PLAYING WITH MY FOOD – TOMATO CARPACCIO

I picked up these gorgeous tomatoes over the weekend and was going to make a simple tomato salad. But the colors were so inspiring that I decided to play a little bit and dress a large plate with very thin slices of tomatoes. Then I mixed up a basil-pistachio pesto to season with. I love basil! Its smell reminds me of summer, of Sicily, of the hot sun, and of all the amazing Sicilian dishes. Along with garlic, I’d happily put basil in anything and everything I cook!

There is hardly a recipe to give you here, this is so simple but the colors look so pretty.

What you’ll need to serve 2:

• 3-4 heirloom tomatoes of different colors
• a good glug of your best quality extra virgin olive oil
• Himalaya salt, freshly ground pepper
• a good pinch of oregano
• a sprinkling of play

For the basil pistachio pesto:

• a large well-packed handful of fresh basil leaves (plus leave a few leaves for decoration)
• 2 tbs unsalted pistachio nuts
• 4 tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Himalaya salt and pepper

1. Slice the tomatoes thinly using a sharp knife and arrange on a large plate.
2. Once you have discarded the stems, wash the basil leaves and dry them. In your food processor combine the basil leaves, pistachio nuts, olive oil, lemon, salt, and pepper.
3. Drizzle your tomatoes with some olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano, and add a large dollop of the basil-pistachio pesto on the middle of your platter. Decorate with the remaining basil leaves. Enjoy the sight and the taste!

Note: I have a small food processor that I can use for mixing very small quantities – if you have only a large bowl you can make a larger quantity of the dressing and refrigerate the leftover, it keeps fresh for a couple of days. You can use the dressing on your bruschetta slices, your Caprese salad, on your next pasta dish, or even upgrade your good old grilled chicken or turkey breast slices for a tastier Mediterranean-inspired dish.