Caprese sandwich, a.k.a. Caprese salad
sandwich. Photo courtesy Hubbard Inn.

Our Seasonal Affective Disorder* kicked in last Saturday—and daylight savings time doesn’t end until November 4th!

But it’s not the diminishing daylight that has us bummed. It’s the end of summer tomato season. Those beautiful heirloom tomatoes, a high point of our culinary week, are gone.

Every Saturday, we’d hit the farmers market, bring home a few pounds of assorted heirlooms, fresh basil and fresh mozzarella, and mix and match the tomatoes in a series of Caprese salads.

As a transition to fall fare, we’ve switched to a Caprese Sandwich, such as this one from Chicago’s Hubbard Inn.

Now, cherry tomatoes substitute for thick slices of summer tomatoes. The classic green in a Caprese salad is fresh basil, but the Hubbard Inn substitutes arugula (most Americans don’t like a basil salad). We do a 75:25 blend of arugula and basil.
And Hubbard Inn customers like meat on their sandwich: The inn adds prosciuto de Parma (also called Parma ham).

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. Slice mozzarella, halve cherry tomatoes.

2. Sprinkle bottom bread slice with oil and vinegar.

3. Layer with ham, mozzarella, arugula, basil and tomatoes/tomato substitute (see below).

For variety, try a Caprese Pasta Salad.
 
SUBSTITUTES FOR FRESH TOMATOES

Local summer tomatoes are a joy; they’re even more precious because the season is so sort. When regular tomatoes are not at their prime, here’s what we subsitute in salads and on sandwiches:

 
Let us know your favorite variations on this idea.
 
*Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that occurs at a certain time of the year, usually in the winter. It is attributed to less sunshine and long winter nights.

†Cut into long, thin strips.