Caprese Salad

 (c) 8/17/11, Kathy Fannon

According to Wikipedia, Insalata Caprese came from the Italian region, Campania. And a big "thank you" to Egypt's King Farouk for popularizing it!

This is an easy salad to make and this is the perfect time of year for it since tomatoes are in season. I got these 4th of July variety tomatoes from one of my favorite farmers, Richard, at the farmers market yesterday and made this for lunch.

I used 2 small tomatoes and 6 cherry-size balls of fresh mozzarella cheese from the cheese-and-olive bar at my grocery store. I sprinkled them with salt, garlic powder and basil (although fresh basil would've been SO much better). I used 3 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar, and voila'...lunch!

(c) 8/17/11, Kathy Fannon (Click on images to enlarge)

No, I did not forget to mention pepper - I just don't use much this time of year, but you could certainly add that.

You could also add (and I have) a drizzle of olive oil and some sliced red onion.

Panera Bread has a Tomato-Mozzarella salad that is served on greens. It's not on the menu board, but is available in the summer if you ask.