Caprese Salad

Light refreshing salad to have year round. My husband was craving a good caprese and I wanted to deliver but sadly good looking, fresh basil was unavailable so I made due with dried but it actually turned out quite yummy!!

INGREDIENTS:'

• Several Ripe Red Tomatoes
• Large Mozzerella Cheese Ball (slice it into 1/4" sections the cut the round slices into four pie shapes
• Fresh Basil leaves (w)ashed and dried) or dried Basil
• Balsalmic Vinegar

****I lined the plate with sliced cucumbers and crumbled fat free feta (this is great for fellow non-tomato eating comrades like me)****

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place 1 cup Balsalmic Vinegar into small sauce pot, without lid, and heat over low heat until the liquid had reduced by half (meaning cooked and evaporated to half the liquid level you started with...so to 1/2 cup approximately). The vinegar should be a bit thicker and less tart.
2. While vinegar is reducing slice tomatoes and mozzarella into 1/4" slices and arrange by alternating them (tomato, mozz, basil, tomato, mozz, etc...). If you don't have any fresh basil leaves you can sprinkle dried basil into reducing balsalmic and on top of sliced cheese and tomato.
3. Allow reduced balsalmic to cool a bit before drizzling on top of cheese and tomato.

Balsalmic reducing.

Sliced tomato and Mozzerella sliced and the cut into quarters.

Beginning to stack and alternate the mozzerella and tomato

Adding basil to reduced balsalmic.

 

Basil Sprinkled Mozz & Tomatoes

Veggie plate Drizzled with reduced vinegar

We nearly missed eatting dinner because we just scarfed this down!! As you can see from the above pics I lined the plate with cucumber slices and fat free feta (remember I don't like tomatoes).  I did have my fair share of mozzerella though :o)