Monday

Caprese Salad to go . . .



To me, the flavors and colors of Salad Caprese are the essence of 
summer  ~ Vine ripened tomatoes, fresh Mozzarella
cheese, fresh basil, red wine vinegar, good olive oil
and salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Usually it is neatly arranged either stacked,
or in fanned layers of sliced tomatoes and slices
of Mozzarella, then drizzled with dressing and
showered with chopped basil leaves.

It's a beautiful presentation when served that way, 
but a little fussy to serve on a picnic or on the buffet table.
I've made it served on skewers, but that is
a little time consuming especially if you have
to make many of them.





This version has all of the glorious flavors,
and is easy to serve on the buffet table
plus it travels well.

Just halve the little tomatoes, cut the Mozzarella
into cubes, or buy the little "pearl" size as I did.
Add some minced parsley, the red wine vinegar and
olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.

This time I added some capers in brine (drained).
Sliced scallions, chives or slivers of sweet red onion
are also a good addition.

I pluck the smallest basil leaves and add them
just before serving in order to retain their bright
color and flavor.






It's best served at room temperature to
enjoy the full goodness of all the flavors.


~*~*~*~*~
Additional ways to enjoy it:
Bobby Flay does a very similar version which
he serves as a rough 'relish' with grilled
Italian sausages on rolls.  I probably would
cut the tomatoes and cheese into smaller pieces in
that case, for easier eating, but I'm sure these
flavors would taste delicious on grilled sausage or chicken.

If you give it a try, I hope you love it.



Thank you for coming by today!

Cheers ~ mari xo 

6 comments:

  1. This is just gorgeous. I love the size and presentation. We have been arguing at our house about capers, but I'm the cook so I say yes for the capers and if you don't like them push them aside.

    I hope your weather is getting better and you are not being smoked out.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a nice comment! Thank you!!

    Oh, that is too funny about the capers it's
    exactly the same here. Sometimes he'll eat a few, but definitely NOT a favorite by any means. Just the opposite of me, I love them!

    Thanks for stopping by Ms. L .

    ReplyDelete
  3. Caper girl here too..The more colorful the meal the healthier.. this is so colorful !

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you Cuisine de Provence - I really enjoyed the Medieval Festival you shared on your blog! So realistic.

    Hi Val, I think so too ~ I could get really carried away (I'm thinking oil cured olives, marinated artichoke hearts, cooked shrimp...), but then it wouldn't really be Salad Caprese, but it think it would be delicious.)

    Bonjour Mme. Magical ~ I always remember that you favor the salty/savory things too, and I think of you when I'm putting that kind of recipe together. ;)

    Thank you friends!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comments, friends ~ they make my day!

A Sampling of my food . . .

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