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Tomato Mozzarella Salad

There is nothing that says End Of Summer quite like a fresh tomato mozzarella salad. I usually just take a tomato or two fresh from our garden, or pick up one of those as-ugly-as-they-are-delicious heirloom tomatoes from the farmer’s market and layer them with slices of mozzarella and lay them on a plate with a drizzle of olive oil and some basil chiffonade. It makes a lovely and nutritious pre-dinner snack!

But we have had such a fabulous variety of tomatoes from our CSA that I decided to mix it up and make my favorite summer appetizer into a salad instead.

I was actually inspired by a salad I had at a restaurant in Connecticut on that Chevy press trip last month. They used a delectable buffalo mozzarella, though, all I had on hand was a typical ball of fresh mozzarella from the supermarket.

I wish I’d taken a before pictures of the tomatoes; they were SO pretty! I had everything from the stripy green tomatillos to the small red ones to the big, juicy orange ones . . . they run the gamut! This is one reason I have enjoyed belonging to a CSA. You get a much wider variety of produce than you can ever find at a conventional grocery store. PLUS I know where it all comes from; I’ve watched it grow all summer!

All I did to make this salad was quarter a couple pounds of tomatoes of various types and sizes and arrange them on a small platter. Then I cut up the mozzarella and placed it around among the tomatoes. I diced a small onion that came from our CSA and sprinkled that around. I drizzled the whole thing with olive oil, sprinkled with Kosher salt and topped with capers and basil chiffonade. Then I plopped a small bouquet of basil in the middle for garnish.


Now doesn’t that make you want to go out right now and pull some tomatoes off the vine?

Do you make tomato and mozzarella salad? Do you have any tips? I’ve heard of drizzling some balsamic vinegar on it as well, but I’ve never tried that.

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9 Responses

  1. Your salad looks GREAT! I have always just sliced tomatoes, placed slices of fresh mozarella cheese, some chopped basil, and drizzled with balsamic vinegar……yum! Will have to try your basil chiffonade:)

  2. Ha! I guess I add a basil chiffonade on my salad too……just didn’t know what it was called. I just called it chopped basil. I like your term better:) I just went and clicked on basil chiffonade on your site to find out it was just how you cut it up:)

  3. I’m getting ready to make one of my favorite salads of the summer which is a twist on the basic Caprese. Bowtie pasta is dressed with an olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette and then garnished with tomatoes, basil and mozzarella and topped with some toasted pine nuts. It has to happen when there is the perfect storm…and for me that means fresh garden tomatoes and basil and good mozzarella.

    This looks so good I would gladly have it for breakfast right this very moment!

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