Make Ahead

Cherry Tomato and Mozzarella Salad

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September  3, 2011
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Cherry Tomato and Mozzarella Salad
  • Serves 4-6
Author Notes

We just can’t get enough tomatoes this summer.

Big, red beefsteak tomatoes, oblong juicy grape tomatoes, sturdy romas and ugly heirlooms – we’ve had them all. We had the most delicious yellow tomatoes from a friend’s garden. Mild-flavored and juicy, with a bit of salt, oil and basil they were perfect. I thought for a moment that these would be our favorite tomatoes of the summer.

But then we saw these eye-catching little cherry tomatoes in a variety of summer colors at the Minneapolis farmers market, and all bets were off. “They are too pretty to eat,” stated the woman next to us.

The mixed-variety basket was fun to photograph – red, yellow, black, orange and green cherry tomatoes, and yellow, red and orange pear tomatoes.

We added little ciliegine di mozzarella (small, bite-sized mozzarella), basil, salt, and ground black pepper. Dressed in olive oil, it became a quintessential summer salad. And to the woman at the farmers market – we had no problem at all eating it. —DueSpaghetti

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 2 pints chery tomatoes, mixed variety
  • 2 eight-ounce tubs ciliegine di mozzarella
  • 1 bunch basil
  • Salt
  • Ground pepper
  • Olive oil
Directions
  1. Wash the tomatoes. Quarter or halve the larger size tomatoes and place them into a salad bowl. Toss the small ones in whole.
  2. Drain the water from the ciliegine di mozzarella, slice them in half, and add them to the tomatoes.
  3. Wash the basil and using kitchen shears, snip into pieces over the tomatoes and mozzarella.
  4. Salt and pepper to taste, and drizzle olive oil liberally over the salad.
  5. Allow to sit 15 minutes at room temperature, then serve with crusty bread to soak up the juices.
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  • DueSpaghetti
    DueSpaghetti
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2 Reviews

DueSpaghetti
DueSpaghetti September 6, 2011
Hi, Colejo. The mozzarella was not marinated or seasoned when we bought it. We drain the mozzarella, add it to the salad, and then season the whole thing with salt, pepper, basil and extra virgin olive oil. We prefer to buy the plain, fresh mozzarella, and then season it ourselves when needed.
 
colejo
colejo September 6, 2011
was your mozzarella marinated or seasoned in anyway?i have no problem with plain or raw balls but my husband likes them better marinated. we have numerous variations on this kind of salad but this is fantastic base.we're anchovy nuts so add that to our salad at time of serving.