Denise says:
Make this salad using the freshest mozzarella cheese available. It is a classic starter dish with a twist. I have made a pesto sauce and then mixed it with tiny aubergine cubes. The recipe for aubergine pesto produces more than you need, however it makes the most exquisite pasta sauce, lasagne topping or just pour over some salmon or roasted peppers or even portabella mushrooms. Store in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
The finest mozzarella is made in the area around Naples, using water buffalo’s milk. It has a moist, springy texture and a delicious milky flavour.
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 6 people
Ingredients:
6 beef tomatoes5 buffalo Mozzarella cheeses –sliced in rounds
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the Pesto
1 large aubergine- chopped in small cubes
50g fresh basil leaves
35g flat leaf parsley
55g pine nuts
4 garlic cloves – peeled
50g Parmesan cheese – grated
250ml extra virgin olive oil
Ciabatta or baguette to serve
Garnish
Sprigs of basil leaves
Method
1)First make the pesto. Put the garlic, pine nuts, herbs into a food processor and blitz to form an even textured mixture. Add the cheese, followed by the oil in a thin stream through the feeder tube.2)Blanch the tomatoes briefly in boiling water. Remove the skin and slice in rounds.
3)Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan. Sauté the aubergine until golden and crispy. Remove while still hot and transfer to a dish. Stir in 6 tablespoons of pesto sauce. Taste and check seasoning.
4)Arrange the sliced tomatoes and mozzarella in overlapping concentric circles on 6 plates.
5)Spoon the aubergine pesto around the edge of the plate.
To serve the stylish way: Garnish with a dusting of black pepper, sprigs of basil leaves. Serve with ciabatta