Sunday, August 11, 2013

Marinated Buffalo Mozzarella with Tomato


Last week my kids went back to school.  My daughter was really psyched for her first day of seventh grade at the middle school.  My son was really excited for his first day of first grade.  I was super prepped, really organized (for the first time ever), and fairly confident that all would go well.  Everyone really had a positive attitude and all was good.  Then the first day of school came and it was pretty much a nightmare.

Turns out my son's first grade teacher isn't real good at anything, especially when it comes to following safety and health guidelines.  For those of you that don't know, my son has severe food allergies and certain procedures are supposed to be followed at school. To sum things up, the teacher followed none of the procedures or rules.  In fact, she violated every single one and then some.  It made for a very frustrating and worrisome week.  It was also quite surprising because I've always felt like child safety is one of the strong suits at this particular elementary school.  I ended up having my first trip to the principal's office, but I think the issues are finely under control.  I certainly hope so, anyway.

Prior to all the problems, I had hoped to enjoy lots of time in my kitchen while the kids were in school.  However, all the issues caused so much concern I barely had time to slice a tomato and make a quick marinade.  Lucky for me, that's pretty much all that was needed for a fresh and flavorful light meal. 

This recipe was definitely a bright spot in my week.  I was able to pick the tomatoes and herbs right from my own backyard.  Making this dish was somewhat therapeutic for me.  There's no way you can look at all those bright colors and fresh flavors and not be happy.  I served the marinated mozzarella and fresh tomatoes over some good crusty bread.  It was crazy delicious!  I'd definitely recommend taking advantage of the fresh summer tomatoes and herbs right now.  Choose this recipe, or a similar recipe, and you will absolutely brighten your day!


Marinated Buffalo Mozzarella with Tomato
Adapted from Plenty
by Yotam Ottolenghi
Serves 4 as a starter

Marinade 
grated zest of 1 lemon
15 basil leaves, shredded
2 teaspoons chopped oregano
2 teaspoons best-quality extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to finish
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
salt and pepper

8-9 ounces buffalo mozzarella
2 ripe medium tomatoes 


To make the marinade: Add the marinade ingredients to a small bowl.  Mix thoroughly.  Break the mozzarella roughly with your hands.  Smear it with the marinade and set aside for 15 - 30 minutes.

To serve, cut the tomatoes into wedges and plate along with the marinated mozzarella.  Drizzle with extra olive oil.  Serve with good crusty bread.

Theme: Gorgeously Green!

11 comments:

  1. Glad you went to the Principal's office and made your concerns known. This teacher should have gotten an earful from the Principal and will, hopefully, mend her ways.

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  2. I hope you got it all straightened out with his teacher! We have some school districts around here that have gone completely peanut free to help with allergies.

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  3. Glad to read that all should return to normal this early school year. I can only imagine the stress you were feeling-sorry for that.

    This is summer perfection and it always serve as proof that a few simple ingredients can make you say wow!

    Velva

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  4. That is unfortunate about your start to the school year and intro to your son's teacher. Hopefully she has learned a lesson.

    This looks like the perfect dinner to me--like a slightly tricked-out Caprese. ;-)

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  5. I love this combination, it really is a classic that you can't go past & with fresh tomatoes out of the back garden makes it even more perfect.
    And I do hope things get a lot less worrisome at school:)

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  6. Hi Kim,
    Sorry to hear about your first week of "nightmare" in your son's school! Glad to hear that a visit to the principal's office managed to straightened things out!
    Your salad looks wonderful, I have never tried buffalo mozzarella before, this is one ingredient that I think I would have problem getting!
    Harvesting from your own garden is the best! So envious of your tomatoes!
    Thanks for sharing, and hope that everything will be smooth sailing with your son's teacher!

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  7. That's awful, about the safety issues at your son't school. Like we don't worry enough about our kids when they are outta our sight! Good for you tackling this straight away and I sure hope life improves in that arena. And did you say your daughter started 7th grade?! How fast did that go?!

    Love the idea of harvesting tomatoes and herbs from the yard, that is a lovely thing to head out back and pick your own produce. I keep an herb garden going all the time :-) Thanks for the good wishes on the grandbaby!!

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  8. So sorry to hear about your distressing week. Hopefully no more visits to the principal's office will be required.
    And I agree that garden fresh tomatoes and herbs would brighten anyone's day. Lovely dish!

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  9. I would have raised hell if I were you! A kid's allergies are NOT a thing to be taken lightly!

    That marinated mozz sounds amazing!!! I'm so glad you had time to make it even amidst all the drama!

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  10. Gosh, Kim. How stressful. I hope that this teacher will now move forward following safety measures. I'm sorry you had to go through such a shocker.
    The marinated mozzarella sounds delicious and looks so beautiful. Of course, it is made even more special since so many of the ingredients came from your garden. School starts for us tomorrow. Kinda odd to start on a Friday.

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  11. I think you're exaggerating "broke every safety rule" aren't you? I'm picturing kids juggling chainsaws, lighting fireworks, and enriching uranium into u-238 ;) :) :0

    Just kidding, I know how serious it is. Hope it runs smoothly from here on out.

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