Caprese Salad

Like many other Southern Italian dishes, Insalata Caprese (meaning salad of Capri) is all about the fresh flavorful ingredients. You just need to slice tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and add some basil leaves with minimal seasoning (just olive oil, salt and pepper).

I'd like to tweak the classic Insalata Caprese recipe to add a little more refined look. It is still very easy to make - you only need 10 minutes, or you can make ahead of time and keep it in a fridge while you prepare the main dishes. Hopefully, the prettier look of my Caprese salad brings more fun to your table.


CAPRESE SALAD
My Version of Cute Tomato & Fresh Mozzarella Salad

YIELD: TWO plates / COOKING TIME: 10 min.


INGREDIENTS


+ ~10 heirloom cherry tomatoes with various colors
+ two slices of fresh mozzarella (1/2cm or 1/5" thick)
+ 2 heaping tsp basil pesto*
+ several baby basil leaves
+ high quality extra virgin olive oil
+ salt & pepper

* Please refer to FRESH BASIL PESTO post for the recipe.


PROCEDURES



1. Slice heirloom cherry tomatoes into 3mm (about 1/8") thick. Arrange the tomato slices by color.



2. Slice fresh mozzarella into 0.5cm (about 1/5") thick, and about 6-7cm (2.5-3") diameter. Place the fresh mozzarella on a plate.



3. Over the mozzarella cheese, spread 1 heaping tsp of fresh basil pesto.



4. Now, it is the fun part! Place the tomato slices over the cheese arranging by the colors as in the picture below.



5. Sprinkle several baby basil leaves, drizzle extra virgin olive oil on top, and season lightly with salt and pepper.




Hope you enjoy this recipe!