Capressa Fra Diavlo (Tomato, Basil, Mozzarella Salad)

This recipe started out as a classic capressa salad, but I was looking for something a little easier to serve when transporting to a picnic and this is the result. 

4-6 large beefsteak tomatoes
12 oz fresh mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup pitted kalamatta olives
1 cup olio fra diavlo
1 loaf chiabatta bread, sliced
1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise, optional
Salt

• Half the olives (you can leave them whole, but I usually give them one cut to make sure there are no pits).
• Cut, seed and dice the tomatoes to 1/2 inch.  I usually remove a good bit of the core (if they are in season, it shouldn’t be very much), and the seeds as they tend to water down whatever dish I’m making.
• Cube the mozzarella cheese into about 1/2 dice. 
• Combine the tomatoes, cheese and olives in a bowl and add a pinch of salt if you wish.  That would depend entirely on how salty your cheese and olives are. 
• Add about a cup of the olio fra diavlo and toss.  Let this set a couple of hours to macerate.
• When you are ready to serve, grill the bread slices.  Optionally, rub the cut head of garlic on the bread
• Spoon the capressa over the bread slices. 

Messy.  Yum.

Since my husband and I try to limit our carbohydrates, we often have this with grilled italian sausage instead of the grilled bread. 

Not as messy.  Just as Yum.