Traditional Caprese salad doesn’t have pesto, balsamic, loads of herbs or other ingredients, it’s just fantastic tomatoes, mozzarella di bufala campana, basil, extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper. That is all you need for the most amazing, light, bright, fresh mouthful of summer. When you see the tomatoes in season, it’s time to jump at this perfect vegetarian lunch dish and KISS! (Keep It Simple, Stupid!)

Caprese Salad – Mozzarella, Tomato and Basil

Gavin Wren Recipes, Salads, Small Bites, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Today, I revisit the world of beautiful Italian simplicity, the Caprese Salad. Borne out of luscious hot summers that gift the Italian land with amazing tomatoes, they marry with thick wedges of traditional Mozzarella di Bufala Campana perfectly, creating a dish that deserves only the best ingredients, and nothing else will do. Along with it’s stablemate, the Tricolore Salad, the Caprese sits in the throne of elegant beauty amongst dishes, so often bastardised by those who don’t know better. On the other hand, you, my friend, do know better, or at least you will do, in about 730 words time.

Last year I published a rant about how Italian food is debased by people’s interpretations of it. Italian dishes often require just a few ingredients, which makes them incredibly accessible and simple, but they should be the most amazing examples of the ingredients that you can find.

Balsamic roasted peppers with goat's cheese and basil make a beautifully summery side salad or vegetarian picnic dish, the vibrant colours and simple preparation make a star dish that requires very little input to create.

Roasted Pepper Goat’s Cheese Salad

Gavin Wren Recipes, Salads, Side dishes, Vegetarian

I’ve probably stated that lots of recipes are easy, but this roasted pepper goat’s cheese salad really is. It honestly ticks the simplicity box with a big, fat ‘X’, especially if you save time and use pre-roasted peppers. But even if you decide to roast your own, it’s a pretty straightforward affair, if you have other things to do in the kitchen whilst you wait for the peppers to take on their delicious, sweet, summery …

sun dried tomato pesto rosso serving ideas

Sun dried tomato pesto – pesto rosso

Gavin Wren Basic Ingredients, Recipes, Spreads & Dips, Vegan, Vegetarian

A few weeks ago I posted a traditional pesto recipe and spent some time ruminating on the bastardisation of recipes. This week, I’m going to continue the pesto theme with a recipe for a delicious sun dried tomato pesto, or pesto rosso. I would love to say this is a traditional Italian recipe adhering to the specific ingredients handed down through generations by all Italian chefs, however I’m not sure that’s not entirely possible. Whilst …

Traditional Italian pesto

Traditional Italian pesto

Gavin Wren Basic Ingredients, Recipes, Spreads & Dips, Vegetarian

There are many, many recipes on the internet going under traditional names which can only be described as bastardised. This comes in various guises, such as dairy, gluten, sugar free examples that I confess to having created on occasion, where you could argue the essence of a dish is compromised by the very removal of that element. Alternatively, people take a traditional recipe and affect some kind of alternative, contemporary slant on it, whilst retaining …

Quick sea bass with torn basil and smoked salt

Super quick sea bass

Gavin Wren Fish & Shellfish, Recipes

If there’s one thing I’ve noticed about food bloggers (and I’m probably guilty of it too), it’s that we have a predilection for over stating how easy our recipes are. It’s like a USP, which has to be professed at all costs to help draw your reading eyes and cooking hands into the world of our blogs. The problem is that it’s not always true. Sometimes the ‘easy’ recipes are only easy if compared to …

Spinach and walnut pesto with wholemeal pasta

Spinach and walnut pesto

Gavin Wren Basic Ingredients, Main Dishes, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Hello folks. Another straightforward recipe for you today, one whose big, powerful flavours bely it’s simplicity. This is something that you can whizz up in the time it takes your pasta to cook and tastes a million times better than anything you might pour from a jar. You just need a blender and your ingredients to hand and you can have this pesto ready to eat in minutes. It also falls into a theme on …