A salad is always a welcome addition to a dinner table, whether served on the side, at the start or as part of the main event itself. With such an abundance of beautiful countryside and its glorious Mediterranean climate it's no surprise Italy has an enormous supply of enviable fresh produce, and their plentiful supply of vibrant herbs and greens, plump courgettes and numerous varieties of world famous tomatoes make an excellent starting point for delicious salad dishes.

This collection of colourful salad recipes contains inspiration from some of Italy's best chefs. Fabrizio Marino's Butterfly salad is a visually stunning healthy recipe which would prove a talking point at any dinner party, and Norbert Niederkofler's Sweet and sour vegetable salad is similarly striking with a colourful mix of radish, beetroot and carrots. Salvatore Elefante's seafood salad recipe matches the sweet flavour of lobster with pepper rocket and marinated spring onion, while Cristina Bowerman combines agretti, iceberg lettuce and peas to form a salad bed for her tender veal fillet.