Italian Flag Salad (Caprese)

evelyn/athens's Note:

So elegant and so simple. This is my little adaptation of the classic Caprese salad...everything is the same except that the fresh basil has been replaced by purchased (or homemade if you have it on hand) pesto sauce. I like this version more because I think the salty/garlicky/nutty pesto does more for the other two ingredients.

• Total Time: 10 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 4 perfect ripe aromatic roma tomatoes
• 2 (4 ounce) fresh mozzarella balls (the kind in liquid)
• 1 (3 1/2 ounce) jar pesto sauce (or homemade if you have the inclination)
• olive oil

Directions:

1. Make sure you serve this on a white platter!
2. Wash and dry the tomatoes.
3. Remove the stem and cut into slices, approximately 1/2 inch thick, lengthwise.
4. Arrange slices decoratively on platter.
5. Drizzle with just the barest amount of olive oil, sprinkle lightly with salt (sea salt is wonderful!) and coarsely ground, FRESH black pepper.
6. Cut the mozzarella into slices approximately 1/3 inch thick and arrange 1 slice of cheese per slice of tomato.
7. (the mozzarella balls available in Greece are pretty small- maybe 3-4oz).
8. What you want is a white slice of cheese just covering the tomato slice, but with the red of the tomato peeking through.
9. Dot each mozzarella round with 1/2 to 3/4 tsp of pesto.
10. Serve with lots of crusty bread!

Reviews

[Daniela]

Brilliant idea to use pesto! I always have pesto on hand but I don't always have fresh basil. We eat this all the time in the summer months and everyone that's tried it prefers it this way. It's simple to make and very flavorful. Thank you for sharing this.

[Catherine Wall]

This recipe was so easy and so delicious! I love the idea of using pesto rather than plain basil. Put it out during an outdoor party and it was gone in 5 minutes flat! Thanks Ev. As always, a great post!!

[Sandi (From CA)]

Mmmm! After making Kittencal's Kittencal's Perfect Pesto, (which I highly recommend), I'll never go for store-bought again... unless my herd o' basil plants dies on me. ;) Anyway, this was absolutely delicious! I added just a touch of balsamic vinegar to mine and some fresh ground tri-colored pepper, then gobbled them up like I hadn't eaten in months. This morning, I'm eating them, as I type, for breakfast! So simple and packed full of flavor. Thank you for such a great dish, Evelyn!