Tomato-Basil-Mozzarella Stacks

Taken from the cookbook called "Stacks: the art of vertical food" by Deborah Fabricant

Roasted Vine Tomatoes, Pesto, Mozzarella di Bufala, and Pine Nuts with Sundried Tomato Vinaigrette
Yield: 6 servings


Planning Ahead
-Prepare the roasted tomatoes the day before
-Prepare the pesto the day before and chill, covered with plastic wrap
-Prepare the vinaigrette the day before and chill
-Assemble the stacks 2 hours prior to serving and chill

Tip: to cut the mozzarella use a taut piece of dental floss

Ingredients:
8 tomatoes, 3 inches in diameter, sliced into 24 equal rounds, discarding the end pieces
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
24 fresh basil leaves
12 slices mozzarella di bufala, 1/4 inch thick
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
3/4 cup pesto
1 cup sundried tomato vinaigrette
1 tomato, seeded and diced for garnish

Advance Preparation:
Preheat oven to 250. Spread 18 of the tomato slices in 1 layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Reserve the remaining tomato slices for the stack base. Sprinkle the slices with salt and pepper and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Bake 2-3 hours, or until the slices are slightly dried but still moist. Cool.

Assembly
Spray 6 stack cylinders with vegetable spray and place them on a sheet pan. Layer the stacks in the following order: 1 fresh tomato slice, 2 basil leaves, 1 slice mozzarella, 2 teaspoons pine nuts, 1 tablespoon pesto, 1 roasted tomato slice. Repeat the layers beginning with the basil and ending with the third roasted tomato slice. Press down gently but firmly and refrigerate until serving time.
To serve cold, slide a spatula under each stack cylinder and transfer to a serving plate, unmold, garnish with the additional basil and pine nuts, and spoon viaigrette around the base. Spoon tiny dots of additional pesto around the edge of the plate and serve.
To serve warm, place the stacks in a pre-heated oven set at 350 for 10 minutes, or until heated through. Slide a spatula under each stack cylinder and transfer to a serving plate. Unmold, garnish with diced tomatoes, spoon vinaigrette and additional pesto around the base, and serve.

Sundried Tomato Vinaigrette
Yield: about 1 cup

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1/4 cup drained and diced oil-packed sundried tomatoes
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

to make the vinaigrette, place the mustard, vinegar, and garlic in a bowl and whisk until blended. Slowly add the olive oil, whisking until blended and thickened. Stir in the parsley, sundried tomatoes, salt and pepper. The vinaigrette will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for about 4 days.

Shortcut Stacks
-purchase a quality pesto
-purchase a tomato vinaigrette
-use drained oil-packed sundried tomatoes in place of the roasted tomatoes

So this one has its pros and cons. The pros would be that it tastes delicious and it looks gorgeous. The con is that it is very difficult to eat. I mean, there is just no way to cut it. It all falls apart, and then you're left with a slightly messy tomato-mozzarella-basil salad, which tastes really good, but if you served it on a small plate, you would have tomato all over your table. The other con is that it takes eight tomatoes, and at $2.49 a pound, we're talking like $20 of tomatoes. And for cheapskates like me, thats too much money to spend for one dish... sorry. I really should start growing my own tomatoes, I would never run out of things to do with them. Anyway, delicious and pretty, but hard to eat.