This is an especially pretty salad to go with an Italian supper. All the colors in the Italian flag—red, white and green!
Ingredients:
Nice big, fat, juicy ripe tomatoes—and don’t make this unless you have NICE, BIG, FAT, JUICY RIPE TOMATOES!
Fresh mozzarella cheese DID YOU NOTICE I SAID ‘FRESH’?
A hefty bunch of fresh, clean basil leaves
Aged Balsamic vinegar
Extra Virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Technique:
Find a nice, fairly large white platter. (White is a must for this dish to show off the colors of the salad.)
Slice the tomatoes about 1/2 inch thick and drain on paper toweling.
Slice the same amount of fresh mozzarella cheese, about 1/4 inch thick
Arrange the tomatoes around the platter, tucking a slice of cheese and a basil leaf in between each.
Drizzle with the EVOO and sprinkle with salt and pepper
Drizzle the balsamic vinegar over all, and sprinkle a chiffonade of basil over the top.
Serve immediately
(I llke to put the balsamic vinegar in individual shot glasses on the plate, so each person can pour on the amount they like. Also, it’s a pretty presentation.)
NOW HEAR THIS: I have recently been making “Mini Caprese Salads”–and I’ve been eating them from breakfast, lunch and dinner:
One box little red grape tomatoes, rinsed and dried
One box little yellow grape tomatoes, rinsed and dried
About three cups cauliflower flowerettes–about the same size as the grape tomatoes
If you have access to the bags of mini red, yellow and orange peppers, AND I HOPE YOU DO, slice about three or four of each into thin rounds. Dry in paper toweling. If you don’t havve access to these little wonders, then use regular-sized pepers, sliced thin.
One cup chopped red onion
One bunch green onions, sliced on the diagonal–green parts as well.
One can black beans, drained and well dried in paper toweling (set aside)
Fresh basil (set aside)
One package pearl-size fresh mozzarella (set aside)
In a large bowl, put the grape tomatoes, cauliflower, onions and sliced peppers.
Sprinkle over with about two or three tablespoons of EVOO
Salt and pepper to taste
About 3/4 cup white balsamic vinegar. Mix and refrigerate
When ready to serve, nadd some fresh mozzarella pearls,break up some fresh (only fresh) basil and sprinkle over the top, and if desired, sprinkle with a tablespoon or two of the blac beans.
This would be a nice simple summer dinner, with a big mound of tuna salad in the middle, and some crusty peasant-style bread.
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