When Not in Rome

When in Rome or when not in Rome, do as the Romans do, eat tomatoes! The other day I found some great tomatoes and basil at the fruit stand near my house in Madrid. I left them out for a few days to ripen, and today they were perfect. Then I went to a small Italian gourmet shop that I recently discovered in my neighborhood and got myself authentic mozzarella di bufala.

This evening I put them all together and prepared an insalata caprese, or tomato, basil, and mozzarella salad. I peeled and sliced the tomatoes and put them in the refrigerator for an hour to cool just below room temperature. They were sweet and just right — no need at all to even add salt. I barely even added any olive oil or pepper.

There is nothing like fresh, peeled, sweet tomatoes in the summer for dinner, especially when the sun goes down and it’s still 90ºF.