These delicious summer Italian recipes include simple seafood pastas and grilled eggplant layered with cheeses in summer marinara. Snack on creamy arancini, sear octopus for a vegetable salad, and toast to the season with amaro, Aperol, and Lambrusco in a vibrant spritz.
Pan-Seared Octopus with Italian Vegetable Salad
© Con Poulos
Vinny Dotolo set out to make an octopus sandwich with the flavors of an Italian sub, but says the bread got in the way. Now he sears the octopus, braises it in white wine until tender, and tosses it with chickpeas and a tangy mix of marinated carrots, fennel, and celery.
Grilled Eggplant with Summer Marinara
Chelsea Kyle
Pomodori pellati tomatoes are hand-peeled, seeded, and processed with salt and basil at peak season, capturing their ripe, sweetly acidic flavor for Lucia LoPresti’s silky while chunky sauce that’s layered with grilled eggplant planks, basil, mozzarella, and Parmigiano-Reggiano in a skillet.
Arancini with Peas and Mozzarella
© Matt Armendariz
Grace Parisi’s Calabrian grandmother always used plain white rice to make her incredible arancini (rice balls), but Parisi prefers to cook with plump arborio to make the insides creamier.
Spaghetti with Clams and Garlic
© Simon Watson
Frank Castronovo says one of the reasons he looks forward to his biannual trip to Sicily is the frequency with which Frank [Falcinelli] can order linguine con vongole. The chefs and owners of Frankies Spuntino in Brooklyn pack their exquisite, supersimple version with garlic and a judicious amount of crushed red pepper.
Fusilli with Shrimp and Lemon Butter
© Christina Holmes
Chef Joe Cicala uses the excellent dried corn pasta produced by Rustichella d’Abruzzo. Because of its deep corn flavor, he pairs it with foods that are delicious with polenta, like shrimp.
White Peach Tart
© John Kernick
The dough for this puffy, cakey crust is terrific for impromptu baking, because it doesn’t need to be chilled before it’s rolled out. For the filling, Canora recommends using peaches that are ripe but still firm, as drippy fruit will make the soft crust soggy.
Milady’s Spritz
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Lucy Simon
Harness Lambrusco, a sparkling red wine (or for this recipe, rosé) from the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, with Italian apéritif and liqueur Aperol and amaro for this summertime staple.
Ricotta-Orange Pound Cake with Prosecco Strawberries
© Con Poulos
Strawberries, sprinkled with Prosecco and a little sugar, are a pretty accompaniment to Giada De Laurentiis’s wonderful, moist orange-infused cake.