Waiter, There's Something In My...Ensalada Caprese!

Summertime means salad. I already shared with you about my willingness to cut vegetables and ease of leaving fruit to one side. I adore most vegetables. Salads then are an easy meal for me.

In almost any deli or coffee shop, you can find an Ensalada Caprese and often you can order a Caprese Sandwich. Insalata Caprese literally means salad from Capri and was created in the 1950s at the Trattoria da Vincenzo for regulars out for a light lunch, according to Epicurious. The red, white and green colors represent the colors of the Italian flag. Typically, the tomatoes and mozzarella are sliced and layered with basil leaves to form a salad platter.

In Peru, as well as other Latin countries, a lot of queso fresco is eaten. When driving through the mountains of Peru, it is not unusual to see donkeys with milk canisters tied to their sides. Slowly and steadily, they are taken to a milk collection site. Sometimes that milk is sold to be pasteurized in a larger factory. But each mountain city has a collection point where they make queso fresco by boiling the milk, "cutting" it (I have no idea what the English word is for this!). The cottage cheese like whey is then pressed until blocks of queso fresco are formed.

Understandably, a true Insalata Caprese includes only fresh mozzarella and fresh picked tomatoes. But, here I have adapted the recipe to feature the mild queso fresco and fresh Roma tomatoes. The ingredients form a healthy and delicious combination.

Ensalada Caprese

2 Roma tomatoes, cubed
100g of queso fresco, cubed
2 tablespoons of thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
olive oil
salt & pepper

Create a checkerboard base with the tomatoes and cheese. Add two more layers, placing the items on opposite colors. Sprinkle the top with fresh basil and drizzle with olive oil.

Of course, you can also slice and layer if you are not into checkerboards!

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Ensalada Caprese is being served up for Waiter, There's Something in My...Salad, hosted this month by Andrew at Spittoon Extra.

Other WTSIM entries:
White Chocolate & Strawberry Frozen Terrine - December 2007
Quick Vanilla Flan - November 2007
Layered Carrot Cake - October 2007
Cocona Chutney - September 2007
Peanut Chicken Stew - January 2007