a peek inside the fishbowl

In my world summer = tomatoes.

Sarah and I are the only ones who eat tomatoes in our house, so I only buy enough for the two of us.

Right now I’ve been eating a lot of open-faced tomato sandwiches for lunch: lightly toasted whole grain bread with a schmear of Olivina, thick slices of tomatoes, thin slices of red onion and a good shake of salt and finely ground pepper.

We planted only one tomato plant this year, any more than that and we get more than we can possibly consume. One year I planted a four-pack’s worth of tiny tomato plants and we were crazy overloaded with tomatoes. I like to refer to that time as The Summer of Tomato Sauce. We couldn’t use them all fast enough.

I hope our one plant is going to give us a good crop, because I want enough to make as many tomato sandwiches as I want. I kind of regret not planting a cherry-tomato. It would have been perfect for the salad I’m sharing with you today.

This recipe is a great addition to a summery meal.

Prosciutto, Tomato and Bocconcini Salad

250 g cherry-sized bocconcini cheese, sliced in half
1 pkg. grape (or cherry) tomatoes, sliced in half
½ cup olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp fresh-squeezed lemon juice
¼ red onion, thinly sliced
6 slices prosciutto
½ cup basil leaves
salt and pepper to taste

•  place sliced tomatoes in a bowl and add sliced onion
• add sliced bocconcini to the tomato mixture
• in a separate bowl add olive oil, balsamic, lemon juice, salt and pepper and whisk.
• pour over salad and gently toss
• cover and chill for 1 hour
• pre-heat oven to 300
• place the prosciutto on a baking sheet, place in oven for 5-7 minutes or until prosciutto is brittle, let cool and break into pieces
• 10 minutes before serving, take salad out of the refrigerator, tear basil leaves and add to salad.
• toss salad one more time (there will be extra dressing accumulated on the bottom) drain extra dressing, and serve on bed of greens, top with prosciutto. 

Tomorrow: more tomatoes!