Italian Seafood Salad

This seafood salad comes from Marie, of the Proud Italian Cook blog, who I’ve followed for years! She was born into an Italian American family, and began blogging in 2007. “I cook, photograph and write all content here, it’s my life through food!”

This seafood salad is classically served on Christmas Eve, which is how I first heard about it. Can you imagine something more lovely than this on the table?!

The salad originates from Puglia, more specifically, Bari on the coast, where interestingly enough the well known Spaghetti all’Assassina originates.

Marie assures that you don’t need to wait until Christmas Eve to indulge. This is definitely a perfect summer salad, especially when one has access to fresh seafood.

This salad takes a bit of preparation time because the seafood varieties are cooked separately so as to prepare them properly. Make sure you have enough guests at your table to take advantage of this fabulous salad.

Italian Seafood Salad

1 lb. bay scallops, I sliced mine in half horizontally
1 lb. shrimp, sliced in half for a nice presentation
1 lb. calamari with tubes and tentacles (I used cuttlefish)
4 small lobster tails
2 fennel bulbs sliced thin
1/2 large red onion, diced small
3 whole celery stalks with leaves, chopped in small slices
Handful of pitted Castelvetrano olives or any of your favorite
4 cloves garlic, crushed
Lemon slices from one lemon
Lemon juice
Olive oil
Chopped parsley
Cayenne chile pepper flakes, to taste

First prepare the poaching liquid by adding water to a medium stock pot, with a good splash of white wine, 2 bay leaves, 1 of the 4 cloves of crushed garlic, salt, pepper and 3 lemon slices.

Bring the liquid to a boil then place seafood in one at a time. Bay scallops about 2 minutes, taste one to make sure, calamari, one or two minutes, shrimp until they turn pink and the lobster three to five minutes depending on the size; they will turn pink and curl up.

My rule of thumb for lobster tails is one minute per ounce weight.

Use a spider strainer to take them out of the liquid then place directly into an ice bath to stop the cooking process. The seafood should be tender and not overcooked. Drain onto a paper towel lined baking sheet.

When seafood is all cooked, chop up all your veggies and place into a big bowl, along with the olives.

Add the prepared seafood to the large bowl.

In a covered jar, shake together a ratio of 1:1 lemon juice and olive oil, with a little Dijon mustard, plus salt and pepper to taste. This is where I added the remaining minced garlic.
Shake well.

Drizzle over your salad coating all the seafood and tossing so the garlic and veggies get incorporated.

Sprinkle with chopped parsley, cayenne pepper flakes, and taste for seasoning. Spoon it into a pretty platter, add some lemon slices, more parsley, and a drizzle of olive oil all over.

Cover and let it sit in fridge for at least a few hours or overnight. Let it warm up a bit before serving. Don’t serve at room temperature; it needs to be cold.

I could make this salad for every holiday! It’s so so good.

By Published On: August 14th, 202449 Comments on Italian Seafood Salad

About the Author: Chef Mimi

As a self-taught home cook, with many years in the culinary profession, I am passionate about all things food-related. Especially eating!

49 Comments

  1. Bernadette August 14, 2024 at 6:30 AM - Reply

    My mouth is watering and thanks for the introduction to Marie.

    • Chef Mimi August 14, 2024 at 7:21 AM - Reply

      You’ll enjoy her blog!

  2. carrietalkingmeals August 14, 2024 at 6:44 AM - Reply

    Wow, this is definitely a seafood lovers delight! This would be so great for Sunday Brunch:) Thank you for sharing this, Mimi.

    • Chef Mimi August 14, 2024 at 7:21 AM - Reply

      Who wants to wait until Christmas Eve?!!

  3. beth August 14, 2024 at 7:05 AM - Reply

    wow, I’d love this!

    • Chef Mimi August 14, 2024 at 7:21 AM - Reply

      It was so good and enjoyable!

  4. ajeanneinthekitchen August 14, 2024 at 8:35 AM - Reply

    That looks yummy!

    • Chef Mimi August 14, 2024 at 3:17 PM - Reply

      Thank you Jeanne!

  5. angiesrecipes August 14, 2024 at 8:49 AM - Reply

    I love all the seafood! This has me drool big time.

    • Chef Mimi August 14, 2024 at 3:17 PM - Reply

      I completely understand!

  6. Jeff the Chef August 14, 2024 at 8:56 AM - Reply

    That salad is really packed with great stuff!

    • Chef Mimi August 14, 2024 at 3:17 PM - Reply

      I know! It was delicious!

  7. Dorothy's New Vintage Kitchen August 14, 2024 at 9:06 AM - Reply

    What a marvelous salad, and it is presented beautifully. I bet that poaching liquid was delicious as well!

    • Chef Mimi August 14, 2024 at 3:18 PM - Reply

      Well, I didn’t taste it! But the seafood was wonderful.

  8. Anonymous August 14, 2024 at 10:00 AM - Reply

    Beautiful salad! I can almost taste it just from your detailed description, it has to be superb! I like Marie’s website, as it, like yours, is loaded with goodies! Thanks! Barb

    • Chef Mimi August 14, 2024 at 3:20 PM - Reply

      Thank you, Barb! What a compliment!

  9. johnrieber August 14, 2024 at 11:52 AM - Reply

    LOVE THIS. I am going to make your recipe and share it along with yours!

    • Chef Mimi August 14, 2024 at 3:20 PM - Reply

      You certainly will be happy you did!!!

  10. Ben | Havocinthekitchen August 14, 2024 at 4:35 PM - Reply

    What a beautiful salad packed with so many delicious things! Great photos, too.

    • Chef Mimi August 14, 2024 at 5:58 PM - Reply

      Thank you! It was pretty wonderful!

  11. David Scott Allen August 14, 2024 at 6:24 PM - Reply

    A beautiful salad, for sure — I love Italian seafood dishes like this! I look forward to trying it!

    • Chef Mimi August 15, 2024 at 8:21 AM - Reply

      If you love a variety of seafood, you’ll definitely love this salad!

  12. Sheryl August 14, 2024 at 9:45 PM - Reply

    mmm. . . it looks wonderful

    • Chef Mimi August 15, 2024 at 8:21 AM - Reply

      It was so so good!

  13. Gerlinde de Broekert August 14, 2024 at 9:56 PM - Reply

    This looks like a great seafood salad.

    • Chef Mimi August 15, 2024 at 8:22 AM - Reply

      Thanks! It was pretty amazing!

  14. Tandy | Lavender and Lime August 14, 2024 at 10:50 PM - Reply

    Oh yum. I will have to adapt this to suit what we get here. It looks really delicious.

    • Chef Mimi August 15, 2024 at 8:22 AM - Reply

      It was very good!

  15. Sherry August 14, 2024 at 11:49 PM - Reply

    How very delicious mimi. I love seafood! Such a shame hubby does not.
    Cheers
    Sherry

    • Chef Mimi August 15, 2024 at 8:22 AM - Reply

      Same here! No seafood. No salmon, which is my favorite fish.

  16. Heathy World Cuisine August 15, 2024 at 6:59 AM - Reply

    How perfect would this be for the Feast of the Seven Fishes! Love your Italian additions to the pasta salad and your simple dressing.

    • Chef Mimi August 19, 2024 at 6:54 PM - Reply

      I know. Something so fresh and light and so enjoyable!

  17. Charlie DeSando August 15, 2024 at 7:13 AM - Reply

    lovely, just in time for my trip to Italy at the end of the month

    • Chef Mimi August 15, 2024 at 8:23 AM - Reply

      Oh wonderful! I’ll be in Sicily next month and I can’t wait!

  18. 2pots2cook August 16, 2024 at 3:32 AM - Reply

    We do our best to spend weekends outdoors and this is great dish to share with the gang! Love it!

    • Chef Mimi August 17, 2024 at 2:53 PM - Reply

      This chilled salad would be perfect for dining outside!

  19. Anonymous August 16, 2024 at 2:28 PM - Reply

    I am so sad that two family members are allergic to shrimp and scallops. This looks absolutely mouth-watering.

    • Chef Mimi August 17, 2024 at 2:52 PM - Reply

      Oh darn. I hate that for you!

  20. Frank Fariello August 17, 2024 at 8:26 AM - Reply

    With the scallops and lobster this is quite the fancy kind of seafood salad, but I’m here for it! Looks delicious.

    • Chef Mimi August 17, 2024 at 2:53 PM - Reply

      Thanks, Frank! It was delicious.

  21. Ronit Penso Tasty Eats August 18, 2024 at 11:08 AM - Reply

    My kind of dish, especially the addition of fennel and olives. :)

    • Chef Mimi August 19, 2024 at 6:53 PM - Reply

      They worked so well with all of the seafood!

  22. The Frugal Girls August 19, 2024 at 6:25 PM - Reply

    This really is the ultimate gourmet seafood salad!! I really appreciated all of the photos you shared for preparing the different parts of this seafood salad. These provide such a helpful visual guide.

    • Chef Mimi August 19, 2024 at 6:52 PM - Reply

      Oh thanks! Photography of food is not my best skill! it was an amazing salad!

  23. David @ Spiced August 21, 2024 at 5:23 AM - Reply

    I took one look at this photo and thought, “woah – that’s a lot of seafood…and it looks delicious!” I can see how this is a bit more involved due to the different types of seafood, but it’s totally worth the time. This is a company-worthy recipe for sure!

    • Chef Mimi August 22, 2024 at 7:54 AM - Reply

      Definitely a lot of seafood, and yes, it was delicious! Definitely something to make for a lot of people!

  24. Raymund August 28, 2024 at 6:31 PM - Reply

    The addition of fennel, olives, and a tangy lemon-olive oil dressing must really elevate the seafood. It’s definitely a versatile dish that can make any occasion feel special, not just Christmas Eve. Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe!

    • Chef Mimi August 29, 2024 at 5:55 AM - Reply

      This salad was incredible. I do want to make this again!

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