Pesto

Insalata Caprese

September 9, 2011

I will be the first to admit that I really hated tomatoes as a kid. I did not like the taste or texture and when my older brother announced he hated them I knew I would hate them too. Logical, no? I do distinctly remember once pulling off a cherry tomato from my uncle’s garden and eating it on a dare. I think the dare part hyped it all up and I made a big deal about it further.

But things started to change as I got older and I realized that tomatoes were not Satan’s trick on a large berry. I began to accept it in salsa and then bruschetta. Little pieces of heavily seasoned tomato… okay! Things really changed when I started to date Price. He made a big to do about not liking fish (umm communist!) and I liked to make fun of him for it. But not being able to be a hypocrite, I had to give a little back and start to eat tomatoes. Guess what… I discovered there amazing, intense, tangy taste and how I loved it.

I can still be picky about tomatoes, but it mostly is a texture thing and I have a lot of issues with textures so that is not surprising. Moving on… I have happily gotten to the point there I can slice tomatoes, sprinkle them with salt and eat them just like that. Taking a bite into a firm, sweet tomato melts everything else away. I can be busy in the kitchen making dinner, struggling to keep up with the timing of things, and if I just take a tiny moment to have a wedge of tomato sprinkled with salt, I start to center again and continue with dinner.

I think that Insalata Caprese, salad in the style from Capri, is a simple dish that makes for a great appetizer, or entree when you are too hot to cook. Because this dish it so simple it requires the best ingredients you can get your hands on. You can’t build a base with a watery tomato, or you can’t top a great tomato slice with a store brand plastic coated mozzarella log. Now is this time to skip and use a run of the mill olive oil. You really need an oil that is so golden that it is almost green. Go ahead, treat yourself… you deserve it!

Insalata Caprese

-serves 4-6-

Ingredients

4 vine-ripe tomatoes
1 pound fresh mozzarella, buffalo is preferred
1 cup of pesto
balsamic vinegar
handful of basil leaves
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Coarse salt and pepper

Steps

Cut the tomatoes and mozzarella into 1/4″ thick slices.
Lay out slices of tomato on a serving platter. Cover each tomato slice with a slice of mozzarella.
Put a heaving spoonful of pesto on half the slices of mozzarella.
On the remaining slices, cover with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Top each slice with a piece of torn basil.
Lightly, drizzle the Extra-virgin olive oil over all the slices.
Season with salt and pepper.

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It’s a wrap pizza

July 12, 2010

One night, while falling asleep on the Cos I was ‘watching’ a recorded episode of Everyday Food and I managed to actually take in the genius that was making a pizza with a sandwich wrap. Yeah genius. I love all the Martha does. Martha is hardcore. She is a Jersey girl through and through and will give you the stink eye on her show if you ‘f up the cooking/decorating segment. So going to prison just made her more bad ass to me.You know she had the best decorated cell in there too. So I love her more now, esp since her staff made this amazing looking pizza starting with a sandwich wrap. Feel free to check out their Thinnest Crust Pizza with Mushrooms and Ricotta since I used that to inspire me for my own pizza.

I really like pizza but I’m not often in the mood for making dough or getting it at the store. It is so much work and is so heavy. While, I enjoy regular pizza, using a whole wheat sandwich wrap will be my go to crust for pizzas. Why? Inexpensive. Fast. Thin. And fast. In total you can assemble one of these thin crust pizzas in 30 minutes. It’s a quick assembly and pretty quick baking time too. It produces a light thin crust pizza that makes for a great appetizer for a party or a personal meal.

I really suggest getting a whole wheat wrap since it has more flavor than the regular white ones. It’s like getting whole wheat bread or Wonder. Put down the Wonder Bread. You can use a tomato sauce, pesto, or just cheese, but just be sure generously top it with thinly sliced veggies. The thinner the veggie, faster it cooks. So if you are considering mushrooms I suggest that you purchase them whole and slice them yourself to regulate the thickness. Don’t be cheap with the toppings either- you basically want to completely cover the wrap since unadorned spots will be naked and may burn.

Whole Wheat Pesto Pizza with Ricotta, Mushrooms, and Red Onions

1 whole wheat sandwich wrap

1 teaspoon olive oil

4-5 tablesppons pesto

5 tablespoons of part skim ricotta

4-5 white button musrooms, sliced very thinly

3 very thin slices of red onion

salt and pepper

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment or aluminum foil

Lightly oil the edge of the whole wheat wrap. Evenly coat the wrap with pesto.

Place 5 spoonfuls of ricotta on the wrap. Place your sliced mushrooms evenly, covering most of the surface. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the red onion on top of the mushrooms

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Summer Basil Pesto

August 27, 2009

Basil Pesto is one of those things that take me under 5 minutes to get together but it does not taste 5 minutes simple. I’ve had some good and bad years with herbs, luckily this year was good! Eventhough I had 3 successful basil plants this year I always have the opportunity to go to Haymarket on Fridays and Saturdays. I can’t pass up the chance to get a HUGE bundle of basil for $1-$2. Plus haggling for a box of strawberries or tomatoes is always fun, plus the rabbits enjoy it.

So I take out my Magic Bullet to blend the pesto. A food processor or blender works well to whip up a batch quickly. It’s fast and easy to clean- just throw it in the dishwasher! Enjoy with pasta or with bread.

Summer Basil Pesto

2 cups of fresh basil

1 tablespoon of chopped garlic

2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese

1/8 cup of toasted pine nuts

1/4 cup of extra virgin oil olive

2 tablespoons of lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper

Salt and Pepper

Toast pine nuts in a dry pan. Be careful not to burn them! Combine all ingredients in a food processor. If pesto is very thick add more oil or some water- if making pasta add in reserved pasta water.

I used my basil the last time I made pesto and I perfer to add the pine nuts to the pesto after it has been processed, I like the difference in texture.