salad days

Salads are a really misunderstood dish.  I think it might be because so many salads are tossed together without much thought.  People think of a salad as something you have before a meal.  Or as a diet food that you eat as a punishment.  They almost make up their minds that salads can't be enjoyable.

I've eaten salad my whole life.  Yes, even when I was fat I enjoyed a good salad.  Growing up my mother always made an excellent iceberg salad that I would look forward to throughout the summer months.  When I was an exchange student in France I discovered that salads don't necessarily have to include lettuce.  They would make marvelous salad dishes from just cucumbers & shallot that tasted so complex.

Since I've gotten healthier salads really have become a focus in my life.  I usually eat one daily.  They can be fun & experimental, or simple and quick to put together.  Today's recipe is one of the latter.

Caprese salad is an Italian salad.  It achieves this magic of sounding & tasting quite fancy but only having a few ingredients.  The tomato season is just winding down, so this is the perfect time of year to make it.  Adjust the quantities to how many people you're serving.

ingredients: 

• a small handful of tomatoes (I'll often use small heirlooms, or 3-4 camparis, but any mixture is fine)
• 1 bocconcini ball (I use Saputo)
• fresh basil, about 4 leaves
• extra virgin olive oil
• fresh ground pepper

Already you can tell from the ingredient list that it's a pretty basic salad.  Granted, you might not know what bocconcini is, but head to your local deli counter and they should be able to help you out.  It's a type of mozzarella, but don't substitute in the mozzarella you'd put on a pizza, it's not the same thing.  Bocconcini is a really soft and delicately flavoured cheese.

Now keep in mind with so few ingredients if you prepare them nicely it will look better in the dish.  You eat with your eyes as much as your mouth, so it's definitely something to take into consideration.

Depending on the size of your tomatoes, slice them (if larger) or quarter them (if small) and place them in your bowl.  You should have just enough to cover the bottom of a pasta dish.  Next take your bocconcini and gently rip it up over the tomatoes.  If you know how to chiffonade your basil, please do, if not rip your basil leaves up over the rest of the salad.  Drizzle with a small amount of good extra virgin olive oil & some fresh ground pepper.  Toss gently & serve.

Seriously, it's that easy.  It works great as a light meal, or on the side of soup or a sandwich.

Music recommendation: I always listen to music while I'm cooking, it puts you in the mood for whatever cuisine you're cooking.  One of my favorites for cooking Italian is a little Rosemary Clooney (Mambo Italiano, Botch-a-Me, Come on-a My House)

Buon Appetito!