salads: Let the Garden Be Your Inspiration for Light, Refreshing Meals this Summer

When it is too hot to cook and you want something light, cool, and refreshing, look to the garden for inspiration. Panzanella is an Italian bread and tomato salad made with garlic, basil, parsley, olive oil, and vinegar. Dazzling when prepared with a combination of red and yellow tomatoes, it can easily be made in about 15 minutes. Whether you pick your produce right from your own garden or purchase it at a local farm stand, the chefs at the CIA recommend using the freshest available.

Having guests for dinner? A rustic salade niçoise is easy to accomplish with a little planning, and many of its components can be prepared ahead of time. Of note for purists is that several French chefs, including Eric Ripert and François Payard, have gone on record as stating that a true niçoise salad can only be made with canned tuna packed in olive oil.

"When making a salade niçoise, roast the tomatoes, fennel, and pepper to give the salad complexity," the CIA's Chef Lou Jones advises. "The roasted vegetables can be prepared a day or two ahead of time. You could also blanch the green beans, hard-cook the eggs, and prepare the artichokes ahead of time, too. But for the best texture and flavor in your potatoes, cook them no more than an hour or so before you plan to eat."

These and other great recipes can be found in The Culinary Institute of America's latest cookbook, Bistros and Brasseries (2008, Lebhar-Friedman), and in Gourmet Meals in Minutes (2004, Lebhar-Friedman). Both are available for purchase at bookstores nationwide or at www.ciachef.edu/enthusiasts/cookbooks_dvds.


Panzanella
(Bread Salad with Fresh Tomatoes)

Makes 8 servings—Preparation Time: 15 minutes

• 1 baguette, 24-inch, preferably 2 days old
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup garlic, chopped
• 2 pounds tomatoes
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
• 1 bunch basil
• 1/2 cup parsley, roughly chopped

1. Cut the baguette into 1-inch cubes. Toast in a 350ºF oven for 1 to 2 minutes or until crisp and dry, stirring occasionally if necessary.


2. Place the butter and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil into a 10-inch sauté pan over medium heat. Allow the butter to melt and then add the garlic. Sauté the garlic for 2 to 3 minutes until it is translucent, but not brown. Toss the cooked garlic, butter, and oil with the diced bread.


3. Slice the tomatoes and place in a large bowl. Add the vinegar, remaining olive oil, salt, and pepper.


4. Layer one quarter of the basil leaves on top of each other and roll into a tight bunch. Thinly slice the bunch of leaves crosswise to create long strips of basil approximately 1/8-inch thick. Just before serving, toss the bread, basil, and parsley with the tomatoes. Adjust the seasoning with additional salt and pepper if necessary.

Chef's note: While this recipe calls for toasting the bread, other variations include soaking the bread in water before tossing it with the remaining ingredients.

Salade Niçoise.

Photo Credit: CIA/Ben Fink

Salade Niçoise
(Niçoise Salad)

Makes 6 servings

Dressing

• 1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar
• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 10 basil leaves, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper as needed

Salad

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped, divided use
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, divided use
• 5 plum tomatoes, blanched and peeled
• 1 fennel bulb
• 1 each yellow and red pepper
• 1 1/4 cups new potatoes or fingerlings
• 4 cups arugula
• 3 cups mesclun lettuce
• 12 radishes, quartered
• 1 1/2 cups haricots verts, parcooked and halved
• 6 artichoke hearts, quartered
• 3 hard-boiled eggs, quartered
• 6 anchovy fillets, cured in vinaigrette
• 1 12-ounce can tuna in oil, drained
• 3/4 cup black niçoise olives

1. Preheat the oven to 275°F.


2. To make the dressing, place the vinegar in a bowl and gradually add the olive oil while whisking thoroughly to form an emulsion. Add the garlic, chopped basil, and seasoning.


3. Prepare the salad's components. Brush a baking sheet with olive oil. Sprinkle a little of the chopped garlic and thyme onto the baking sheet. Cut the tomatoes into eighths and remove the seeds to make "petals." Lay these tomato petals into the baking sheet, brush with some of the olive oil, and sprinkle with a little more of the garlic and thyme. (You should have about half of the garlic and thyme still remaining to add to the fennel.)


4. Place this tray in the oven and cook until the tomatoes lose their rawness and yield slightly to the touch, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove them from the oven and set aside to cool.


5. Parcook the fennel in boiling salted water for 10 minutes. Remove it from the water with a slotted spoon. Cut the fennel in half vertically. Slice it thinly using a mandoline set 1/16-inch thick. Lay theses slices on a baking sheet in the same fashion as the tomatoes. Brush with the remaining olive oil and sprinkle with garlic and thyme. Cook them the same way you did the tomatoes. The fennel will take a little longer to soften fully—about 30 minutes. Remove the fennel from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 350°F.


6. Rub the red and yellow peppers with olive oil and bake them in the oven for about 40 minutes, or until soft to the touch. Remove them from the oven. Peel away the skin, remove the seeds and stems, and cut the peppers into 2-inch julienne.


7. Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for about 20 minutes. When cooked, drain and cool slightly. Cut into 1/4-inch dice and, while still warm, toss them in a bowl with seasoning and 3 tablespoons of the dressing.


8. Mix the arugula and mesclun together in a bowl with a little dressing and season to taste with salt and pepper. Now for the fun and creativity: Arrange the mixed lettuces on your chosen plates and design your salad using all its component parts. Finish the plate with a little drizzle of dressing.