Caprese Salad with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

When I think about things that were just meant to be together (Ruth and the Yankees, peanut butter and chocolate, my wife and I) nothing hits the mark more than tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and basil. Those are three things that simply accent each other better than any other pairing of ingredients. And one of the simplest and most satisfying salads to make is Caprese salad. You can make it raw, but I like my tomatoes roasted.


Cherry tomatoes, when planted, grow in abundance. So when it's harvest time, pick as many as you can. I mean, clean the vines! Wash them, then cut each tomato in half. Time consuming? Yes it is. But so is waxing your car, and look how that turns out.



This might look like plenty for one serving, but remember that once they're roasted, they're going to shrink quite a bit, so cut twice as many as you think you need.



Once they're all cut in half, place a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Lay the tomato halves on the sheet skin side down, then drizzle them with olive oil, some sea salt, and a sprinkle of chopped herbs (optional, but oregano and parsley are my favorites for this).



Roast them in the oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes and check them. If they still look young and fresh, and not 120 years old like these, put them back for another 10 minutes and check them again. Repeat until they look like they're about to collapse. You want a little color, but not burnt. Burnt no good.



While the tomatoes are roasting, cut into a fresh mozzarella log. Slice it 1/2 inch thick and lay a few pieces on a plate. When I say "fresh mozzarella", I mean the stuff that's packed in a water solution. The stuff you buy at the deli that says "Fresh Mozzarella" in front of it - that stuff. Don't try to make this with the dry vacuum packed ball of mozzarella you find in the section of the supermarket with the packaged bologna and ricotta cheese. You'll be highly disappointed.



Drizzle those pieces of mozzarella with some extra virgin olive oil, some sea salt, and fresh ground pepper. As you can see, I like a lot of pepper on mine. I'm spicy like that. Bow-chicka-bow-bow.



When your tomatoes are done, take them out of the oven, and immediately cover the mozzarella with them. Drizzle a little more olive oil across the top, then sprinkle some freshly chopped basil over everything.




Mangiare!