Pacific Spice Winter Caprese #CulinaryCam #Sponsored

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Quail & Olive.
Complimentary product was provided for this post and this page may contain affiliate links.
However, all opinions expressed here are my own.

 

Caprese salad - named for Capri, an island on the south side of the Gulf of Naples - is on our table from the moment tomatoes are ripe in the late Spring until they start to get mealy in the late Autumn. This year, we are still getting tomatoes in our garden and Thanksgiving is this month!

I'm not sure how many changes you can make to a recipe and still have it be called by the original name. Insalata Caprese is traditionally buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes, and fresh basil, all dressed simply with olive oil. 

But, we make variations throughout tomato season. I turn them into skewers. I have used it as a filling between grilled eggplant. And it's easily my family's favorite summertime salad. I drizzle whatever vinegar I have on-hand for an added pop of flavor.

So, when I stopped in at The Quail & Olive* and saw the Pacific Spice Vinegar, I immediately came up with an idea for a 'winter' caprese that adds fresh sliced kiwi to our favorite salad. Here in California we start seeing kiwis in the markets in late October and get them until early March or so. You will want to pick ones that are just soft enough to indent when you press on them, but firm enough to hold their shape so you can slice them.

Pacific Spice Vinegar is made with hand-picked organic kiwis grown in Atascadero. The spiciness is from chiles grown at Chaparral Garden also in Atascadero. This vinegar has a nice tart flavor up front with some chile pepper heat on the back end.

We have also filmed a clip of this recipe. Once it's available on our Culinary Cam YouTube channel, I'll link to it here. Make this as a single serving with just one kiwi, one tomato, and one mozzarella ball. Or create a platter to share. I didn't include quantities for this recipe because it's really up to you how large or small you want to make it!

Ingredients

• fresh tomatoes, thickly sliced
• fresh kiwi, peeled and thickly sliced
• fresh mozzarella, thickly sliced
• fresh basil leaves
• salt and pepper, to taste
• olive oil (I used The Doctor's Blend)
• vinegar (I used the Pacific Spice Vinegar)

Procedure

Arrange tomatoes, basil, mozzarella and kiwi on a plate or platter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar.

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*Disclosure: I receive compensation in the form of complimentary products for recipe development 

and generating social media traction. All opinions are my own.