Here’s an easy one – almost every community has a local or regional dairy, and farmers’ markets explode with fresh herbs and summer vegetables.  The Caprese Salad of tomato, mozzarella cheese, and basil with a vinaigrette dressing is a fantastic starter for a meal or side dish for a picnic.  If your farmers’ market has someone who’s selling a boutique buffalo mozzarella, grab it!

More refined versions of this dish call for olive oil only, and layers of sliced Roma tomato, cheese, and whole basil leaves.  This more rustic version is heartier and packs a bigger flavor wallop.  This salad is vegetarian, but not vegan.

Ingredients:

1 lb. assorted cherry tomatoes (red, orange, yellow, purple varieties)
8 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese (part skim)
10-12 leaves fresh basil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper

Halve the cherry tomatoes.  If they’re large and/or oblong, cut them into pieces no more than 1/2 inch.

Slice the mozzarella 1/2 inch thick, then cut into 1/2 inch cubes.

Rinse the basil leaves (BTW – they’re best picked from the pot you’ve got growing on the patio) and shake dry.  Pinch off the stem ends, stack, and roll into a tight little “cigar.”  Very thinly slice this cigar of basil cross-ways so that you get very fine ribbons.  Gently separate the ribbons with your fingers.  Congrats, you’ve just learned how to “chiffonade“, a valuable knife skill for leafy herbs.

Combine the tomatoes, cheese, and basil in a chilled glass (or ceramic) bowl.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Add oil and vinegar, and toss to combine.  Cover and refrigerate at least 15-20 minutes before serving.

Very Simple.  Very fast.  Very Tasty.  Serves four.

Nutritional breakdown:

Tomatoes are very low calorie, and the tablespoon of olive oil is never completely consumed – about a third to half of it ends up left behind in the bowl.  The biggest “sin” here is the cheese, and there’s only two ounces per serving.  Plus, mozzarella’s a fresh cheese with a high water content.  Let’s break down what we’ve got in a bowl of the stuff (one quarter of the total recipe).

• 4 oz tomatoes: 20 kcal, vitamin A, vitamin C
• 1 1/2 tsp (maybe) of olive oil: 30 kcal, vitamin E, vitamin K, omega-6 fatty acids
• 2 oz mozzarella cheese: 142 kcal (168 for whole milk or buffalo), complete proteins, vitamin A, riboflavin, vitamin B12, calcium, phosphorus, zinc and selenium

Total calories: 192 for a 6 oz. serving.  Not bad.