Summer Salad

Make a tower of the tastiest summer tomatos

When you can buy the tastiest tomatoes in all colors and sizes, this salad makes a showpiece. Find the tiniest tomatoes you can and the most colorful heirlooms and layer everything into a little tower. Serves 4.

Ingredients

• 1 small firm eggplant cut into 3/8-inch thick slices

• 4 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

• 3 heirloom tomatoes, ripe and in different colors

  (red, orange and purple)

• 1 cup of tiny tomatoes in red and orange

• 2 balls of buffalo mozzarella sliced in 3/8 inch thick slices

• fresh basil leaves

• 4 tablespoons of blue cheese crumbles

• 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

• chives snipped into 1/4 inch long pieces

• salt and pepper

• edible flower petals (optional)

• caramelized balsamic vinegar

• green pesto oil

Instructions

Whisk together the oil and vinegar. Toss the eggplant slices in the mixture to coat.

Toast the pine nuts: place them in a skillet on low heat until they are golden. Be careful not to burn them.

Grill the eggplant on a stovetop grill pan with the ridges or on a conventional grill until they are tender and cooked.

Assemble the salad by layering the ingredients. You can experiment and do this many ways. A suggested order:

• Eggplant slice

• Mozzarella slice, salted and peppered

• Fresh basil leaves

• Red tomato slice, salted and peppered

• Eggplant slice

• Yellow tomato slice, salted and peppered

• Mozzarella slice, salted and peppered

• Fresh basil leaves

• Purple tomato slice, salted and peppered

Arrange a few tiny tomatoes around the base, and then sprinkle the tower and base of each salad with 1 tablespoon blue cheese crumbles, 2 teaspoons of pine nuts and some chives.

Decorate with the caramelized balsamic vinegar and basil oil and sprinkle a few edible flower petals over everything.