CAPRESE CON SPINACHI

Caprese con Spinachi -- a beautiful fresh garden tomato and bull mozzarella salad served over a bed of baby spinach greens.  Easy, low fat and delicious.  Makes a wonderful dinner all by itself or as an accompaniment to any summer dinner.  Since I have bushels and bushels of tomatoes coming in my backdoor, we eat this frequently as supper.  It's light, but filling.  Quick to fix and always satisfying with those garden fresh tomatoes.  If you don't have or can't get fresh summer tomatoes, I recommend you use nice, red, ripe Romas.  Pick the reddest ones you can find.  Yield: 2 or more servings

Caprese con Spinachi Salad

Ingredients:

2 medium-large fresh tomatoes, peeled & cored if desired
1 sleeve of BelGiosi water pack Mozzarella (usually in Deli section)
Fresh Baby Spinach leaves
Red Wine or Balsamic Vinegar
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Fresh Basil (snipped or cut into chiffonade)

Directions:
Put a very healthy handful of baby spinach in the center of two dinner plates. Slice your tomatoes and lay around the edges of the plates.  Interlace slices of mozzarella between the tomatoes.  Scatter cut, fresh basil over all.  Generously salt (I use coarse sea salt) and pepper (fresh ground is best).  Drizzle EVOO over both plates; then drizzle vinegar over both plates.  Voila!  Ready to serve.

If you have extra tomatoes, and love them like we do, pare another medium tomato and cut into 8ths, not cutting all the way to the bottom.  I do this holding the tomato in my hand.  Spread out in center of plate.  Add some chunked up mozzarella and season when you season up the plates.

This is also excellent service with Triscuit crackers. We especially like with the Garlic Parmesan crackers and maybe a fresh green onion on the side and a big ole glass of cold tea.

Enjoy~
~~Aunt Betty