Untitled-5

Thursday, 2 April 2015

Best Italian Dishes - Caprese Salad with Pesto Sauce & Panzenella

A four course meal served with a variety of 400 types of cheese, every bite of Italian food speaks of its origins from the 4th century BC. It's a favorite with everyone, from the first bread till the last tiramisu!

Italians are known to take their food very seriously. The lunch hour is the most important meal of the day. It starts with antipasti (before the meal) bites like cheese, olives, salad etc. The main course mostly comprises of pasta or risotto. Did you know that there are more than 600 shapes of pasta produced across the world? Finally, comes the dessert and espresso coffee.
Best Italian Dishes which we think are a must try.

Caprese Salad with Pesto Sauce

A great antipasto bite to start your meal with. Juicy tomatoes and mozzarella cheese salad topped with freshly made pesto sauce.

Recipe Servings

:2

Recipe Cook Time

:20 Minutes



Ingredients

  • For Salad:

    2 Tomatoes

    Handful of Tulsi

    1 packet Buffalo Mozzarella


    For Pesto Sauce
    :

    Handful of  Basil

    1 cup Pine nuts

    1 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

    1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

    Juice of half a Lemon

Method

Salad Recipe:

Cut 2 juicy tomatoes in thick rounds and dress them with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil, some salt and pepper.

Break Mozzarella into chunks.

On a serving platter, arrange the tomato slices along with the mozzarella chunks.

Garnish with tulsi and pesto sauce.

Pesto Sauce:

Blend the basil with pine nuts, Parmesan cheese with  extra virgin olive oil, until it forms a paste.

Squeeze in the lemon juice.

If the paste is too thick, add in more extra virgin olive oil to reach the desired consistency.
Key Ingredients: tomato, tulsi, basil, pine nuts, parmesan cheese, olive oil, lemon juice, mozzarella cheese
Panzenella

Panzenella is a Tuscan bread salad, ideal for summer. It does not follow a particular recipe. but the two ingredients that do not change are tomatoes and bread. This salad is great with a chilled glass of Prosecco and lots of sunshine!



Ingredients

  • 1 kg large fresh juicy tomatoes

    1 medium cucumber

    100 gm small mild olives

    1 medium onion, sliced

    100 gm sun dried tomatoes and their oil

    1 handful oregano, chopped

    1 handful parsley, chopped

    2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

    2 tbsp good balsamic vinegar

    1 pinch sugar

    Salt and pepper

    1 loaf Italian cibatta or French baguette, torn into pieces

Method

Chop the tomatoes and cucumber roughly into 1 cm cubes, and place in a large bowl.

Stir in all the remaining ingredients except the bread, and taste for seasoning.

Add some lemon juice if you want a more tart salad.

Put the salad in the fridge and leave, covered, overnight until you are ready to eat. The flavor will melt into something magical.

Immediately before serving, tear the bread into small pieces and stir into the salad.

Words from the chef

Sometimes I toast the bread lightly and also add some red and yellow bell peppers. The key to this salad is that the tomatoes have to be juicy. If they aren't, just add a few spoons of tomato juice to the salad.
 Ingredients: tomato, cucumber, bread, olives, onion,
oregano, parsley, garlic, balsamic vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper

No comments:

Post a Comment