Heirloom Tomato Caprese with Nicoise Olives

Welp, it's officially summer, which means that I can officially start keeping track of how many orders I get from clients for my Caprese Salad. I swear, I make so many of these you wouldn't believe it. I offer loads of other bright, colorful, delicious, wonderful salads, but for some reason come summertime the simple, traditional caprese ends up being the front runner every year.

It's not surprising to see why- tomatoes, basil and fresh mozzarella are a perfect match. Classic, like The Three Stooges even. Since I have prepared this customary combo over and over again, I've had plenty of opportunities to tinker with the standard recipe, altering this and that along the way to come up with my favorite rendition, which I am tickled to share with you today.

For starters, we are in prime tomato season right now, so why not use the cream of the crop? I love to showcase the different shapes, sizes and colors of heirloom tomatoes in my rustic version. While we're at it, let's toss in some of the gooiest, richest cheese around, shall we? Ah, burrata...you make everything taste better, you creamy devil. 

Next, you could do a simple chiffonade of basil, nothing wrong with that. But I'm having kind of a moment with micro basil right now. It's so delicate and pretty, just scatter the leaves whole and you're halfway to summer salad nirvana. 

Ok, now I know what you're thinking, and you're absolutely right: olives are not traditionally part of a caprese salad. But like I said before, I have made caprese salad so. many. times. Like a thousand, probably. I was getting bored with the purists' interpretation, so can you blame me for going rouge and adding a few tasty little olives into the mix?

Go ahead, I dare you.

Any olives will do, but nicoise are my favorite here- they're flavorful but not overpowering. And I bet once you've tried it you won't want to go back. Now all that's left to do is add a drizzle of good olive oil and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt and your caprese salad upgrade is complete!

serves 4
Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs. heirloom tomatoes, sliced
6 ounces burrata cheese
1/4 cup nicoise olives, drained
1/4  cup micro basil
Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Flaky sea salt

Instructions
1. Divide tomato slices evenly among plates. Dollop burrata cheese over tomatoes and sprinkle olives and micro basil on top.
2. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt before serving.

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Root Vegetable Gratin

I have a little crush on gratins. I love all the pretty layers. I love the savory scent of them baking in the oven. I love saying gratin in a fancy French accent. And I looooove stuffing my face with them, obvsies. But I think what I love most about any sort of gratin is that it turns a side dish from an afterthought into something quite special. 

Sure, anyone could just steam up some green beans willy nilly or chuck some potatoes into the oven to serve alongside their main course, but taking the effort to whip up a gratin always shows that extra bit of attention in the finished product, instantly taking your meal from meh to marvelous...

Just look at the gorgeous ombre layers in this Root Vegetable Gratin- it's like sunset. On a plate. Who wouldn't be impressed by that? You know what else I love about this gratin in particular? It's one of the few that I've come across that isn't a total gut bomb. The cooking liquid is mainly low-fat, low-calorie chicken or vegetable broth with a mere smidge of heavy cream added for good measure, instead of being entirely cream based as many gluttonous gratins so often are. Sigh. A judicious amount of cheese is included as well; just  a couple of tablespoons of Parmesan sprinkled on top is all you need to get that cheesy fix.

And quite possibly the best part of all- root vegetables like the sweet potato, butternut squash and rutabagas used here possess the magical quality of being SO good for you (hello fiber, antioxidants and minerals, get in my belly!) yet tasting rich and indulgent, like something you probably shouldn't be consuming in large quantities without a major repentance session on the treadmill. And that's totally crushworthy in my book.

adapted from Food & Wine
Ingredients
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled
1 butternut squash neck (2 1/4 pounds) from a large butternut squash, peeled
1 medium rutabaga (2 pounds), peeled and halved lengthwise
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp. freshly grated parmesan
*Special Equipment: Mandoline

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Slice the potatoes and squash lengthwise 1/8 inch thick with a mandoline. Slice the rutabaga crosswise 1/8 inch thick.
2. Spray an 8x12 baking dish with cooking spray. Begin to layer the strips of vegetables as follows, making sure to season each layer: first spread half of the potatoes on the bottom layer, overlapping them slightly. Proceed with half of the rutabaga, then the squash, also overlapping. Repeat until al of the vegetables have been used. Pour the broth over and around the vegetables.
3. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 1 hour, until the vegetables are almost tender when pierced.
4. Remove the foil and pour the cream over the gratin. Bake for about 30 minutes longer, until the liquid has reduced and thickened.
5. Preheat the broiler. Sprinkle parmesan over the gratin and broil 3 inches from the heat for 2 minutes, or until cheese begins to melt. Let the gratin stand for 10 minutes, then serve.

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Mango Vegetable Spring Rolls with Ginger-Date Dipping Sauce

Today's recipe is one I adapted from Tone it Up, an online fitness and nutrition community I have been following for the past couple of years. Trainers Karena and Katrina are two personal trainers who have developed a uniquely interactive online health and lifestyle website. They primarily post fun workout challenges and videos, but I especially love to browse their site for healthy recipe inspirations. These Mango Vegetable Spring Rolls are just one of the many health conscious dishes that they created for their nutrition plan. They spring rolls are crisp and colorful, and the date sauce is absolutely to. die. for. I may or may not have licked the bowl.

This recipe is easily adaptable in that you can use whatever veggies you have on hand, which is exactly what I decided to do when I had a craving for something fresh and an abundance of produce just begging to be used. But the best part about this recipe, besides the fantastic flavor of course, is that the spring rolls are raw, vegan and gluten free- a triple threat. This is exactly the sort of thing to have for a post-Thanksgiving detox meal after the turkey and mashed potato leftovers are long gone. Your waistline (and your taste buds) will thank you!

adapted from Toneitup.com
Ingredients
for the dipping sauce:
1/4 cup gluten free tamari
6 dates
2 tsp. fresh grated ginger
1 garlic clove
3 tsp. toasted sesame oil
2 tsp. white miso
2 tbsp. lime juice

for the spring rolls:
1/2 cup baby spinach leaves
1 mango, sliced into matchsticks
1/2 bell pepper, sliced into matchsticks
1 carrot, peeled and sliced into matchsticks
1 avocado, thinly sliced
1/2 cup basil, chopped
8 chives
4 rice paper wraps

Instructions
1. To make the dipping sauce, place tamari, dates, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, miso and lime juice in a food processor and blend until smooth. If the sauce appears too thick, thin out by adding water 1 teaspoon at a time and pulsing until a desired consistency is reached.
2. Dampen the rice paper wraps by soaking them individually in a shallow bowl filled with lukewarm water for 15-30 seconds. Spread on a flat, clean surface. Bundle spinach in the center of the wrap followed by 1/4 of each of the remaining ingredients.
3. Grab end of rice paper closest to you and fold over ingredients, tucking as you go. Fold in each side and continue to roll away from you. Halve diagonally and serve with dipping sauce.

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