Caprese Salad

This classic summer salad is the ultimate use of great home-grown tomatoes. Let your tomatoes get fully ripe, off the plant on your counter it is fine. Get the best mozzarella you can find, it makes a difference. Same with the olive oil and vinegar. This recipe has just a few ingredients and they all have a special purpose, so always use the best you can find.

Ingredients

1 or 2 ripe, home-grown tomatoes
1 ball fresh mozzarella
1 sweet Candy onion sliced into very thin rounds (optional)
4 tablespoons of good quality olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine or Balsamic vinegar, it's actually best to use a bit of both.
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1 teaspoon crushed fresh garlic or ¼ teaspoon granulated.
Coarsely ground black pepper
1 cup chopped fresh basil

Overview

Preparation Time: 15 Minutes
Serves: 4
Difficulty Level: 1
Source: Summer Wind Farms

Slice the tomatoes into rounds, about ¼ inch thick. Slice the mozzarella into rounds but a bit thinner. Place the optional onion on the bottom of the platter or serving plate. Place the tomatoes in a flat platter or individual flat serving dishes to make individual salads. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and oregano. Add some small dollops of crushed garlic to each slice of tomato. Drizzle with olive oil. Place the mozzarella rounds on top of each tomato and add just a little more salt and pepper. Place the chopped basil on top of the mozzarella cheese. Finish with the vinegar at serving.
This recipe also works just fine as a chopped salad, just chop the tomato, optional onion and mozzarella into bite sizes pieces and add all the ingredients, holding the vinegar back till serving.