Nothing really says summer like a nice Caprese salad, and there are so many variations, and really if the tomatoes are fresh, and the basil is plentiful how can you go wrong. Making a Napoleon is one of my favorite variations on this. Combines all the wonderful flavors, makes a nice big single serving per person and is just so pretty, it almost looks too good to eat.
Here is what you will need to get started:
INGREDIENTS:
Fresh ripe Tomatoes, sliced: I prefer heirloom and as you can see use a mixture of heirloom tomatoes for color and flavor variation.
Mozarella: nice fresh and of course, full fat, none of that part-skim stuff that tastes like rubber….go fresh and slice generously about a 1/4 of an inch thick.
Basil: Fresh, green and flavorful, and I like nice big leaves for the napoleons
Olive oil: use the good stuff, a really full flavored Olive oil can really enhance the flavor of tomatoes. The bottle here is from Dry Creek Olive Co in Healdsburg, where the Broads had an olive oil tasting on our trip to CA last November.
Kosher Salt:
Basalmic Vinegar ( optional)
DIRECTIONS
Assemble Napoleon. Start with a tomato slice on the bottom, top with mozzarella, then basil leaf. OR make it Tomato, Basil, Mozzarella whatever order you like as long as a tomato is the bottom layer. Stop here and sprinkle with a little Kosher salt and drizzle with a little of the olive oil, then repeat the layers using a different color/type of tomato. Sprinkle with a little more Kosher salt, drizzle with a bit more olive oil and if you like top off now with a drizzle of the balsamic vinegar.
I like to let it sit for a half hour or so, I put it in the fridge and eat it a bit chilled, a friend likes hers at room temp but either way let it sit for a bit so all those flavors can mix and mingle. YUM!!! A perfect summer salad.
Chambered Nautilus Bed and Breakfast Inn
Joyce Schulte
the Seattle Broad