Caprese Napoleon.

The fresh basil.  The juicy tomato.  The good quality olive oil…

Oddly, fresh cheeses like mozzarella are a cornerstone of caprese or tomato Napoleon dishes, but my first experience with this culinary concept was as a raw vegan following Susan Power’s dairy free recipe in “Rawmazing”. Under her direction, I substituted the fresh mozzarella for my own nut butter “cheese” with nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and organic cashews macerated in a frustratingly slow speed blender with my woeful collection of kitchen gadgetry.  

Painstakingly, I layered my vegan “cheese” with basil and freshly cut Roma tomatoes.

It’s years later and I am no longer a vegan.  

So real mozzarella stood a chance when I wanted to recreate that dish.

But in addition to reverting back to the ways of a hungry omnivore, I’m also now a lazier, hungry omnivore.

So if I can get all the same flavors with significantly less work…. why not just throw it all in a bowl and eat it like a salad?

And since I’m not vegan anymore and enjoying real cheese… why not include bacon?

The recipe is an approximation.  

• Cherry tomatoes: one pint
• Mozzarella: one pack of fresh pearls
• Bacon: 3-4 strips
• Onion
• Olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar
• Basil – as fresh as possible
• Salt/pepper to taste
• Other seasonings you may desire

I aim for an equal portion of tomatoes to mozzarella pearls in each bite.  

I find one pint of cherry tomatoes cut in half and one package of mozzarella pearls is a perfect proportion.  Occasionally, I find myself with slightly larger tomatoes and have been known to third or quarter them to get the proportion right.

The bacon – like the oil and vinegar – can be as sparse or as generous as you would like.

Fresh basil is best; for penultimate taste, basil paste can be used. (But it’s the middle of winter and I am cheap… frugal so we are using what I have on hand.  The dried herb.)

The salad can be prepared ahead of time by cutting up your components or even going as far as combining your tomatoes, cheese, and onion, but I would avoid adding the bacon until you are ready to serve.