INSALATA CAPRESE!!
I know you've probably seen this recipe a hundred times and I've probably eaten it as many but I have to say I never get bored with it. It's definitely one of my favourite Italian antipasto. I've mentioned before we always eat it when we go to the south of Italy and every time we have caprese it brings back memories of Positano a couple of years ago. I think we had it everyday for lunch and we never eat the same thing 2 days in a row. Mozzarella di buffala originates in the south of Italy, so the quality was excellent, it was just so creamy and the tomatoes were so sweet and juicy red. This salad is great for a dinner party as you can have it prepared beforehand and visually it's very appealing. Serve it with some crunchy baguettes and you'll have very happy guests!! We just had it for lunch on Saturday out on the deck with a glass of chilled "vino bianco" - buonissimo!!
WHAT YOU NEED:
- buffalo mozzarella - the best you can get, pay the higher price, it will be worth it!! We have it in La Cucina and Susan has an organic mozzarella in Olio e Farina on little Catherine St. There is one in Superquinn which is good but not fantastic. I heard the other day that Lidl and Aldi sell good mozz. There is a new Aldi opening near us, I'll check it out and report back!
- Vine tomatoes or good quality beef tomatoes - Dunnes have a very good beef tomato at the moment, there are 2 in a pack on a little black tray. I used vine tomatoes from Superquinn.
- good quality olive oil
- sea salt and black pepper
- fresh basil
WHAT TO DO:
- Arrange the slices of mozzarella cut thickly with your tomatoes.
- roughly sprinkle your basil leaves over the top and season with salt and pepper and drizzle some olive oil.
- You can add a little dried oregano if you like but I don't recommend using balsamic vinegar. You don't need it as it over powers the flavour of all the other ingredients. Alternatively you can have a little dish with olive oil and balsamic vinegar mixed and your guests can dip their bread in it. 
This is a favourite of my sister Katrina and her police officer boyfriend John a.k.a "Our Hero", he was on the front of The Times newspaper last Sunday helping an old lady out of her house after the earthquake in Kent where they live. He's the good looking fella on the left!!
I like this bottle from olio e farina, it looks impressive on the table if you're out to impress!!
Buon Appetito!!
Anyway, thanks for the mention of the "local hero" or "Mr Lifesaver" as we have now taken to calling him.........he'll love it!
Happy cooking xxxx (Comment this)
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- Mark, that's the whole point of the blog, a lot of the recipes would be familiar but when you're wrecking your head as to what to eat, that's where we come in!!! I need to go to O'Briens more often, if you know a bit about wine, we'd welcome any suggestions you might have for any of the recipes I post! I'm pretty useless with names, just know what I like!
- Laura modesty is the best policy!!! (Comment this)