Italian Tricolore Salad with Lemon Parmesan Vinaigrette
From Portofino's colorful harbor to California kitchens: a flag-inspired salad celebrating Italian flavors and Mediterranean travel memories
A friend’s recent trip to Portofino and another’s dinner gathering at an Italian hotspot in La Quinta, California, inspired a trip down Italian memory lane. I found myself recreating Kiki’s ‘hit of the night’ tricolore salad at home, then hunting through boxes of photos for images from my August 1997 trip to Portofino.
My boyfriend, Mark, and I had been traveling from one port to another on a trip through the French and Italian Riviera on the WindStar Sailing Ship. It was an amazing trip sponsored by his company. We were young and grateful for the opportunity, so we took every opportunity to explore, eat, and learn all we could about the destinations we were landing in.
Portofino is a lovely, picturesque seaside village in Northwest Italy, with tall, colorful buildings stacked one on top of the other around a bay overlooking the sea.
We disembarked from the ship and then walked through the streets to the center of town. This being my first trip to Europe, it was also my first account with ‘water with bubbles’. We had decided to get a bite to eat at one of the local restaurants. Our waiter asked if I’d like water with bubbles or still water. It took a second for my brain to calibrate what he was asking. Then I realized he was talking about the sparkling water! Before y’all start laughing, this trip was long before social media and Google! I had only my wits and an Italian menu to rely on. I chose the sparkling water by the way!
After lunch, Mark and I decided to find out more about the castle on the hill. We learned that Castle Brown was once a historic house museum and that we could walk through it. The path to the top would take us up a narrow, winding trail through the trees. We were up for it, but not without some Italian gelato, for our strength, of course, during the hike.
We stopped at a local gelateria. I decided on a double scoop of Cioccolato (chocolate) and Pistachio. Mark always liked fruity flavors, so he chose a double scoop of Fragola (strawberry).
With our gelato in tow, we started our excursion up to Castello Brown. Named after an English consul who owned the building from 1867 to 1905, its history dates back to the Middle Ages, when it was built on the hill to defend the Gulf of Portofino. Over the years, it has been a private residence, a civil residence, a museum, and now hosts public and private events.
Surprisingly, it took us only 10 minutes to reach the Castle. We went through the home, in and out of one door, then another, up and down various flights of stairs, then finally finished our walk and our gelato on the rooftop terrace. The views were incredible. My photo of the village of Portofino was taken from up here; you can see just how high up we were and what a view we had from that vantage point.
We had only one day in Portofino, but we enjoyed every minute. Down the hill we went, walking east through the village, to our sailing ship, to our next port of call.
Why is Italian gelato so good?
fresh, seasonal, quality ingredients
artisanal, small-batch preparation
less fat compared to ice cream
churned at a low speed, so less air gets in, making it denser and richer in flavor
served at a higher temperature than ice cream, contributing to richer flavors
Scoops and cups are small, so you savor every bite.
Italian Tricolore Salad & Lemon Parmesan Vinaigrette
A colorful celebration of Italian flag colors and flavors
The Basics
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Chill Time: 1-2 hours (for dressing)
Servings: 6-8
Difficulty: Easy
Equipment
Large serving bowl
Salad servers
Cutting board and knife
Measuring cups and spoons
Box grater
Food processor
Half-pint mason jar
Ingredients
Salad
5 oz package of arugula
1 bunch endive (green curled), chopped
2 small to medium radicchio, chopped
Vinaigrette
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 cups Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
4-6 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 tsp honey
Instructions
Prepare Greens
Combine arugula, endive, and radicchio in large bowl.
Toss to mix evenly
Set aside
Make Vinaigrette
Blend all dressing ingredients in a food processor.
Process until smooth and creamy
Transfer to mason jar
Refrigerate 1-2 hours to meld flavors.
Serve
Shake the vinaigrette well.
Drizzle over greens
Toss until well coated.
Serve immediately
Recipe Remix
Swap endive for Belgian endive
Try different honey varieties.
Adjust garlic to taste.
Make-Ahead Options
Prep greens up to 1 day ahead
Make dressing up to 3 days ahead.
Store components separately
Dress just before serving.
Complete Your Italian Feast
Start with Tricolore Salad
Follow with creamy fettuccine.
Serve alongside Chicken Milanese
End with lemon gelato.
Wine Suggestions
Argiolas Costamolino Vermentino from Sardinia
Dry, aromatic with citrus notes
Perfect match for bitter greens
Unoaked Chardonnay for richer pairings
Light, crisp Italian whites
Saluti!
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The salad sounds amazing. Great for a dinner.
What a beautiful place you must have great memories of it. Would love the gelato