Sleezy Capreezy (Caprese Crostini with Basil, Pine nuts, and Balsamic glaze)

Make Caprese Toast

‘Sleezy Capreezy’ because this recipe will really get around.  This Caprese Crostini appetizer will tease and please- It may bring you to your knees! 

You will love this twist on the classic Caprese.  This delicious recipe is best for an appetizer or light meal.   Make Caprese toast with juicy tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, pesto, kosher salt and pepper, with basil on top, and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.  Additionally, roasted pine nuts top the sweet and cheesy goodness.  Mama Mia!

Ingredients

Toast

• 1 loaf of dense artisanal bread
• Olive oil
• Minced Garlic

Caprese Layer

• Pesto
• Mozzarella Cheese log
• Fresh Tomatoes
• Fresh Basil leaves
• Salt and Pepper
• Balsamic Glaze
• Pignolia nuts or Pine nuts

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Tomato, Mozzarella, Pesto, and Balsalmic Caprese Crostini …Sexy …. Sleezy …. and oh so easy!

Mozzarella FAQs

How many types of Mozzarella are there?

14 Types of Mozzarella

• Bocconcini   “Bite sized,” bocconcini mozzarella is a 1-2 oz ball of cheese 
• Burrata   Soft, spreadable burrata is typically made with cow’s milk.
• Ciliegine  Grape-sized balls of mozzarella
• Low-Moisture Mozzarella   Often used for pizza, and “string cheese”
• Smoked Mozzarella “Affumicata” in Italian, has a golden, slightly tough exterior and a toasty/smoky flavor.
• Mozzarella di Bufala  Mozzarella made from Buffalo milk.  This cheese is protected by laws that require it only be made with a traditional recipe in specific regions of Italy.

• Pecorella  Sheeps milk Mozzarella

• Fior di Latte Mozzarella    Made with all cows milk as opposed to a blended Mozzarella.  It tends to be cheaper but less rich tasting.
• Ovolini  These oval or egg-shaped cheese balls are made with buffalo, cow, or a blend of milks
• Perlini  These pearl shaped Mozzarella balls are perfect in salads and cold pastas

• Stracciatella  (Not the soup or the ice cream) This stracciatella, is shredded is stretched into small bits of cheese. Often mixed with cream inside a ball of burrata

• Treccia mozzarella is the classic cheese stretched into strips instead of balls and then braided.

• Nodini  Made by “knotting” mozzarella, this hand-shaped twist

• Scamorza  This specialty Mozzarella, is tied and hung to dry for one to two weeks rather than being packaged straight from the brine.  This makes for a firmer, saltier cheese.  Additionally, some scamorza are also quickly smoked over straw.

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5 from 68 votes

Sleezy Capreezy

Italian Caprese Toast with Mozzarella, Tomato, Garlic, Pesto, Basil, and Balsamic Glaze

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: basil and tomato, Caprese, Caprese Crostini, Caprese salad, Caprese toast recipe, Caprese toast with pine nuts, easy appetizer, fast appetizers, fresh tomato appetizer, Garlic Caprese toast, glazed balsamic appetizer, Italian app, italian appetizer, Italian Caprese toast, mozerella and tomato appetizer, mozzarella, Mozzarella and tomato recipe, Mozzarella appetizer, pesto appetizer, Pesto Caprese Toast, pine nuts, Sleazy, sleezy capreezy, Tomato and Mozzarella recipe, vegetarian appetizer

Yield: 12

Author: Jenny Talia

Equipment

• Baking sheet

Materials

Toast

• 1 loaf Artisanal Kalamata Olive Loaf, dense Garlic loaf, or Foccacia loaf
• ½ cup Olive Oil
• 1 Tbsp Minced Garlic

Capreezy Layer

• ½ cup Classic Pesto
• 1 lb log Mozzarella Cheese (unsliced)
• 4 small or medium Fresh Tomatoes
• 8 Fresh Basil leaves
• Salt
• Pepper
• ¼ cup Balsamic Glaze
• ¼ cup Pignolia (Pine) Nuts

Instructions

Prepare the Toast

• Place slices of bread on a cooking tray
• Brush each slice of bread with olive oil
• Spread a light layer of minced garlic over the oil
• Toast bread until crispy

Prepare Capreezy Ingredients

• Wash and slice tomatoes (as thinly as possible)
• Slice Mozzarella as thinly as possible
• Wash Fresh Basil, dry, and use kitchen shears to cut into small strips

Layer Your Capreezy

• Use a butter knife to spread Classic Pesto on each Toast slice
• Place a tomato slice at the left edge of the Toast slice
• Nestle a Mozzarella slice ¼ inch from the edge of the tomato slice
• Repeat until your toast is covered by alternating and slightly staggered Tomato and Mozzarella slices (typically 4-5)
• Repeat for all toasts
• Salt and Pepper generously
• Drizzle Balsamic Glaze on top of your Capreezies
• Chop your fresh Basil, and sprinkle it on top of your toasts
• Top with a few Pignolia Nuts
• Cover and hold until you are close to serving time
• Right before serving, Place Sleezy Capreezy toasts in the Air Roaster for 7-8 minutes- or until the cheese begins to melt
• Place on a tray and enjoy

Aphrodesi’hacks’

• Make Sleezy Capreezys  as  great make- ahead appetizer or light meal.  First, Prep the ingredients, then Assemble the toasts, and cover.  Finally, finish the last toast right before you are ready to serve.  Voila!
• Watch your Capreezys on the final toast.  You want to cook enough that the flavors infuse in the bread, and the melted Mozzarella, is golden-
• Serve with a beautiful red wine

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