Summer Heirloom Tomato and Nectarine Salad

You know that delicious groundbreaking salad that you start to see everywhere when the summer solstice hits? Yep, it deserves to shine.  So damn delicious, I am making it over and over again already, and maybe only forgetting the star of the show, basil, a handful of times.  (Gahhhh, without fail, I forget one ingredient - every. single. time.)

This salad is an incredibly simple and easy dish to throw together.  The perfect summer salad. Bring it to your next barbecue and eyes will light up, serve next to a simple grilled steak for a quick and easy weeknight dinner or serve straight up for lunch or a snack.  So worth it. 

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SUMMER HEIRLOOM TOMATO AND NECTARINE SALAD

Prep Time: 5 min  |  Total Time: 10 min  |  Serves: 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 mixed heirloom tomatoes

• 1/2 c baby heirloom or cherry tomatoes, halved

• 2 ripe nectarines, thinly sliced

• 8 oz fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

• 1/2 c pickled red onions

• 1/2 c fresh torn basil leaves or micro greens

• olive oil

• fresh cracked peppercorns

• maldon sea salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Thinly slice 2 of the large heirloom tomatoes and quarter 1 heirloom tomato.

2. On a platter, arrange tomatoes, mozzarella and nectarines.

3. Drizzle entire salad with olive oil, a generous sprinkle of maldon sea salt and fresh cracked peppercorns. Let sit 5 minutes

4. Arrange pickled red onions and basil on top and finish with additional salt and pepper. Voila, gorgeous!

Recipe: A simple lunch.

Sometimes all you need is a few simple ingredients to feel completely satisfied.  I made this lunch a couple of weeks ago with inspiration from Sunday Suppers.  It was super simple, super delicious and super satisfying.  I'm craving it right now, for my lunch that's about to happen, and decided that I should share it. Simple and easy.  Go for it. 

Apple - Celery Root - Prosciutto - Parsley - Lemon - Maldon - Peppercorn

Prep time:  10 mins   | Assembly time:  5 mins   | Serves: 2

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 apple, cored and julienned

• 1 small celeriac, peeled and julienned

• 5 pieces of thinly sliced prosciutto, torn

• 1 small handful parsley, leaves only, torn

• 2 tbsp plain greek yogurt

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• juice of 1 small lemon

• sea salt, to taste

• fresh cracked pepper, to taste

• 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

• maldon sea salt, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a small bowl, whisk yogurt, lemon, chopped fresh parsley, salt, pepper and olive oil. Adjust to taste.

2. In a medium bowl, combine apple, celeriac, parsley, half of the prosciutto and toss with dressing. Top with the remaining torn prosciutto and fresh cracked peppercorns and of course, maldon sea salt.

Toast Obsession

Yep, it's official... I. AM. OBSESSED. WITH. TOAST. There aren't enough places around this town with good ol' toast.  I'm going to change that and you can quote me on that.  But, in the meantime, while you're waiting, I'll just be making it at home, for myself and for anyone else who wants to sit down with me and indulge in the many possible creations for this brilliant and simple idea we call toast.  Did you know that toast was created to make stale bread more palatable, and at one point, Streetband/Q-Tip even had a song named 'Toast' where they used toast as an instrument and the sound of toast being scraped later in the track...ummm....yeah, that happened. 

While living in Venice, I frequently (when I say "frequently", I mean "daily") walked down with Chloe to the little local joint GTA (Gjelina Take-Away) and it was almost a certainty that I'd order a toast. Sometimes the granola, sometimes the spicy breakfast sandwich with kale, but most likely...toast...and a cortado.  God, I miss that place. And with that nostalgia and longing for a good local spot where everyone knows my name and the toast that I want, I have to settle for toast at home.

Above, my favorite, salmon toast (wild alaskan smoked salmon, cream cheese, pickled cucumber, capers, radish, dill) and pear toast (winter red pear, whipped cream cheese and yogurt, maldon sea salt, thyme).

Salmon Toast

INGREDIENTS:

• Artisan bread, sliced (and optional: lightly toasted)

• 4oz Wild Alaskan Smoked Salmon

• 2 oz Organic Cream Cheese

• 1 Pickled Cucumber, thinly sliced/shaved

• 1 Tbsp Capers

• 1 Radish, thinly sliced

• 2 sprigs fresh dill

• Maldon sea salt

• fresh cracked pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Arrange your mise en place of ingredients.

2. Spread cream cheese onto slice of artisan bread.

3. Layer with salmon, cucumber and capers. Top with radish and dill sprigs and a pinch of maldon sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. Voila!

Winter Pear Toast

INGREDIENTS:

• Artisan bread, sliced (and optional: lightly toasted)

• 2 oz cream cheese

• 2 tbsp plain greek yogurt

• 1 red or asian pear, thinly sliced

• maldon sea salt

• 1 sprig thyme

• optional: drizzle of honey

DIRECTIONS:

1. Arrange your mise en place of ingredients.

2. In a small bowl, whip together cream cheese and yogurt. Adjust amount of yogurt for desired taste and consistency. Spread cream cheese onto slice of artisan bread.

3. Layer pear on top of cream cheese/yogurt and top with maldon sea salt, a sprig of thyme and optional honey drizzle for added sweetness. Done!