Arugula Salad with Tomato and Mango

I recently dined at "Julia's" in Berkeley. Fine dining in a magnificent building designed by one of America's first women architects, Julia Morgan. I enjoyed their caprese salad as a starter, and was delightfully surprised by the addition of mango to the salad. I hadn't thought of combining mangoes and tomatoes before, but what a combination! I've tweaked this salad somewhat, omitting the buffalo mozzarella that is usually included in caprese, while adding more arugula, just because I love the taste. I've kept the balsamic dressing, always a nice pairing with heirloom tomatoes!

Ingredients:

1 heirloom tomato, sliced into 4 thick slices
1 mango, chopped
4 cups arugula
1/4 cup sliced basil leaves
several drizzles of balsamic dressing or balsamic vinegar

Directions:

Arrange 1 heirloom tomato slice in the center of each of 4 salad plates. Surround each tomato with one cup of arugula. Top each salad with 1/4 of the chopped mango and 2 tablespoons of the basil. Drizzle each plate with some balsamic dressing, or simply a drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar.

Serves 4

Stealthy Cooking Tip: Do you like to try new things at restaurants? If so, try to remember what makes you like them, then re-create them at home. This recipe is a happy memory from a restaurant meal where I discovered the tasty combination of tomatoes and mangoes. Go figure!