- I don't know how, but mine tastes better than my sister's.
(Natasha laughs)
I first tried this cucumber, tomato mozzarella salad
at my sister Svetlana's house for a barbecue
and I knew I had to have the recipe, and here it is.
Plus, you guys are gonna love the dressing.
So simple.
And you can count the ingredients on one hand
if you include salt and pepper, all right?
Let's get started.
Start by cutting your cherry tomatoes in half.
I highly recommend using a serrated knife,
which will make the process much easier.
Also, here's a tip on how to slice them really fast.
You'll need two plastic lids.
Set the tomatoes in a single layer over the first lid.
Pack them in so they fit snugly,
then cover with the second lid.
Put your hand over the top lid to keep it steady,
then slice through your cherry tomatoes
with the serrated knife.
It cuts them in half perfectly.
And once I learned this trick,
I used cherry tomatoes way more often in my cooking.
Transfer those to a mixing bowl.
Next, you'll need half of a large English cucumber
or you can use three small garden cucumbers instead.
I like to cut the cucumber
in quarters first lengthwise, then slice.
Add those to your mixing bowl with the tomatoes.
Next, you'll need one large avocado.
The safest way to remove the pit is to cut it in half,
twist the avocado to open it up,
Then we're gonna cut it into quarters.
From here, the pit will pop right out.
On a ripe avocado, the skins should peel right off.
Dice up your avocado and add it to the mixing bowl.
And if you don't already have one,
I love my bench scraper for prepping salads.
It's kind of like having another hand in the kitchen.
Next, you'll need eight ounces or one cup
of fresh mozzarella pearls.
You can also use the larger mozzarella balls
and cut them in half
or use a block of fresh mozzarella and dice it up.
I love using the pearls because it's easier.
It saves a step.
You just pop them right into the salad.
(laughs) Hold on.
(upbeat music)
Now you'll need some fresh basil leaves.
And basil is a delicate herb,
so it's important to cut it properly.
Start by stacking your clean leaves.
Roll them up into a tight little log.
Use a sharp knife to slice the basil into thin strips.
This is also called a chiffonade cut.
You also don't wanna go back over your basil
with the knife after it's chopped.
Just add it to the salad bowl.
The dressing for this tomato mozzarella salad
will win you over.
In a small dish, combine three tablespoons
of extra virgin olive oil
with one tablespoon of balsamic vinegar,
half a teaspoon of salt,
a quarter teaspoon of black pepper,
and press or finely chop one garlic clove.
Whenever I'm making a salad dressing,
I do like to either crush the garlic clove
with a garlic press
or grate it.
This way you don't get any big bits of garlic
in your salad dressing.
And also, the little bit of juice
that comes out of the garlic
makes the flavor of the dressing even better.
I like to add all of the dressing for this amount of salad,
then just toss until it's well combined.
All that's left is to stir it together
and coat every bite in that amazing dressing.
And my sister said the secret here is the garlic.
So do not skip it.
It adds a lot of flavor.
It's amazing what one little garlic clove can do, right?
All right, load it up.
Oh, I love this.
Freshness for summer.
And wait until you try this with garden-grown veggies.
Cucumbers and tomatoes, oh, my favorite.
I could literally eat this salad all summer long
and never get tired of it.
I mean, look at this.
It's got a little bit of everything,
and everything in here is just a winning combination.
My husband's over there looking jealous.
You want some of this?
The salad (laughs).
Okay, here we go.
And the fresh basil in here is goals, you guys.
If you have to substitute,
I mean, I guess you could do chives, or what else?
Parsley.
But basil is so good.
It gives this Italian flavor to it.
Super fresh.
I just want a little bit of everything on my fork.
That's why it took me so long.
Okay, here we go.
(upbeat music continues)
Mm.
(upbeat music continues)
Oh.
(upbeat music continues)
Wowsers.
My sister hit the jackpot with this salad.
Thanks, Svetlana. (laughs)
It's really, really wonderful.
You can really taste that little bit of garlic in there.
It's not overpowering
'cause we let it sit in the dressing for a minute.
And that little bit of balsamic vinegar (mouth clicks).
Perfect dressing, I'm telling you.
And so easy.
Especially using that little trick with the tomatoes,
the salad comes together in, like, five minutes, okay?
I'm gonna go eat the rest of this. I want this so bad.
It is calling my name.
Let me know where you guys spotted Sharkie in the video.
And if you guys love this salad,
you are absolutely gonna love that one right over there.
So check it out.
And one of my favorite chapters in my new cookbook,
dun dun dun, is the salad section.
We have so many great new salads in there.
Must-try, can't-miss kind of salads.
I will leave a link to this in the notes,
and we'll see you on the next episode of Natasha's Kitchen.
(upbeat music continues)
I don't know how, but mine tastes better than my sister's.
Don't tell her (laughs).