SLC25-W3 // "Caprese Salad."

Assalamo Alaikom

I’m @isha-rehman and I hope you are all doing well healthy and happy. Today I’m excited to participate in the Salad Chef Contest Week 3 where we are making one of the most famous and simple salads in the world: the Caprese Salad (Ensalada Caprese).

This salad is very colorful fresh and easy to make. It comes from Italy and uses only a few ingredients but the taste is amazing. Let me share my version with you.

Utensils I Used:

Here are the kitchen tools I used to prepare this salad:

1 cutting board
1 sharp knife
1 plate for serving
1 small bowl for mixing the dressing
1 spoon for pouring the dressing

Ingredients:

Main Ingredients:

2 medium tomatoes
100 grams mozzarella cheese
A handful of fresh basil leaves

For the Dressing:

Olive oil
Salt
Black pepper
Balsamic vinegar
How I Made My Caprese Salad

Wash and clean:

I carefully washed the tomatoes and basil leaves with clean water.

Slice the ingredients:

I cut the tomato and mozzarella cheese into round slice about 1 cm thick. I made sure the slice look neat for good presentation.

Blanch the basil leaves:

I put the basil leaves into hot water for a few seconds then quickly into cold water. This helps to keep the color bright green and the taste fresh. After that I dried the leaves gently with a clean cloth.

Arrange everything on the plate:

On the plate I placed the tomato cheese and basil leaves in a pattern — one after another — to make it look colorful and neat.

Add the dressing:

In a small bowl I mix olive oil salt black pepper and a few drop of balsamic vinegar. I gentle pour it over the salad.

And thats it

My Caprese Salad is ready. It looks beautiful with red white and green colors — just like the flag of Italy 🇮🇹 and tastes light fresh and healthy!

Was this my first time making Caprese Salad?

Yes this is my first time making it all by myself.
Before I had only seen it in pictures or videos. I was surprise by how easy and quick it is to make. And the taste was better than I expected The sweet tomatoe creamy mozzarella and fresh basil make a perfect combination. I will definitely make it again especially in summer.

Health Benefits of the Ingredients:

Here are some health benefits of the main ingredients:

Tomato:

Full of vitamin C good for the skin helps digestion and is rich in antioxidants like lycopene. Also very low in calorie.

Mozzarella cheese

A good source of protein and calcium which help keeped bones strong. Also provides energy and a creamy taste.

Basil leaves:

These leaves smell amazing! They have anti-inflammatory properties help in digestion and are rich in vitamin K and antioxidants.

Estimated Price in Steem (approx.):

2 Tomatoes: 0.30 STEEM
100g Mozzarella: 0.80 STEEM
Fresh Basil: 0.20 STEEM
Total: 1.30 STEEM (approx.)
Prices may vary depending on location.

My Special Tips for This Salad:

Use fresh mozzarella for best taste and textured. If you dont have it you can use paneer or other soft white cheese.
Let the salad rest for 5 to 10 minute after add the dressing. It help the flavor mix better.
Cut the tomato and cheese slice of the same thicknes for a nicer presentation.
Serve the salad immediately so the basil leave stay fresh and green.

Thank you to @dasudi and the amazing Salad Chef Team for this creative and healthy contest.
I had so much fun making this recipe and I learned something new too. cant wait for the next challenge.

i am inviting my friends: @ruthjoe @ayesha786 @neelofar