American Flag Caprese Salad With Blueberry Balsamic Vinaigrette Recipes

AMERICAN FLAG CAPRESE SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Wash blueberries, wash and slice tomatoes, and dry the fresh mozzarella slices. Set aside.
• Cut 12 mini stars out of 3 slices of fresh mozzarella using a mini star cutter. Set aside.
• With a serrated knife, slice the baguette on the diagonal into 20 even slices. Brush each slice on both sides with olive oil and place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 6-8 minutes, until lightly toasted and golden brown around the edges.
• Make the Blueberry Balsamic Drizzle, by whisking the wild blueberry preserves, olive oil and balsamic vinegar together until well combined. Set aside.

AMERICAN FLAG CAPRESE SALAD

Steps:

• Cook the potatoes in generously salted boiling water until fork-tender but not falling apart, about 20 minutes. Drain well and allow to cool completely. Cut in half crosswise.
• Fill a pastry bag, fitted with a small star tip, with the herbed cheese spread. Cut a piece of parchment large enough to fit a 12- by -17 1/2-inch wooden cutting board. Put a dab of cheese spread on the underside of each corner of the parchment to help it adhere to the cutting board.
• Pipe and spread a thin layer of cheese spread in to a 6 1/2- by -9 1/2-inch rectangle in the upper left corner of the parchment. Arrange the potatoes in rows, cut-side-up, on top of the cheese. Pipe the remaining cheese in between the potatoes to make stars for the flag.
• Drizzle the remaining empty portion of parchment with half of the oil then sprinkle all over with the basil. Starting from the top, make a line of tomato halves, cut-side-up, followed by a line of mozzarella halves, cut-side-down. Repeat with the remaining tomatoes and mozzarella. Drizzle everything with the remaining olive oil and sprinkle with salt.

ITALIAN FLAG SALAD (CAPRESE)

Steps:

• Make sure you serve this on a white platter!
• Wash and dry the tomatoes.
• Remove the stem and cut into slices, approximately 1/2 inch thick, lengthwise.
• Arrange slices decoratively on platter.
• Drizzle with just the barest amount of olive oil, sprinkle lightly with salt (sea salt is wonderful!) and coarsely ground, FRESH black pepper.
• Cut the mozzarella into slices approximately 1/3 inch thick and arrange 1 slice of cheese per slice of tomato.
• (the mozzarella balls available in Greece are pretty small- maybe 3-4oz).
• What you want is a white slice of cheese just covering the tomato slice, but with the red of the tomato peeking through.
• Dot each mozzarella round with 1/2 to 3/4 tsp of pesto.
• Serve with lots of crusty bread!