Chopped Caprese
These Sungold Cherry Tomatoes, tucked inside my CSA box, were the inspiration for today’s post. I love little tiny tomatoes, and these ones deliver huge flavor in a vibrant, exciting color. 
One of the best ways to highlight the flavor and texture of a great tomato is a simple Caprese salad. Usually a larger tomato is used, one similar in size to a slice of fresh mozzarella cheese, but this time we are going to make a chopped Caprese so that we can utilize these cherry tomatoes and feature their awesome flavor in a more accessible and portable way!
In this recipe you also get to enjoy the aromatic goodness of fresh organically grown basil from Sage Mountain Farm. I think that the smell of basil is the perfect smell of summer. If you love basil check out our Strawberry Basil Lemonade! it’s great for a change from the traditional.
Speaking of breaking with tradition, this salad not only is chopped, but it also uses firm tofu instead of mozzarella cheese. Now if you are a purist, please use the cheese, but if you’re up for something different or just prefer to keep dairy at arm’s length, then read on farm blog followers…
I followed the method for “curing” the tofu from the Vegan Caprese Salad recipe on the Whole Foods Website. So to deal with your tofu, please visit that link and then come back here to continue. A note: the Whole Foods recipe calls for white balsamic, and I used regular (you know, the dark-brown-almost-black-deliciousness that can be used on many treats, both savory and sweet).
So once you have your tofu (or mozzarella if you really couldn’t help yourself, lol) ready, then simply cube it up into pieces roughly similar to the size of the cherry tomatoes when halved.
Halve your cherry tomatoes, all of them that are left after snacking on them straight from the container…yes, I saw you eat them…
Pull basil leaves off their stems until you are tired of doing it, or you’ve got a big ‘ole pile. Stack several leaves together then roll ’em up like a tiny log. Use a knife to slice them narrowly into strips, it’s called chiffonade, or simply give them a good choppy-chop.
Toss all of the components in a big bowl; halved tomatoes, cured tofu cubes, and chopped or “chiffonaded” basil. Then I added salt and pepper to taste and a little more balsamic love, also to taste.
Stir, serve, eat!
This can be a great picinic/potluck bring along item and it staysjust fine in the fridge overnight. Caution, while awesomely delicious, if left for more than a day in the fridge the basil begins to oxidize and will not be vibrantly green. Nothing to worry about though, because it never lasts that long anyhow…
Yes, it’s that good.
