Me: Hey Jules, you know that salad
Julie: Which salad?
Me: That salad with tomatoes, bocconcini, and basil in it.
Julie: Oh.. "that salad"..
Me: Yeah "that salad"
Julie: What about it?
Me: What's it called again?
Julie: *pause* uh I don't know.. but it tastes good with lots of salt and pepper in it.. mmmm.
Me: Thanks Jules, that was really helpful.
I was craving for "that salad" a few weekends ago and was hoping that Jules would know the name since I didn't. Then whilst was going through my Wednesday night routine of flipping through recipe books, I found "that salad" in my Simply Italian cookbook by Sophie Baimbridge. Friends, "that salad" now has a name, it is called "Insalata Caprese" or salad in the style of Capri, a little resort island close to Italy.
I can't believe I never thought of looking in that book! This salad is so easy to make and is so delicious that I had 2 helpings with lots of bocconcini and basil. I love the refreshing taste of the basil and the creamy taste of the bocconcini in this salad.
Here are the basic ingredients (and steps). In my little version above I went with some cherry truss and some green tomatoes because I couldn't find any decent plum or roma tomatoes. Knowing the amount of water tomatoes need to survive I can only assume that it is due to the current drought in my little state Victoria.
mmm.. I think I will go make some now...
Insalata Caprese
Some vine-ripened tomatoes (plum tomatoes, or cherry)
Some bocconcini or buffalo mozzarella balls
Extra virgin olive oil
small basil leaves
- Slice tomatoes and bocconcini. (or in my case, slice the green tomatoes and halve the cherry truss)
- Arrange them in layers of tomato and cheese.
- Scatter the basil leaves.
- Drizzle with olive oil and finish with some sprinkling of salt and freshly grind pepper.
Oh incidentally, this is the start of a 3 post series on my little adventure in Italian cuisine. Whilst flicking through my Simply Italian cookbook I bookmarked two other recipes, one which I had never really tasted before and the other is one I had never attempted outside my Italian repertoire of Spaghetti Meatball (which I should post one day), Spaghetti Matriciana and Garlic Prawn pasta (also made with spaghetti). Stay tune.
Next:
- My little Italian adventure - Part 2: The recipe, the ingredients and the woman
- My little Italian adventure - Part 3: Lime panna cotta
13 comments:
I like this simple salad too - yours looks great! May I ask where you obtained your green tomatoes? I've never come across them around Melbourne.
ooh, this sounds really refreshing, I think I may have to pick up some fresh mozzarella :)
love that last photo with the tomatoes. beautiful!
Cindy: Hi Cindy. I got my green tomatoes from the green grocer in Glen Waverley. That's the first time I ever saw them Melbourne. But because they're so rare, a lot of them were sort of getting rotten because no one noticed them/bought them. I managed to pick two of them which were fairly decent.
The only other place I could think of is perhaps Prahran Market. They tend to have some special ingredients that's usually not found at other markets.
Kat: Hi Kat. It is quite refreshing with the basil. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do. :)
Jaden: Thanks :)
That salad dish is just beautiful!!
I love insalatta caprese but have never had it so wonderfully presented.
the pics,as usual,look great =) This simple salad definitely looks and sounds delightful.
Patricia: Thank you Patricia. *blush* I was just trying to make do with the different sized tomatoes.
ironeaters: Thank you. =) The best thing about it is that it's so easy to make and you can easily make a quick meal out of it if you increase the portion and have it with some fresh crusty bread.
Your photos are simply stunning! I'm also a huge fan of this salad so it was a wonderful post to wake up to!
I love caprese! I make it often... especially during the hot winter months. I use large buffalo mozzarella, slice them, top with a slice of a vine ripened heirloom tomato, a whole basil leaf and drizzle a little balsamic and olive oil over the top. Because the large slice of fresh mozzarella acts like a little mini "dish", the whole thing can be picked up and munched on while mingling at cocktail parties. It's always a hit.
So glad you not only found the recipe but a name to go with it!
Peace... :)
truffle: Thanks Truffle. Gosh, you're up so early! I'm still snoozing at 6:30am.
photogirl: I love your idea about using larger buffalo mozzarella as the mini dish. It's a great idea for appetizers! Thanks for the tip. :)
I can't believe I never used to eat tomatoes... and I do believe that this salad was instrumental in persuading me that they are actually not Satan's Own Vegetable ;-) The best thing about caprese is that it REALLY shows off good ingredients, so it's a fab excuse to buy stupidly expensive mozarella and plum tomatoes ;-)
Jeanne: I so agree with you on this. It really follows the KISS principle when it comes to good food with the best ingredients. I just can't believe it took me this long to find out the name of it. LOL
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