What is a Caprese Salad?

When we think of caprese salad, we think of fresh tomatoes with mozzarella, a bit of fresh basil and some form of vinaigrette. I usually only like olive oil, salt and pepper with fresh tomatoes and mozzarella, but topping with fresh corn is a summer game changer. And, for a summer corn caprese salad, you don’t have to cook the corn, which adds sweetness and texture.

Ingredients for Corn Caprese Salad

• Ripe Tomatoes (can be almost any kind as long as they are ripe, sweet, juicy)
• Fresh mozzarella or burrata
• Fresh basil (or pesto)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Fresh Corn
• Salt, Pepper

Pesto/Pistou Variations

The difference between pesto and pistou is basically the addition of nuts and cheese. A pistou is easy to make with just garlic, olive oil, basil, salt and pepper. It comes together very easily. However, you can also add a full pesto to this salad. Or, just use olive oil with freshly cut basil. This is more of an idea for caprese than anything you have to follow exactly. I’ve even thought of doing with an addition of fresh peaches along with the tomatoes.

I have several pesto recipes here at spinach tiger. This is my classic recipe, but I’ve been replacing the pine nuts with roasted, salted macadamia nuts (about 1/3 cup). You can also use pistachio nuts as I did in this recipe. You can replace the basil with fresh mint as I did here.

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More Pesto Recipes from Spinach Tiger

• Snapper with Pesto
• Grilled Lollypop Lamb Chop with Mint Pistou
• Ricotta Peas Pesto Appetizer
• Italian Potato Salad with Authentic Pesto
• Party Caprese Salad
• Caprese Party Sandwich
• Chicken with Creamy Pesto
• Seven Herb Pesto

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Corn Caprese Salad Recipe

Corn Caprese Salad with Tomatoes, Basil or Pesto, Fresh Mozzarella,

Course Salad

Cuisine Italian

Keyword caprese

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 8 ounces Fresh Mozzarella or burrata
• 3 fresh summer tomatoes
• Pistou Recipe Below enough to cover tomatoes and cheese
• 1/2 cup Pesto or
• 2 handfulls basil
• ⅓ cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cob fresh corn

Pistou

• 2/3 cups fresh basil
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/3 extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

• If using large tomatoes, cut in thick slices, serve immediately.
• Set cheese out about 30 minutes in advance to enjoy the flavor and texture.
• Toss with cheese, olive oil, basil, salt, pepper or pesto
• Slice corn off of the cob.
• If using pistou or pesto spoon over salad, then top with corn.
• Season with salt and pepper as needed.

Pistou

• Combine all ingredients. Add salt as needed.

The post Summer Caprese Salad with Fresh Corn appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Authentic Caprese salad is made with tomatoes, olive oil, basil and fresh mozzarella.

If you order a caprese salad in a restaurant, you are most likely to get a sliced tomatoes, sliced mozzarella, olive oil, basil, and balsamic vinegar. Sometimes restaurants will chop the tomatoes. Sometimes they add onions (which I would never do) and sometimes they make it with pesto instead of chopped basil.

My thoughts about caprese salad are very strong. I’ve had the good fortune to eat a caprese salad and a caprese sandwich in Tuscany. It was simply tomatoes, dried basil, sliced buffalo mozzarella, salt, and olive oil.

This salad in Tuscany added olives and clearly made the cheese the star!

Although this seems like a simple recipe, it’s easy to get it wrong.

However, it’s also easy to get it right if you follow these tips.

Make your salad right before you are ready to serve. You have more leeway with these cherry or grape tomato salads. If you are slicing your tomatoes, wait until just prior to serving.

Use Fresh Mozzarella – Not the rubbery yellow kind. Buffalo mozzarella is exceptional, if you can find it.  Most fresh mozzarella will be made with cow’s milk. Take your cheese out twenty minutes in advance of making salad.

Use Fresh Tomatoes – If you can’t find fresh summer tomatoes, use grape or cherry tomatoes as I did here. Do not refrigerate tomatoes.

Use Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Don’t skimp on having a good olive oil in your pantry.

Use Sea Salt – Salt wakes up fresh mozzarella cheese and tomatoes.

Use Fresh Basil  – Garnish with basil right before serving or it will turn brown.

Use Fresh Pesto or Pistou for Potlucks and Parties – Pesto will keep better over a long term and it will be easier to refrigerate.

I don’t like vinegar on tomatoes and cheese. I don’t like onions anywhere near this. I do want only the freshest basil, but I lean strongly on making a pesto, especially if you are carting a caprese salad to a party or potluck. I only use fresh mozzarella as the yellow store bought mozzarella has no flavor.

Caprese salad made with wild wonders, cherry and grape tomatoes is perfect as a party dish when you’re out of time or you don’t know how to cook.

Try Making a Caprese Sub for Parties

This caprese sandwich is made with a fried pepperoni.

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Party Caprese Salad Recipes, Perfect for Outdoor Picnics, or Potlucks

Caprese Salad with Tomatoes, Basil or Pesto, Fresh Mozzarella, great for appetizer, parties, potlucks.

Course Salad

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 pint Fresh Mozzarella Cheese Balls
• 1 pint Tomatoes use a variety of cherry, grape or wild wonders
• Pistou Recipe Below enough to cover tomatoes and cheese
• 
  
• Pistou
• 2 handfulls basil
• ⅓ cup olive oil
• 1 clove garlic

Instructions

• If using large tomatoes, cut in thick slices, serve immediately.
• If using wild wonders, cherry or grape, no need to slice.
• Set cheese out about 30 minutes in advance to enjoy the flavor and texture.
• Toss with cheese, olive oil, basil, salt, pepper.
• If making pistou, blend garlic basil and olive oil together. Use this for salad.

The post Party Caprese Salad Recipes, Perfect for Outdoor Picnics, or Potlucks appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

These are big fat party sandwiches.  These are the sandwiches that saved a party’s life a long time ago and catapulted me to start a food blog.

We were invited to a very large potluck goodbye party. Something stirred in me all day, as I worried that there wouldn’t be enough good food. The gal we were saying goodbye to was known for her culinary talent and the food she brought to gatherings.

I wanted the food to be deserving of her, so I made five dishes, including these big fat party sandwiches.

I’m a little obsessive like that. It’s not that I knocked myself out  in the kitchen the whole day. I merely put together the best big fat party sandwiches, special enough to celebrate a person who knew her food.

Ingredients like prosciutto, mozzarella, pistou, arugula were tucked into a long crusty bread baguettes  (store bought) for one of the sandwiches.  You can add in hard salami other Italaian meats if you desire. I also made ham, swiss, butter, mustard. I like that combination too.  If you use butter, use Irish butter. People will go crazy! I think mayo should be avoided for any kind of potluck, but that’s just me.

Why You Should Make Your Own Big Fat Party Sandwiches

You might be thinking that the local grocery store can make you big fat party sandwiches, but they never make them big and fat. The only big you usually get is too much bread and not enough meat. You also typically won’t get caprese or prosciutto, unless you’re in Italy, but then you don’t need my help.

How to Purchase Prosciutto for Your Big Fat Party Sandwiches

Prosciutto di Parma is expensive, You could be spending $28 a pound. There’s a reason prosciutto di parma is so expensive, and I talk about that in this post. But, sometimes you can find a decent prosciutto, locally made that will be more affordable. You can also shop for Boar’s Head which is reasonable in price.

Scoop out some of the inside of the bread after it’s cut lengthwise. You don’t need all that filler. When you use prosciutto, you don’t need as much as you do with regular ham, because the flavor is there. You could think of these as more caprese sandwich with prosciutto.

Back to that party that inspired these sandwiches. My five dishes disappeared quickly and two women fought over the last of these cupcakes, which have a gluten free counterpart.

This recipe is more inspiration than anything exact. You can leave out the prosciutto to make the sandwiches completely vegetarian. The pistou is a basil/olive oil condiment that adds a lot of punch for the mellow mozzarella.

Pistou is easy to make. It’s just olive oil, garlic and basil. (no cheese).

Tips for Making the Best Party Sandwiches

• Make sure the bread is crusty, not doughy. Do not use soft rolls, wrapped in plastic. Do not wrap the sandwiches in plastic, once made. Instead use foil; otherwise the bread will be soft and go soggy.
• Make sandwiches ahead, but do not add tomato or pistou/olive oil until right before serving.
• If making fresh and serving immediately, take the mozzarella out of the refrigerator 30 minutes in advance. It will taste better.
• If you can’t use FRESH mozzarella, opt for a different cheese, such as fontina or provolone.
• Use toothpicks to hold the sandwiches together, but make sure your guests can see them.  Use toothpicks like these.

If you’re entertaining gluten free guests, take these same ingredients and make an antipasto or big Italian cold cut salad.

You can also add in this amazing Cheese Plate. Yes, that’s prosciutto with melon. The women tend to gravitate to this.

You may also like these prosciutto appetizers for your party.

Prosciutto Cups

Prosciutto Tuscan White Bean Bruschetta

Prosciutto Crepes

Prosciutto Pear Pizza

Blackberry Shallot Crostini with Crispy Prosciutto

More Appetizers and Small Bites from Spinach Tiger

Crostini Recipes from Spinach Tiger

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Prosciutto Party Sandwich

Prosciutto mozzarella pesto in big fat crusty french bread, perfect for parties..

Course Sandwich

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 2 long french baguettes any kind or size you like
• 1/2 pound prosciutto
• 10-15 slices fresh mozzarella or provolone cheese or fontina
• 1/2 cup pistou recipe here
• fresh tomato slices
• salt and pepper for seasoning

Instructions

• Slice french bread lengthwise
• Remove some of the inside bread (optional). I like less bread.
• Layer meat, cheese, tomato. Add pistou.
• If you don't have pistou, layer chopped basil (chopped put on at the very last minute before serving) with drizzled olive oil. Feel free to add a smattering of oregano or Italian seasoning.
• Season with salt and pepper
• Cut cross wise into two-three inch pieces.

Notes

I also like to make French inspired ham and cheese, using cold butter, mustard, ham and cheese. You can however, mix a grainy dijon mustard with mayonnaise for an easy sandwich spread. Fill with arugula or mache as your green.

If you don't have pesto, layer chopped basil (chopped put on at the very last minute before serving) with drizzled olive oil. Feel free to add a smattering of oregano or Italian seasoning.
Season with salt and pepper
Cut cross wise into two-three inch pieces.

The post Party Sandwiches and Appetizers appeared first on Spinach Tiger.