Green Chile Pesto Caprese Salads Recipe Recipe
Green Chile Pesto Caprese Salads Recipe
Green chiles and tomatoes are a perfect pair for a Southwest Caprese Salad. I’ve used my Green Chile Pesto Recipe to put a Spaghetti Western spin on a salad fit for Clint Eastwood, himself.
“Salad! We don’t need no stinking salads!” Oooops… that was a different western movie. But, I’m sure many of the wranglers at your house feel the same way. My boys? Can’t get them near your average salad. It wasn’t until my oldest son was old enough (an perhaps brave enough) to sell me it was the lettuce he hated and not the salad.
That little bit of bravery opened up a whole world of fun and inventive salads. I know this caprese salad looks like your average, run of the mill tomato and mozzarella but, it has one thing that the others don’t… Green Chile Pesto! Yum! I use it in all sorts of dishes, pastas, sandwiches, etc.
It is also a great way to “kick up” this salad for Spaghetti Western Week. Slice the salad “fancy like” and it is fit for a Clint Eastwood birthday celebration or for the “dudes” in your family.
Green Chile Pesto Caprese Salads Recipe Author: Sandy Hoopes Recipe type: Salad Cuisine: Southwest
4 medium tomatoes (stem on, if possible) 2 balls of fresh mozzarella 8 ounces each Salt Fresh cracked black pepper ½ cup green chile peso or basil pesto 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 1 cup baby arugula leaves FOR THE GREEN CHILE PESTO 1 large, fresh poblano chile, roasted and peeled 1 large, fresh Anaheim chile, roasted and peeled 4 cloves garlic, sliced ¼ pine nuts or mild nut such as cashew or walnut, toasted ¼ cilantro or parsley leaves, chopped ¼ cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated ¼ teaspoon cumin ¼ to ½ cup light olive oil Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Rinse and dry the tomatoes and slice crosswise into slices slightly under ½ inch thick but more than ¼ (so they hold up well when stacked). Slice the mozzarella cheese in the same manner as the tomatoes. Assemble the salads by placing the bottom of a tomato on the serving plate. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and diced arugula. Place a round of mozzarella on the tomato, drizzle with pesto and a few drops of balsamic vinegar. Top the cheese with a tomato slice and repeat the layers until you have recreated the shape of the tomato and place finish with the top of the tomato. Garnish the plate with drizzles of pesto, dots of balsamic and a few arugula leaves. Serve at room temperature for the cheese to have maximum flavor. FOR THE PESTO: Roast and peel the chiles (for more direction, see How to Roast Chiles on Everyday Southwest). Remove the stems and seeds, chop into large pieces and place in a food processor. Add the garlic, pine nuts, cilantro or parsley leaves. Pulse until the chile mixture is coarse, but well minced. Add the grated parmesan cheese and cumin. Drizzle the olive oil in while processing the chile mixture to a smooth texture. Start with ¼ of the oil for a thicker, paste type pesto. Add more oil to the pesto if you would prefer a "runnier" texture, add more oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Adjust with more cumin if desired. 3.2.1311
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—posted by Sandy
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