pomodorini e mozzarella ciliegine

pomodorini e mozzarella ciliegine

Sorry but I really am tired of the Caprese Salad and all its incarnations. Caprese grilled cheese, caprese kabobs, caprese bruschetta, caprese pasta salad, caprese pizza, caprese schmaese. But when I saw a photo of cherry tomatoes paired with cherry-sized mozzarella and edible flowers from a restaurant called “Salt” I just had to make my own version. The idea of the colors alone had me hooked.

After all, there truly is something magical about the classic pairing of tomato and mozzarella and basil. Especially in summer. And of course, with limited ingredients in the dish, the best quality of each component is required. Heirloom cherry tomatoes from the farmers market. Flowers and herbs from my own garden. Balsamic vinegar, gran riserva.  Fresh mozzarella crafted in the Italian style. My favorite fruity olive oil from California Ranch.

Fennel grows wild around here. Only the fennel flowers are not from my garden, I gather them on my hikes along the coast. I have to admit that I am a forager. I hike with scissors. The instagram photo below was taken on Tuesday at White Point in San Pedro.

And how do you like this nifty platter with the hole in the corner? A gift from Sally & Al – spotted in a shop on Catalina Island and decided that I had to have it. Sweet dear friends that they are…Grazie Amici!

Mozzarella ciliegine (chee-lee-ay-JEE-nay). Cherry-sized fresh mozzarella. I’ve been practicing my pronunciation. Ciliegine. Ciliegine. Ciliegine.

The silky Aceto Balsamico di Modena Gran Riserva comes from my friends at Gourmet Attitude in NYC. This velvety, rich and creamy vinegar is aged 18 years. Years! The time it took to graduate high school from birth. Perfume-y, simultaneous sweet and sour, extraordinary really. I could drink it.

Pomodorini e mozzarella ciliegine. Or call it a pretty little bite of summer.

Or tomato & cheese with flowers and herbs. Just don’t call it caprese.

summerfest is featuring tomatoes

Summer Fest is a season long franchise where Food Network editors team up with bloggers to share recipes about everyone’s favorite summertime fruits and vegetables. Be sure to check out the Pinterest Board with over 90,000 followers called Let’s Pull Up A Chair! And if that pomodorini e mozzarella ciliegine got you longing for ripe juicy summer tomatoes, you might enjoy taking a peek at other tomato-centric dishes from some fabulous bloggers below…

Jeanette’s Healthy Living: Juicy Summer Heirloom Tomato Fruit Salad
Dishing: Homemade Tomato and Herbs Pasta Sauce 
Taste With The Eyes: Pomodorini e Mozzarella Ciliegine 
The Sensitive Epicure: Tiny Insalata Caprese
Weelicious: Heirloom Tomato Pico de Gallo
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Slow-Roasted Tomatoes with Bruschetta
Red or Green?: Nachos with Fresh Tomatoes, Pinto Beans and Chiles
Domesticate Me: Spaghetti with Cherry Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella and Basil
Blue Apron Blog: Marjoram-Garlic Chicken with Jersey Tomato Panzanella
The Heritage Cook: Caprese Salad and Caprese Pizza
Daily*Dishin: Garden Vegetable Fresh Pasta Sauce
Pinch My Salt: 20 Tomato Recipes
Feed Me Phoebe: Bloody Marias
Dishin & Dishes: Pesto Rosso (Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto)
Devour: Five Fresh Tomato Salsa Recipes
FN Dish: Tomato Recipes Worthy of a Dinner Party

Buon appetito!