Caprese Salad to go . . .

To me, the flavors and colors of Salad Caprese are the essence of summer  ~ Vine ripened tomatoes, fresh Mozzarellacheese, fresh basil, red wine vinegar, good olive oiland salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Usually it is neatly arranged either stacked,or in fanned layers of sliced tomatoes and slicesof Mozzarella, then drizzled with dressing andshowered 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 isa little time consuming especially if you haveto make many of them.




This version has all of the glorious flavors,and is easy to serve on the buffet tableplus it travels well.
Just halve the little tomatoes, cut the Mozzarellainto cubes, or buy the little "pearl" size as I did.Add some minced parsley, the red wine vinegar andolive oil and salt and pepper to taste.
This time I added some capers in brine (drained).Sliced scallions, chives or slivers of sweet red onionare also a good addition.
I pluck the smallest basil leaves and add themjust before serving in order to retain their brightcolor and flavor.





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

~*~*~*~*~Additional ways to enjoy it:Bobby Flay does a very similar version whichhe serves as a rough 'relish' with grilledItalian sausages on rolls.  I probably wouldcut the tomatoes and cheese into smaller pieces inthat case, for easier eating, but I'm sure theseflavors 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 

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