It was named one of F&W’s 40 best-ever recipes in 2018.
Green olive tapenade and peperoncini form a quick, briny marinade that infuses bocconcini with bold flavor.
A lemon–red wine vinaigrette ties together the salty, spicy, and creamy components.
Layering lettuce, salami, marinated cheese, and olives ensures every bite has texture and contrast.
In 2018, Food & Wine named this recipe one of our 40 best. Nancy Silverton, the cofounder of Campanile and La Brea Bakery — for which she was named a F&W Best New Chef in 1990 — and co-owner of Osteria Mozza and Pizzeria Mozza in Los Angeles, is famous for her baking, but she’s also an expert on Italian flavors. Case in point: this smart and delicious play on a classic antipasto plate. Shredded iceberg lettuce serves as the crunchy base for a salad made with creamy bocconcini, Genoa salami, spicy-tangy peperoncini, and green olives. It’s quick to prepare and hits all of the right notes.
What are bocconcini?
Italian for “little mouthfuls,” bocconcini are bite-sized balls of fresh cow’s milk mozzarella cheese. Typically packed in whey or brine, they’re soft and milky with a delicate flavor and creamy, springy texture. Here, they offer a cool, creamy counterpoint to the briny tapenade and cured meats.
What is Genoa salami?
Of the hundreds of salami varieties, Genoa salami is among the most popular. Originating from Genoa, Italy, this medium-grind, cured salami has a soft, tender texture and mild flavor, typically made from pork blended with garlic, peppercorns, and red wine.
Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen
Try these variations:
For a vegetarian version, try swapping in grilled zucchini or roasted red pepper for the salami.To reduce the sodium, use low-salt green olives. You can also try decreasing the amount of tapenade by as much as a third.To dial up the creaminess, substitute burrata for the bocconcini, simply spooning the tapenade-peperoncini mixture over the cheese instead of tossing. Allow it to marinate briefly before arranging over the dressed lettuce and salami.For a lighter dressing, use more lemon juice and red wine vinegar and decrease the amount of oil.
Suggested pairing
Frothy, berry-scented Lambrusco: NV Venturini Baldini Lambrusco dell’Emilia.
Dining and Cooking