I’m sure if anybody from Capri heard about this dish, they’d all jump up collectively and scream…

“This dish ain’t from here!”

Except they’d say it in Italian. With hand gestures. And wild gesticulations.

Capri is an island off the coast of Italy, in the Mediterranean. I was conceived there; my Dad was helping with the reconstruction of Europe after World War II, and he and my mom stopped by Capri before they came to the States.

Caprese salad originated in Capri in the 1950s; it’s a simple salad with tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil, with a drizzle of olive oil. 

I made baked tomatoes last week; I stuffed them with Parmigiano cheese, panko breadcrumbs, parsley, and garlic. They were so good. Delizioso!

And then, a couple nights ago, I was thinking…why not do the same thing, but with mozzarella and pesto, kinda like a baked Caprese salad. Or a pizza without the dough!

So that’s what I did. They turned out great; and it was quick, simple, and delizioso.

You’re gonna need about ¼ cup of pesto sauce. I highly recommend Slim Man’s All-Purpose Pesto Sauce, the recipe and video are at slimmancooks.com, Free for All Slim People.

INGREDIENTS

2 tomatoes, ripe and beautiful, top button removed, cut in half, seeds scooped out

1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs (I used plain)

¼ cup pesto sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/3 pound mozzarella, sliced in strips

Small handful of fresh basil leaves

A drizzle of olive oil

Salt and fresh cracked black pepper

HERE WE GO!

Preheat the oven to 450.

Put the tomatoes in a baking dish, drizzle each with a little olive oil, add salt and fresh cracked black pepper.

Put the breadcrumbs, the pesto, and the olive oil in a bowl, mix ‘em up.

Spoon some of the pesto/panko mixture into each tomato; spread some on top.

Put the dish in the oven for 15 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.

When they are, take the dish out of the oven.

Turn the oven to broil.

Put some mozzarella on top of each tomato; don’t cover the tomato top completely, let some of the breadcrumbs remain visible.

Put the tomatoes under the broiler FOR A MINUTE! Keep your eyes on these guys, don’t burn them.

Take the dish out of the oven.

Take a scissors, snip some basil on top of each tomato.

Add a drizzle of olive oil, a touch of salt, and some fresh cracked black pepper.

Dish it up! Add a basil leaf, make it look nice! And…

MANGIAMO!!!!!!!