July 24, 2012

Caprese Salad - For a Tomato Hater


I love the look and idea of the Caprese Salad.  I love all of the different ways to make one on Pinterest. I've tried making this one, and I realized something I had forgotten ... I hate raw tomatoes!  I hate the texture, they make my mouth itch, and the taste is AWFUL.  Not great for the whole 'fresh from the garden awesomeness' I was hoping for.

Then I decided to do something I NEVER do ... I decided to experiment.  I am like the ANTI REBEL in the kitchen.  It scares me to go away from the recipe, BUT ... I thought I would give it a try.  Well I LIKE what I've come up with here so I thought I would share for the other Tomato Haters out there!!

Not So Raw Caprese Salad

Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 - 1/2 white onion, diced
6 cloves of garlic, minced (I like garlic lol)
2 Roma Tomatoes, chopped smallish (or whatever kind you like or grow)
My House Seasoning (salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder)
Fresh basil, chopped
Balsamic Vinegar
Mozzerella Cheese, cut into stripes

1.  Drizzle EVOO into a pan on medium heat, add garlic and saute for a few minutes.  Add diced onion to pan and saute a few more minutes.  Add tomatoes to the pan and cook on medium heat.  Add seasonings to taste and continue to cook until the tomatoes are NICE AND MUSHY lol.  This step is totally up to you, cook them as long as you need to get the taste you want.  I need like 15 minutes lol.

2.  Pour the mixture into a bowl and top with chopped basil.  Drizzle balsamic vinegar to taste.

3.  Take your mozzerella strips and top with tomato mixture and enjoy : )

If anyone has a different take on this, I would LOVE to hear it!  I'm thinking about making this and adding it to some baked chicken as a sauce! YUM!