JANUARY 2018 | Wai Lin Coultas

WHILE AN Italian dressing, pesto or even aged balsamic vinegar lifts the traditional Italian caprese to the gastronomic heights the world has taken great delight in, the savoury accents promised by substituting mozzarella as a staple with that laced within marinated goat cheese frees us to add more summer flavours, scents and colours to this light and refreshing starter with sprinklings of lemon and orange zest!

Ingredients:

8 cocktail truss tomatoes, each horizontally sliced into 3 discs 3 cubes of Meredith Dairy marinated goat cheese, each sliced into 3 4 sprigs of fresh basil 1 lemon, zested ½ large orange, zested Extra virgin olive oil Pink Himalayan rock salt Cracked black pepper

Instructions:

• To plate an individual serve, lay out 2 rows of truss tomatoes in the centre of the plate; 3 overlapping slices per row, with 2 slices of goat cheese laid between the rows.

• Lash over with olive oil; seasoning with salt* and pepper.

• Toss together the lemon and orange zest; sprinkling ¼ of the zest mix over the tomatoes and cheese, and around the plate.

• Place the tip of a sprig of basil centred between the 2 slices of cheese, with an extra 2 to 4 basil leaves peeping out from the edge of rows.

Plates 4 individual serves

* Note: Only season with salt when you are ready to serve the starter to prevent water from being drawn out of the sliced tomatoes.

Photo | Mike Moores