Perline, or pearl balls (photo © Lioni Lattanici).

Take a bite: These mozzarella bites are low in calories and high in flavor and crunch.

Balls of mozzarella are traditionally available in eight sizes (see the chart below). Perlini are the smallest.

You can use them in and on baked potatoes lasagna, nachos, omelets, pasta, pizza, salad, soups, tacos and vegetables.

We’ve even put them on cocktail picks along with diced celery, as a Bloody Mary garnish.

This recipe, from BelGioioso, is both elegant and fun. It uses their perline (“little pearls” in Italian, also called pearl balls in English).
 
RECIPE: MOZZARELLA BITES

Ingredients For 8 Pieces

 
For The Champagne Tarragon Vinaigrette

1. PLACE the tomatoes in a bowl and set aside. In a small bowl, combine the vinaigrette ingredients and whisk until emulsified. Pour the dressing over the tomatoes and allow to marinate for at least one hour.

2. SLICE the cucumber into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place on a serving tray. Top each cucumber slice with marinated tomatoes and place three Fresh Mozzarella Pearls on top.

Nick of Dude Foods is nothing if not creative.

These Waffle Fry Sliders are an example.

“The only real problem I came across when making my Waffle Fry Sliders was finding decently sized waffle fries,” says Nick.

“I bought a bag of frozen fries from the grocery store and upon opening it I noticed that about 80% of them were way too small to be used as slider buns.

“Luckily though, I still had enough for six sliders, plus a pretty big pile of leftover fries to eat on the side.

“As the fries were baking in the oven, I grilled up my hamburger patties; and when both of those were done it was only a matter of adding some lettuce, tomato slices and cheese before my Waffle Fry Sliders were ready to eat!”

Thanks, Nick. Next time, invite us to join you!

Waffle Fry Sliders from Dude Foods.

[2] Another Caprese main course option: Balsamic Chicken Caprese. Here’s the recipe from Cafe Delites.

[3] Classic Caprese with red and yellow heirloom tomatoes (photo courtesy Balducci’s).

[4] Artistic Caprese arrangement (photo courtesy Great Performances | Facebook).

Caprese Salad—tomatoes, mozzarella and basil, with an olive oil dressing—has become a mainstay on U.S. menus (here’s the history of Caprese Salad).

In the summer, when ripe tomatoes are picked from the vine, it’s high season for Caprese.

Each summer we publish a different take on the salad (see below). This year, it’s a variation we hadn’t thought of before: a baked Caprese Casserole.

The recipe is from QVC’s “resident foodie” and best-selling cookbook author, David Venable. The casserole shines when made with succulent summer tomatoes; and also works with off-season tomatoes (cooking tomatoes brings out some sweetness that may not be in the raw tomatoes).
 
 
RECIPE: CAPRESE CASSEROLE

Ingredients For 8 Servings
 
For The Base Layer

 
For The Topping

 
Preparation

1. PREPARE the base layer. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray a 9″ x 13″ baking dish with nonstick food spray.

2. SLICE the baguette into rounds and place them in a mixing bowl. Toss the rounds with the garlic, parmesan, olive oil, salt and pepper. Lay the rounds on a baking sheet and cook in the oven until toasted and crispy, about 20 minutes (15 minutes if you raise the temperature to 400°F).

3. SHINGLE (overlap) the toasted slices in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Starting at one end of the dish, make a row of tomato slices. Alternate rows of mozzarella and tomato until the baking dish is filled from one end to the other. Using a spoon, drizzle the olive oil, then the pesto, back and forth over the entire casserole.

4. PREPARE the topping. Place the parmesan, bread crumbs, garlic, basil and olive oil into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until combined. Sprinkle the topping evenly on top of the prepared casserole. Season with the salt and pepper.

5. PLACE the baking dish in the oven for approximately 30 minutes, until the tomatoes have softened and the topping has browned slightly.
 
 
12 CAPRESE SALAD RECIPES

How often have you had a cocktail with an orange wheel—a horizontal slice of orange?

How would you feel about another shape?

An unnamed Japanese bartender cut hexagonal orange garnishes for an Aperol Spritz. They look great, don’t they?

The problem is, the oranges were shaped in a hexagonal mold while growing (like the Japanese square watermelons).

So, we can’t cut hexagons that include the orange peel, as in the photograph. But we can cut hexagons without the peel—or triangles, or squares.

We found it easier to first slice the orange in half, then in slices; and then we trimmed each slice into the hexagon. Use a very sharp knife!

Other round citrus, like Meyer lemons and Key limes, work as well.

Nothing is wasted: Save the scraps of orange and peel and make ice cubes with them.

Just plop them into each cube section, fill with water and freeze.

Hexagon cocktail garnish (photo courtesy Aperol Spritz | Facebook).

[2] Fine & Raw Chocolate Bars are portioned for daily enjoyment.

[3] Say good-by to environmentally harmful straws with these look-alike alternatives from Repurpose Compostables.

Our favorite products of the week, in alphabetical order:

1. A. VOGEL SPICY SEA SALT

A. Vogel makes a popular herbed sea salt. Joining it is new Spicy Sea Salt, with a touch of hot chiles. It is the recipient of a 2018 Food Essential Award.

Add extra heat and spice to your your recipes: Pep up grilled food, Mexican, Italian and other recipes. Or simply shake some heat onto grains, fruits and vegetables.

A. Vogel advises: Add seasoned salts after cooking for enhanced taste (i.e., so the flavor doesn’t “cook out”).

A. Vogel products are available nationwide at health food stores and online retailers. They are certified kosher by KSA, Non-GMO, Eco Cert, and Biologique Canada.

Discover more at AVogelUSA.com

2. FINE & RAW CHOCOLATE BARS

Fine & Raw is a line of hip, small-batch, artisan chocolate bars that are a delectable alternative to processed chocolate.

The raw food movement does not process food at temperatures higher than 118°F, in order to preserve the nutrients.

The cacao beans are barely heated, ripening some of the flavors but leaving the taste of raw (unroasted) cacao beans. No dairy is used; the bars are vegan.

Coconut sugar was chosen as the sweetener, because it enhances the rich, deep flavors of cacao—and has much more nutritional value than cane sugar. (It does not taste like coconut.)

The creamy one-ounce bars—some two ounces—are available in fab flavors:

 
Check out the individual bars, collections and gift sets at
FineAndRaw.com.

Repurpose is a line of eco-friendly, sustainable tableware that keeps plastic waste out of the landfill. They are 100% compostable, so they break down in months, not millennia.

The products are made exclusively from plants, and are durable, BPA-free and guilt-free renewable alternatives.

The material used is ingeo, made from carbon stored in plants during photosynthesis, in the form of dextrose sugar.

The latest addition to the line is drinking straws—and yes, they are flexible (they bend towards the top), and won’t crack or break. They have the same look and feel as plastic straws.

With recent press about the plastic straws, we know that Americans use 500 million drinking straws every day, enough to fill 46,400 school buses every year (source)!

While major restaurant chains and other foodservice outlets are putting plans in place to end the practice, you can start immediately. They’re available on Amazon.

See the rest of the line at RepurposeCompostables.com.

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*Lúcuma is a fruit native to Andes Mountain valleys.