The perfect trinity of tomato, mozzarella and arugula: where the sweetness of the tomatoes and the silkiness of the mozzarella soothes the bitterness of the arugula right away. A delicious, simple healthy lunch or dinner recipe you can whip up in 5 minutes and devour right away, enjoy!
You can imagine how patient and willing I am to cook/throw together dinner when already at the time of leaving the office I am hungry and the commute takes me about 40 minutes, you guessed it right: not at all! I am starving and want to eat something quickly, or even better, right away!
Unfortunately it is these situations that are the most dangerous: when you are so hungry you will devour anything you can get your hands on, and chances are most of the times what you gobble up for a quick instant fix aren’t the most healthy meals. But nowadays I make a conscious effort to stock my fridge with some handy staples with which I can throw together a quick and really easy fix in mere minutes.
It also helps that this 5-minute Mozzarella Caprese salad tastes great and also looks nice on a plate (when Boyfriend saw me eating it one night he said I should make this next time when we have his friends over, as this would be a salad even the guys would try). 😉
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The classic Caprese salad has slices of tomatoes and mozzarella topped with fresh basil leaves and seasoned with olive oil. In my version I also added arugula (or rocket salad) to make it somewhat heartier, more filling, and also because I love how the slightly bitter taste of the arugula adds some dimension to the tomatoes’ sweetness and the silkiness of the mozzarella, in my opinion you have a perfect threesome here. (Not to mention the visually pleasing composition of red-white-green 😉 )
- 1 tomato
- 1 mozzarella ball (a 125 g or 4 ounce pack)
- 2 cups or handfuls of aragula (or any other lettuce)
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tsps balsamic vinegar
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves or 1-2 tsp dried basil
- optional: if using only 1 tsp basil you can also add 1 tsp dried oregano
- Wash and dry the tomato and arugula.
- Cut up the tomato and the mozzarella into bite sized bits and arrange them on a plate.
- Put the lettuce around the rings of mozzarella and tomato bits.
- Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and sprinkle with the fresh or dried basil (and oregano).
- Enjoy your quick and fresh lunch/dinner right away. (If you are very hungry you can pair it with some bruschetta as well.)
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