cherry tomatoes Archives

Farfalle Caprese

This lovely pasta salad with tomatoes, mozzarella and fresh basil is ready in fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes on the clock! It is hearty, it’s colorful and it’s packed with bold flavors! It’s hands down my favorite salad and I’ve been making it since the Cretaceous period, since I was in the second grade to be more accurate. This salad is perfect for lunch or dinner and it’s also a wonderful dish to bring to a picnic.

For this salad I used mozzarella boconcini and cherry tomatoes picked from my own veggie garden, which I’ve seasoned with fresh basil and homemade balsamic vinegar reduction. For pasta I chose farfalle (penne, fusilli or rigatoni are also delicious in this salad) which I’ve flavored with finely chopped shallot. Although I cannot tolerate onion in traditional Caprese salad, I always add finely chopped shallot in the pasta version. I find that it seasons discretely the pasta, without overpowering the rest of the ingredients. Continue reading Farfalle Caprese

Butter Bean, Tuna and Cherry Tomato Salad

This butter bean and tuna salad is simply divine! It’s very tasty, nutritious and hearty. It is a rustic, unpretentious salad, but at the same time the flavor and texture combination give it a particular charm. It’s so easy to make and to gain some time, I start the recipe by roasting the cherry tomatoes just until they caramelize nicely and burst with flavor. While my tomatoes brown patiently in the oven, I make the creamy mustard dressing and I chop the rest of the ingredients and the dinner is ready. Or the lunch. Or the brunch, if you’re as greedy as I am. I serve this lovely salad on a garlicky whole-wheat toast and I enjoy every last bite of it. Continue reading Butter Bean, Tuna and Cherry Tomato Salad

Roasted Pumpkin and Corn Salad

For me, autumn basically translates itself by pumpkin. Pumpkin soups and creams, pumpkin salads and stakes, pumpkin cakes, pies and smoothies. This humble and extremely versatile vegetable has won my heart through time, due to its lovely flavor, texture and sweetness. Undoubtedly, my favorite variety of pumpkin is Musquee de Provence, a French variety that I’ve been growing in my own veggie garden for years. This beautiful giant has a gorgeous burnt orange skin with teal patches and a deep-orange flesh. The flesh is delicious and flavorful and if it’s finely sliced, it can be served even raw. Continue reading Roasted Pumpkin and Corn Salad

Melon and Prosciutto Crudo Salad

This salad is actually a different approach to the classic “Prosciutto e Melone”, a very popular Italian antipasto. The smoked ham and the juicy melon are a wonderful combination, as the sweetness of the melon balances the saltiness of the ham. This combination is so simple but so complex in its own simplicity. So I took these two elements and I’ve integrated them in a summery salad. I added some juicy cherry tomatoes, some crunchy cucumber ribbons and some fresh mozzarella cheese. The result was a juicy, delicious and very satisfying salad. Extremely tasty and incredibly easy to make! Continue reading Melon and Prosciutto Crudo Salad

Vegan New Potato Salad

I’m a new potato lover and I’ve always been. I love them boiled, steamed, fried, roasted, it doesn’t matter how are they cooked, as long as I can still perceive that lovely nutty flavor. It’s not spring until I make a new potato salad and I prepare it at least once a week. Who am I kidding, I make it every other day! My all time favorite new potato salad is unbelievably flavorful, very satisfying and (funny enough) vegan. In this recipe I used new potatoes, which I’ve picked from my own garden and I boiled them in vegetable broth (you can only imagine the flavor on these guys). I mixed them with radishes, onion rings and roasted tomatoes and I dressed them with a fresh herb, olive oil and vegetable broth emulsion. Let’s get serious, what’s not to like? Continue reading Vegan New Potato Salad

Breakfast Burrito (Creamy Eggs, Smoked Salmon, Zucchini and Cherry Tomatoes)

I only have one unbreakable rule: never to skip breakfast; everyone around me knows that even the scariest monster looks like a pretty fairy when compared to “hungry myself”. I’ve never been picky, so I eat almost everything for breakfast, from milk and cereal, to fruit, veggies, cheese, meat products and pastry (preferably two pieces at a time and preferably anything with chocolate on top). Whenever I have a free half an hour, I make burritos with tortilla made from scratch. Even though each time I use different toppings, my favorite version is the one that has creamy eggs, salmon, sauted zucchini and cherry tomatoes. These creamy eggs are absolutely divine, they are so silky and buttery and they don’t have that rubbery texture that scrambled eggs sometimes have. I tell you, this combo is amazing! Continue reading Breakfast Burrito (Creamy Eggs, Smoked Salmon, Zucchini and Cherry Tomatoes)

Pasta Salad With Cherry Tomatoes and Snow Peas

Veggie pasta salad is a wonderful dish. It is a satisfying salad, as well as delicious and it tastes even better the next day. Regarding the ingredients, sky is the limit; you can add in your salad all kinds of veggies, herbs, dairy products or even fruit.

I tried to make my recipe healthier but I still wanted that rich taste, so I made a few changes. I used whole wheat fusilli, juicy cherry tomatoes and fresh snow peas and for the creamy dressing I used Greek yogurt, fresh mint and only 2 tablespoons of homemade mayo. The result was mouth-watering! Continue reading Pasta Salad With Cherry Tomatoes and Snow Peas

Stuffed Olives, Cherry Tomatoes and Zucchini Rolls Skewers

If you’ve never tasted crispy stuffed olives, I strongly suggest you to give them a try. They are so easy to prepare and they make such an elegant appetizer or even a picnic treat, or you can eat them in the middle of the night, standing in front of the fridge and scaring the family dog (true story, unfortunately). I stuffed my olives with cream cheese, black sesame seed and chives and I paired them with fresh cherry tomatoes and Pecorino Romano flavored zucchini rolls. Continue reading Stuffed Olives, Cherry Tomatoes and Zucchini Rolls Skewers

Pork Tagliata with Chimichurri Sauce and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Tagliata is a grilled or pan-fried sliced stake, generally made from pork or veal. I usually make my tagliata from pork shoulder because I find this cut easy to work with, unpretentious, yet absolutely stunning when prepared well. In this case, I brined the meat for 1 hour (I used this recipe) just to keep it moist long after slicing. I seasoned my steaks with demerara sugar and I fried it in olive oil. It may sound weird using sugar in this equation, but while cooking, the sugar caramelizes into a crispy and delicious crust. I served my steaks with a tangy parsley and basil chimichurri and some flavorful oven roasted cherry tomatoes. Continue reading Pork Tagliata with Chimichurri Sauce and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Baked Milanese Pork Chops With Aïoli Sauce and Arugula Salad

I might have the perfect recipe for Milanese Pork Chops! Why do I dare to call them “perfect”? Because these beauties have a flavorful crispy crust, so crispy that you would never believe that they are baked and not fried. The juicy and tender meat is coated with a golden crust made from whole-wheat bread crumbs, parmesan and thyme. So, in my humble opinion, this dish is the perfect lunch: easy to make, satisfying and very healthy. Continue reading Baked Milanese Pork Chops With Aïoli Sauce and Arugula Salad

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Tag: cherry tomatoes