Chef Al dente: Insalata Caprese Bites...

This is my favourite Italian salad and topping for pizza (Pizza Caprese that is). It is a very simple salad that does not really call for a recipe. Add a dash of this and a dash of that, combine and serve. Extremely quick but amazingly fresh flavours! I love buffalo mozzarella cheese but the fact that it is cheese always makes me reluctant to use it quite often. We normally think fats are bad. But fats are also necessary for our body to help perform some basic functions. So having cheese has its own health benefits especially when had fresh (i.e. without heating it at high temperatures).

Being rich in high quality protein and calcium it is important in vegan diets. Calcium helps prevent dental cavities, promotes bone health and also prevents osteoporosis. Cheese is also rich in vitamin B12 which is something vegetarian diets usually lack in. Along with this, cheese (especially aged or hard cheese) is excellent for people with lactose intolerance as it has considerably low amounts of lactose when compared to milk. Having said this, it definitely has fat so 'moderation' is the key word here. Enjoy cheese but in limited quantities so that you can benefit from its good side as well.

In this salad we are using Buffalo Mozzarella - as the name suggests this is fresh mozarella prepared from milk of water buffalo. Very soft, I think it tastes best when had fresh. Basil is another ingredient that adds to the flavour of this dish along with a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil. Combine them together and you have a fantastic rustic flavour - simple yet tasty. You can serve this salad as a starter or have it as a side dish with pastas. I like to have it with toasted brown bread and it makes a meal for anytime of the day :)

Insalata Caprese Bites: Recipe

Ingredients:

Firm, ripe tomato - 1 thickly sliced
Buffalo Mozzarella Cheese - 1 small (usually comes packed as big blobs) thickly sliced
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Extra Virgin Olive oil as required
Fresh Basil leaves - a handful
Olives - few to garnish

Method:

Place the sliced tomatoes onto the serving dish. Add a slice of buffalo mozzarella on top of each slice. Sprinkle salt and pepper. Garnish with basil and olives. Drizzle a generous amount of olive oil all over it and enjoy fresh. How easy is that?!