Quick Summer Greens

Summer is -- no getting around it -- hot, and Italian cooking reflects this in many ways: People enjoy cold dishes, ranging from all sorts of pasta salads through vitello tonnato, tend to cook their foods quickly, and eat much lighter than they do in the winter months. Here are four quick, simple modern Italian summer recipes for greens that will take on average 20 minutes to prepare, and are also figure friendly -- 100 to 120 calories per serving.

• Blanched Vegetables with Mustard Sauce, or Ortaggi Scottati con Salsa alla Senape
• Chicken Salad with Mint Tzaziki, or Insalata di Pollo con Tzatziki alla Menta
• Blanched Greens with Herb Sauce, or Verdure Cotte con Salsa alle Erbe
• Pinzimonio with Bell Pepper Cream, or Pinzimonio Con La Crema di Peperoni

Buon Appetito!