Friday, February 28, 2014

Caprese Tart - Dinner on the lighter side

Today was one of those days that I ate a much bigger lunch than I should have. I had grilled salmon...2 pieces...and they were fairly large pieces. It was one of those lunches that after I heated it in the microwave I hoped that none of my colleagues would see or ask what I was eating. It would have been quite embarrassing if anyone saw my king sized salmon portion. Luckily I was able to escape into my office with no one asking what I had made. When I was done eating I was quite full and complained to myself as to why I ate so much. Then justification kicked in...it's was salmon, full of omega-3's and full of other healthy nutrients, so in my mind I was like I could eat a 3rd piece, it's doing my body good. NOT! I hoped that after a few hours I wouldn't feel so stuffed but I did. By the time I went grocery shopping at Wegmans and had to buy food for dinner tonight and the weekend, nothing heavy was appealing to me. I knew a big juicy hamburger or a grilled ribeye steak wasn't going to be on our menu tonight. When I go grocery shopping on full stomach, which I know you're supposed to so you don't buy so much, my family gets the short end of the deal. So my choice was something simple; something on the lighter side so I decided on tomato, mozzarella, basil tarts with an arugula salad. Dave will not be thrilled with my choice I just know! Wegmans always sucks me into buying their tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil...if you have a Wegmans grocery store you know what I mean! They always have a huge display and put the fresh mozzarella and fresh basil with the big red ripened vine tomatoes, plus they had yellow tomatoes, one of my favs! My grocery cart was full of healthy goodness for the weekend. When I was checking out and putting all of my groceries on the conveyer belt I knew the person behind me was like wow, she must be one healthy home cook! Today is Friday and that's the day we head to Ellicottville for the weekend so I usually buy our groceries in Buffalo and we take them with us. When Dave was packing the car he asked what we were having for dinner, I told him tomato, mozzarella tarts, and like I thought he wasn't thrilled. I tried convincing him it would be amazing and he would be food satisfied. He didn't buy it, nor did the boys, so on our way to Ellicottville he made a drive thru run to Mighty Taco! Oh well, he was happy and now I didn't have to hear him complain that our dinner looked more like a lunch or appetizer. Had I not had such a large lunch trust me I would have made something more substantial. Wow, this is a rambler post, sorry! So if you are looking for a light dinner, lunch or even brunch this meal was absolutely delicious and bursting with flavor! Salute to Caprese Tart - a dinner on the lighter side!


Caprese Tart with Fresh Basil (Click to print)

Preparation and cook time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

  • Puff pastry sheet, thawed
  • 8 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced
  • 4 ripened tomatoes, sliced
  • salt n pepper
  • olive oil
  • 10 fresh basil leaves, shredded
  • optional: 2 tb pesto sauce
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place puff pastry sheet on a cookie sheet with a litte cooking spray. Bake for 10 minutes. Take out and let rest for 5 minutes. Place tomato slices and mozzarella by alternating them on puff pastry, until fully covered. Season with salt n pepper. Bake in oven for 5-7 minutes or until cheese has melted. When done sprinkle basil over top or pesto sauce. Enjoy with an arugula salad.

Food Impressions:

Nate: "Wow, this is so juicy. I love the tomatoes." (Luckily I had lots of extra tomatoes because he ate two like he was eating an apple.)

Tyler: "I love the crust on this...what kind is it?" 

Zachary: "The fresh mozzarella tastes so good melted like this." 

Dave: "Very delicious but I'm glad I made a run to Mighty Taco beforehand."

Andrea: "Loved this tart. The crust is flakey and buttery tasting. For not being in season these tomatoes were outstanding and bursting with flavor. It was super easy to make and I will make this as an appetizer often. A keeper recipe!



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