Proud Italian Cook

23 Ways to Indulge in Caprese Salads This Summer

June 14, 2019 by Marie 10 Comments

If it’s one thing I look forward to in the warm summer months, it’s caprese salads! What’s not to love? Ripe juicy tomatoes of all different varieties and sizes, dreamy creamy cheese, fragrant garden basil and the best olive oil you can buy to finish it all off.

There’s so many variations of caprese salads this is just the tip of the iceberg, I could go on and on but this post would be extremely long!

Here’s a few of my favorites, some made for parties, get togethers, an appetizer, a lunch, even as an entree with good crusty bread is just enough on a hot summer day.

Mixing the colored green heirlooms with vine ripened red tomatoes makes for a pretty colorful looking platter, break open some burrata, add a drizzle of balsamic glaze, your best olive oil and whole leaves of basil.

I have this huge round platter and I always make this for parties, and you know what? None is ever leftover, everyone is crazy about caprese!

Use different colored heirlooms, not only for flavor but for a nice visual combination as well.

Stack your caprese salads for individual sides or appetizers, this one was also layered with freshly made basil pesto.

Roast some tomatoes, tear open a ball of creamy burrata and grab some bread, this is lunch for me!

Pass out these crostini to your guests and they will go bonkers, they’re crispy, creamy and dreamy topped with slow roasted tomatoes.

Fresh mozzarella or creamy burrata, it’s all good!

Sometimes I might add some avocado into the mix, why not!

Here it is in all it’s glory, just sweet and simple.

Fun to bring to a party, layers of bocconcini, sliced cherry tomatoes all in a row on top of a bed of spinach and arugula, dress it when you get to the party.

Can we talk about this for a minute? If you can find fresh, hand tied, homemade bocconcini like I can, don’t hesitate to buy a big container so you can make this caprese salad, one of my favorites! The flavors are out of this world!

Sometimes I’ll add in some olives, why not?

I’m in love with those pretty colored heirlooms.

No words needed…

Throw a caprese salad on top of nicely grilled eggplant, a wonderful appetizer to munch on.

Look close, there’s a caprese salad in that stack of vegetables, lunch anyone?

Switch up your tomatoes for citrus sometimes, it’s bright and unexpected and especially good in the winter months.

Have you ever had a mango caprese? This one is layered with avocado and mint instead of basil, topped off with chopped pistachios, quite delicious and unique!

And finally, peaches are now in season, so grill some up, add a little prosciutto and enjoy this as your next caprese salad, it’s a meal in itself.

I could go on and on but these are some of my favorites, enjoy the best of summer eating with simple and delicious caprese salads!

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10 Comments Filed Under: Party Foods, Salads, Side Dishes, Summer, Uncategorized, Vegetables Tagged: caprese salad, citrus capreseo, mango caprese, peach caprese, vegetable caprese

Fettuccine with Roasted Tomatoes and Burrata

June 4, 2019 by Marie 15 Comments

This is the time of year that I really look forward to eating this special pasta dish, it’s made with fettuccine, roasted cherry tomatoes and burrata cheese, simple with few ingredients. Honestly there’s just nothing like it, the taste is so fresh and light with dreamy burrata melted throughout!

Once I start seeing these gorgeous cherry tomatoes on the vine in the markets I shop at, I’m hooked and I know exactly what I’m making with them.

I’ve been making this dish for years, I’m always switching up the type of pasta that I use, I even made it with zucchini noodles in the past, equally delicious!

This time I wanted to use fettuccine, I’ve also made it with short mostaccioli, rigatoni many times and a springy shaped pasta as well, it really doesn’t matter what shape you use just pick your favorite.

What does remain the same is how the tomatoes get roasted. Always on a rimmed cookie sheet lined with foil. The foil will insure that none of the juices get dried up or evaporated on the pan.

Sometimes I leave the tomatoes whole and sometimes I cut them in half, there’s always garlic added, usually shaved, lot’s of olive oil drizzled all over, salt, pepper and torn basil.

The tomatoes are roasted in a 400 degree oven until they start to blister and burst open. If the tomatoes are whole I just prick them in the middle of the roasting process so the juices can burst out and mingle with the olive oil, all those flavors together become your sauce for the pasta.

Like I said most of the time I add shaved garlic, but if I prepare in advance I also like using roasted garlic as well.

Just squeeze out a bunch of the roasted cloves and add it into the tomato mix while roasting, then before you toss in all those wonderful juices onto your cooked pasta, smash the cloves first so that the garlic flavor can release into the sauce even more, it’s extremely delicious!

When your pasta is cooked, place it into your serving vessel, scrape down every bit of the juice that accumulated in the pan, garlic and all and toss it all together.

To finish it off and bring this dish to the ultimate of flavor, break open one or two balls of burrata cheese and place it on top of the pasta.

Just a quick drizzle of olive oil all over and a nice grating of Pecorino or Parmigiana and of course extra torn basil all around, and you’ll have one heck of a meal!

Simple and delicious!

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15 Comments Filed Under: Pasta, Sauces, Summer Tagged: blistered tomatoes, Burrata cheese, fettuccine, fresh tomato sauce, roasted garlic, roasted tomatoes

Scallop Risotto with Spring Vegetables

May 17, 2019 by Marie Leave a Comment

Many people are nervous about making risotto but I’m here to say don’t be! Making risotto is super easy, it just requires your constant attention and a little bit of time.

This scallop risotto is great for springtime entertaining, it’s filled with tender bay scallops, sweet peas, zucchini and the brightness of lemon, it’s elegant and easy to make.

When I make risotto I like to have all my ingredients set out, prepped and ready to go, it makes the flow of things go much faster.

The scallops are cooked on one side only then, they don’t take long at all, then folded into and finished off in the warm risotto, of course you can substitute any other seafood you like such as shrimp if scallops aren’t your thing.

Bay scallops are the ones used here, they’re smaller and easy to find. No need to use the larger more expensive sea scallops in this dish. The bay scallops are perfect for this risotto, they’re sweet, buttery and delicate and bite size and with the hint of lemon zest throughout it’s flavor perfection!

Fold the scallops gently into the cooked risotto reserving some for garnish on top.

If you haven’t made risotto yet I encourage you to do so, especially this scallop risotto with spring vegetables, I promise you’ll be in love with every decadent bite!

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Scallop Risotto with Spring Vegetables

Author: Marie

Ingredients

1 lb. bay scallops, patted dry
1¼ cups short grain arborio rice
1 quart chicken stock
2 medium zucchini, small diced and precooked in sauté pan with olive oil until golden ( may substitute chopped asparagus)
1 cup peas, frozen or fresh
½ onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1¼ cups shredded Parmigiano Reggiano
¾ cup white wine
handful of chopped parsley
butter and olive oil
zest of 1 lemon

Instructions

Have all your ingredients ready to go.
Heat all the stock in a separate pan.
Use a heavy bottomed pan to make and stir the risotto in so it doesn't burn.
Add a knob of butter and drizzle olive oil at the bottom of the pan on medium heat.
Add the onions and garlic, stirring to translucent.
Toss in the rice and stir to coat for around 2 to 3 minutes
Add the white wine, stirring until rice absorbs it..
Add stock in 1 cup at a time, stirring constantly until it absorbs, then repeat with another cup of hot stock.
In the meantime, heat a separate sauté pan until hot, add a little butter and toss in the bay scallops, don't turn them, let them cook for 2-3 minutes, set aside.
Keep stirring and repeat adding stock 1 cup at a time until the rice absorbs the liquid and tastes al dente but not crunchy and hard. ( there might be a little stock leftover).
Remove risotto pan from heat, add a tablespoon of butter, lemon zest and all of the grated cheese and stir until combined.
Fold in the cooked zucchini and peas being gentle when tossing and most of the cooked scallops, reserve some for garnish.
Put a lid on for 1 minute, so everything can meld together.
Add chopped parsley and spoon into bowls.
Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and the reserved scallops for garnish.
Serve immediately and enjoy!