Tag: grape tomatoes
Fresh Mozzarella and Tomato Sandwich
Eat them while the tomatoes are still around…
- Sliced baguette or a piece of garlic bread
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 3 to 4 slices fresh mozzarella (1/4 inch thick)
- 5 to 6 fresh basil leaves
- One medium tomato or several grape tomatoes, cut in half
- Salt
Cut a big enough piece of the garlic bread and slice and toast. Spread the mayonnaise on both pieces of bread. Place the mozzarella slices on one side of bread and sprinkle some salt. Place the tomatoes and basil leaves. Place the other piece of bread on top and serve.
Tuscan Shrimp and Cannellini Beans
I made this dish after eating at an Italian restaurant in Chatham- D’Oro. I reviewed it for the Patch. I liked the place and we ordered a shrimp and bean dish for an appetizer. It was good but not great and so I decided to replicate and improve it a bit- to my taste.
The white beans in the original dish were tender but without a lot of flavor. I cooked the beans with a bit of pancetta and garlic to give it a lot of flavor. I also added some shallots and rosemary as well. I finished the dish off with my home grown cherry tomatoes and white wine. All the aromatics and wine made a huge difference and added a lot of flavor to the dish.
I marinated the shrimp in lemon juice, olive oil and salt. I quickly grilled it outside and served it with the yummy beans. I served the dish with some yummy bread and red wine.
My daughter ate it with some reservation but enjoyed it once she got over eating something new.
Serve this dish for an appetizer or a meal with a salad. Either way it is delicious.
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Roasted Corn and Tomato Salad with Tamarind and Mango Vinaigrette
I love this salad simply because it is so colorful and beautiful to look at. I love how food gets me so excited- I guess that is why I do what I do and love every minute of it.
I made this salad for the book club meeting. Since I was making some chicken tikkas, I wanted to make a salad to balance the dishes out. I also wanted the salad to have Indian flavors. I thought of a corn salad my sister in law makes all the time. She uses regular corn and a tamarind chutney. The tamarind chutney is made out of lots of dried tamarind, sugar, salt, cumin and cayenne pepper. It is a bit laborious to make but I always have it in the fridge. It has so much sugar and salt that it lasts in the fridge for ever. It is great to have it on hand and serve it with tikkas and actually a lot of Indian street food is served with this chutney.
When I thought of posting this recipe- I wasn’t sure how people would make the chutney at home- I guess you can buy it at the Indian stores- but I prefer to make it at home. I thought of tamarind concentrate which is available at Whole Foods and other grocery stores. I made a vinaigrette with the tamarind concentrate, olive oil and this time I used some mango lemonade from Trader Joes. It gave the dressing a sweet, tangy, mango flavor which complemented the sour tamarind really well. It was very delicious.
I paired the vinaigrette with roasted corn (my favorite ingredient from Trader Joes), cherry tomatoes, green onions and lots of cilantro. I topped it with pita chips- they provide a great crunch and some substance to the salad.
It was a big hit- everyone enjoyed it. Next time you are looking for a party appetizer, make the roasted corn and tomato salad.
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