…how else would we spend the weekend?! Sometimes the day ends and cooking something over a hot stove just doesn’t work. It’s too warm and you wanna keep from your face melting off. Today was indeed, one of those days. Hot. I decided to keep things cool and make a take on a simple marinated salad. My Mom used to make me marinated salads often with cucumbers, tomatoes and onions. I loved it! I could eat it anytime and so, this Italian marinated salad was born with some of those same flavors, also adding some others I turn to often. Texture and festive were required, and we had no choice but to break-out our melon baller!
.jpg "marinated tomato salad2")
We are going to merge ingredients of a fresh caprese with a marinated salad, to end up with one light pre-dinner dish. If you’ve been purposefully trying to avoid your stove all weekend like I have, then this one’s for you! We’re talking baby heirloom tomatoes, mini cherry-size fresh mozzarella, cucumber, basil, sweet onion, and a quick marinade featuring balsamic and basil extra virgin olive oil. mmmm mmmm.
Our salad will host some similarly shaped ingredients, giving us a cold creation worthy of a summer evening amidst the heat. Grab a good baguette and glass of wine and our Sunday is complete.
Let’s get the ball rolling shall we…
Marinated Italian Salad
Tomato, Cucumber & Mozzarella
.jpg)
a refreshingly light marinated salad with baby heirloom tomatoes, fresh mini buffalo mozzarella rounds, basil and melon-balled cucumber in Italian spices and oil & vinegar. A balled salad so festive and light, it's a prefect introduction to a summer meal and an easy favorite all around!
What to get...
- 1 basket mixed baby heirloom tomatoes (about 2 cups)
- 1 large cucumber (or two small, cut lenghtise and melon balled)
- 8 oz- 1/3 oz, cherry-size fresh mozzarella cheese (Ciliegine, balled)
- 1/4 cup sweet white onion, chopped finely
- 1 T fresh basil, chopped
- S&P, to taste
- 1 tsp Italian herb blend (dried)
- 1 T aged balsamic
- 1 T basil infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
- 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1/4 tsp lemon zest
What to do...
- In mixing bowl combine extra virgin olive oil, balsamic, red wine vinegar, Italian seasoning, S&P, lemon zest, basil, whisking well.
- Slice large and wide cucumber lengthwise, and use a melon baller tool to make small, melon ball sized cucumber rounds.
- To marinade, add melon-balled cucumber, cherry-size heirloom tomatoes, cheery-size fresh mozzarella balls, finely chopped onion, coating well.
- If you desire more marinade, add equal parts more balsamic and EVOO, S&P and coat well.
- Let salad marinade in owl with plastic wrap, and if not serving for a couple of hours, transfer to fridge and remove about 1/2 hour before serving, tossing well.
Notes
this is so easy and adaptable. You can use less seasoning or more. Less oil or more and tweak to your taste buds. It is excellent leftover and made ahead! I lightly marinated mine, but if you want more of a concentrated flavor, add more oil and more vinegar.
This is very simple to assemble and not to mention quite colorful. The Fresh Basil Extra virgin Olive oil (We Olive), made this incredibly delicious. We didn’t need to add too much of any one component because our farmer’s market baby heirloom tomatoes were just down-right ripe. The melon-balled cucumber & cherry-sized fresh mozzarella are playful ways to turn our salad into a summer stunner! You can easily let this sit ahead to become more flavorful, but it is ready to go the second you stir it. I like this one alongside a grilled chicken breast for a simple and healthy dinner. I also loved having our marinated salad with warm slices of a sourdough baguette to dip into the balsamic/EVOO dressing. That might be the best part in my opinion!
.jpg "marinated tomato salad")
It ended up a beautiful weekend, and though warm, we were still able to stay creative in the kitchen. Buon Appetito!
Pin It
[...] know about you, but they had me at prosciutto! I had a nice glass of this chilled with my light, marinated tomato salad and a baguette - it was [...]