Insalata Caprese

Some of the best things to eat during the summer are simple pasta salads. They are so light, healthy and delicious in an almost subtle manner – as such Insalata Caprese epitomises the summer pasta salad. I realise this dish doesn’t usually include pasta, but I thought rather than having it as a starter it would be better to bulk it out and really enjoy its deliciousness as a lunch, or indeed as a light dinner. This was my exact thought process as over the past few days I’ve had rather meaty meals like cawl and fragrant chicken curry – a dish which I’m considering “re-mastering”. As such I wanted a meal that was light, tasty and vegetarian – this seemed the ideal candidate.

I must admit this dish is really very simple, but there are a couple of “tips” I feel I must divulge. First of all, as with my recent rocket and poached egg salad, when making this one really shouldn’t over do the lemon as it may disguise the mozzarella, the flavour of which is incredibly subtle. The juice is only there to add a slight tang to the overall flavour of the dish in order to add that extra depth of flavour. Actually, on the topic of mozzarella, I advise against buying low fat or exceedingly cheap cheese because the flavour just won’t come through. Secondly, please don’t hold back on the olive oil as there is nothing quite so frustrating as an under-dressed salad – olive oil is delicious, please treat it as such. Having said that, remember that just because olive oil is delicious, no one wants to drown in the stuff.

Finally, I was wondering if anyone had any challenges of frugality for me. By that I mean does anyone have a dish they challenge me to make for less than £2 per portion? I think perhaps it would be healthy for someone to test my frugal credentials, would keep me on the ball!

Insalata Caprese {recipe}

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 400g pasta, penne, fusilli or something similar

• 3-4 large vine tomatoes, roughly chopped with the seeds removed

• 125g ball of mozzarella, cubed

• Handful of basil, torn

• One good slug of olive oil

• Squeeze of lemon

• Seasoning, be fairly generous

Method:

1. Pop the pasta on to boil. Chop all the ingredients and put in a large bowl, add the oil, lemon and season well. When the pasta is cooked drain it and rinse it through with water until cold. Add the pasta to the other ingredients and mix well. It will keep for a day or so in the fridge.

Cost: The salad for four will cost around £2.80 to make. This is really worth it because although it is very light and delicate it is very filling and tasty. I highly recommend it.