This part salad/part sandwich this is made with fresh mozzarella, ripe, sweet tomatoes, a few slices of salami and a pile of crunchy microgreens doused in lemon and olive oil. It's the microgreens that really make the sandwich, giving it a fresh flavor that balances out the salami and creamy cheese.

See Also

Mozzarella and Pesto

Mozzarella with Roasted Scallionsw

Mozzarella with Cilantro and Jalapenos

Ingredients

• 4 slices thick white bread, generously drizzled with olive oil and grilled or broiled until nicely toasted
• 16 thin slices salami
• 8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced
• 8 slices tomato
• 1 to 2 ounces microgreens
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Fresh lemon juice
• Sea salt
•  

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 5 minutes

• Total Time: 15 minutes
• Yield: 4 sandwiches

Preparation

On each slice of toasted bread, layer salami, fresh mozzarella and tomato.

In a medium bowl, toss the microgreens with extra virgin olive oil (about 2 teaspoons or so) and freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1/2 a lemon).

Pile the microgreens on each open-faced sandwich. Sprinkle generously with sea salt.

What Type of Mozzarella?

Fresh mozzarella is sold in several different shapes. Mozzarella balls are about the size of a small orange.

Bocconcini are slightly smaller balls (about the size of an egg) and ciliegine are smaller still, about the size of a cherry. Fresh mozzarella is also sold in logs.

For this recipe, sliced mozzarella balls or mozzarella logs work best. However, you can also slice bocconcini or ciliegine balls in half and stack them on the sandwich.

Burrata, a close cousin of fresh mozzarella, is also delicious in this recipe. Burrata is a ball of mozzarella filled with thick cream and tiny shreds of stretched mozzarella curd, or sometimes burrata is filled with mascarpone. Burrata is really creamy, although manages not to taste overly heavy. For the best flavor and texture, serve burrata at room temperature.

What Type of Bread?

When serving mozzarella and tomatoes on bread, buy (or bake) really good bread. I like a country loaf or any other type of white bread that can be thickly sliced and has a nice crust. Day old bread is fine, since you're toasting it.

To toast the bread:

Grill it: Generously cover one (or both) sides of the bread slices with olive oil or a combination of olive and butter.

Place the slices on a medium-hot grill until the bread is nicely toasted.

Broil it: Generously cover one (or both) sides of the bread slices with olive oil or a combination of olive and butter. Place under the broiler until nicely browned. Don't step away from the oven - broiled bread can quickly go from brown to burnt.

What are Microgreens?

Microgreens are the tiny shoots and leaves from any number of greens, like spinach, pea, beet, arugula, Swiss chard or purple mustard, These tiny green shoots are packing a lot of nutrition and have a vibrant, fresh flavor that makes salads and sandwiches more interesting.

MIcrogreens look similar to sprouts, but the two are different. Sprouts are germinated in water just long enough to grow roots, stems and teeny, tiny leaves. Microgreens are grown in soil and usually grow 7 to 14 days before being harvested.