Caprese-Style BLTs

DC woke up with a migraine this morning and I am still recuperating of a week's worth of sleep deprivation (getting 5 or fewer hrs. of sleep per night) so we got quite a late start this morning. We went out for brunch around 2 and got home around 3:30, so my thoughts (and stomach) did not turn to dinner until about 7:30. I was feeling hungry, but not ravenous, and in the mood for something non-fussy.

For some reason, I've had a craving for BLTs lately, but wanted to think of a way to dress it up enough that I could get away with calling it dinner. I thought it would be fun to play with the idea of a caprese-salad style BLT. Caprese salad is one of my favorite things about summer, when sweet, ripe and sun-warm tomatoes are plentiful, along with fragrant basil. And of course, the divine creaminess of fresh mozzarella (I swear I could just sit down and eat about 1/2 lb. plain, all by myself). For dinner tonight, I whipped up some open-face Caprese-style BLTs, with fresh basil chiffonade standing in for the lettuce.




To start, I toasted some sliced semolina bread (from WF). I spread each slice with a generous slather of basil pesto.

To spice things up a bit, I added some thinly-sliced hot Genoa salami.


I would have preferred some hot Sopressata, but WF was out. I topped the pesto and salami with some fresh sliced tomatoes, and topped them with some fresh basil chiffonade, along with salt, pepper, and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.


The tomatoes were crowned with crisp bacon and velvety slices of fresh mozzarella.

I ran the sandwiches under the broiler to melt the cheese.



This is DC's plate, after drizzling the sandwiches with sme balsamic vinegar:



This dish was perfect for tonight-- simple, flavorful, and quick. The hot salami added a nice touch to the sandwich. If I'd had time, I would have marinated the fresh mozzarella slices in some balsamic vinegar, more sliced fresh basil, red pepper flakes, and a little olive oil. That would have brought a lot to the party. I make a really tasty and tender foccacia style bread, and this sandwich would have been fantastic on that bread, split.

This combination would also make an awesome grilled pizza. Alas, I no longer have a bbq grill, but if I did, I would definitely be coming up with a margherita-style grilled pizza. My little sammies are yet another example of how the simplest dishes can be the most delicious, with just a few great flavors and textures. The combination of the melty, gooey cheese, the juicy tomatoes, and the crisp bacon was amazing. Yum-o!!!

Easy, and scrumptions.