Monday, January 17, 2011

Cherry Tomato, Basil and Bocconcini Salad

Cherry Tomato, Basil and Bocconcini Salad
Home Cooking



This is another one of my lazy throw-togethers that don't really deserve the description of 'home cooking'.



The idea of combining tomatoes with basil and bocconcini is hardly original. I've seen it as an entree on many bistro menus. Often, it's presented in stacks, or as skewers.


I took this already simple concept one step further by completely omitting presentation efforts.

Cherry Tomato, Basil and Bocconcini Salad
Serves 2

Ingredients:

  • punnet of cherry tomatoes (I used grape tomatoes), sliced in half
  • handful of fresh basil, torn
  • ~ 75g fresh bocconcini balls
  • good quality extra virgin olive oil
  • salt
Procedure:

1. Put the tomatoes and basil in a bowl.2. Add the bocconcini.
3. Drizzle with a generous amount of olive oil.4. Season with salt. Toss everything together.
5. Serve!


It took me a LOT of effort to try and drag out the procedure into more than 1 step. Honestly, 'toss ingredients together' would have explained everything.

This is a dish that works because those flavors work together. It just works. What's important to remember though that because the dish is so simple, every ingredient used has to be fresh and top notch, otherwise you can really taste it.

There's no room for disguising old tomatoes or bad olive oil here.

The other thing I have to add is I think it works better as a side. I had a large bowl to myself for lunch but it definitely felt like something was lacking... I found myself waiting for a grilled chicken breast or steak to follow.

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