Mexican Style Caprese Salad

We love summer ripened tomatoes. I mean what right minded foodie wouldn't really?  At our old house we were able to grow the most beautiful tomatoes that flourished in the sun. But our current house just doesn't have a space that gets that kind of sunshine. Tomatoes need good sun.

Now we just rely on the Farmer's Markets to provide us with beautiful sun ripened heirloom tomatoes like these. And during the summer we most often enjoy them in a Caprese salad with fresh mozzarella, basil and a sprinkle of some good balsamic vinegar.

For our Mexican Flavored Feast we wanted to make a Mexican inspired Caprese to compliment our meal with these glorious tomatoes we picked up that morning at the market. 

We sliced the beauties up, layered them with some fresh mozzarella (although next time I might try this some good manchengo style cheese), sprinkled them with a good dose of salt & pepper. Tip= tomatoes need salt.

We adjusted to the Mexican theme by making a Mexican flavored vinaigrette to stand in for the usual good quality aged balsamic. Instead of the usual basil picked from our patio herb garden we used fresh cilantro in it's place.

Really you can't go wrong with any adjustments made to this recipe as long as you are using sun ripened heirloom tomatoes. Well at least that is in our opinion. 

These tomatoes will taste great regardless of the tweaks you make to the "extras." Because let's face it; a Caprese is about the tomato. If the tomato is good, the salad will be great.

Recipe:

Mexican Flavored Caprese Salad (quantities adjusted as you need)

4-5 ripened heirloom tomatoes (adjust amount based on size of tomato and desired size of salad)

4 oz. fresh mozzarella, sliced

Salt & Pepper

handful cleaned cilantro

3 Tblspns extra virgin olive oil

1 Tblspn balsamic

1 tspn chipotle powder

1 tspn red chile flake

1 tspn minced garlic

Slice tomatoes & mozzarella ( we bought pre-slice fresh mozzarella but if not pre sliced, slice it.) Layer tomatoes and mozzarella on a large plate. Salt & pepper tomatoes to taste. ( we are generous with our salt & pepper of tomatoes.) Whisk together olive oil, balsamic, spices and garlic. Pour vinaigrette over salad. Garnish with cilantro. Serve immediately.