- I don't know how, but mine
tastes better than my sister's. (Natasha laughs) I first tried this cucumber,
tomato mozzarella salad at my sister Svetlana's
house for a barbecue and I knew I had to have
the recipe, and here it is. Plus, you guys are
gonna love the dressing. So simple. And you can count the
ingredients on one hand if you include salt and pepper, all right? Let's get started. Start by cutting your
cherry tomatoes in half. I highly recommend using a serrated knife, which will make the process much easier. Also, here's a tip on how
to slice them really fast. You'll need two plastic lids. Set the tomatoes in a single
layer over the first lid. Pack them in so they fit snugly, then cover with the second lid. Put your hand over the
top lid to keep it steady, then slice through your cherry tomatoes with the serrated knife. It cuts them in half perfectly. And once I learned this trick, I used cherry tomatoes way
more often in my cooking. Transfer those to a mixing bowl. Next, you'll need half of
a large English cucumber or you can use three small
garden cucumbers instead. I like to cut the cucumber in quarters first lengthwise, then slice. Add those to your mixing
bowl with the tomatoes. Next, you'll need one large avocado. The safest way to remove the
pit is to cut it in half, twist the avocado to open it up, Then we're gonna cut it into quarters. From here, the pit will pop right out. On a ripe avocado, the
skins should peel right off. Dice up your avocado and
add it to the mixing bowl. And if you don't already have one, I love my bench scraper
for prepping salads. It's kind of like having
another hand in the kitchen. Next, you'll need eight ounces or one cup of fresh mozzarella pearls. You can also use the
larger mozzarella balls and cut them in half or use a block of fresh
mozzarella and dice it up. I love using the pearls
because it's easier. It saves a step. You just pop them right into the salad. (laughs) Hold on. (upbeat music) Now you'll need some fresh basil leaves. And basil is a delicate herb, so it's important to cut it properly. Start by stacking your clean leaves. Roll them up into a tight little log. Use a sharp knife to slice
the basil into thin strips. This is also called a chiffonade cut. You also don't wanna
go back over your basil with the knife after it's chopped. Just add it to the salad bowl. The dressing for this
tomato mozzarella salad will win you over. In a small dish, combine three tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil with one tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, half a teaspoon of salt, a quarter teaspoon of black pepper, and press or finely chop one garlic clove. Whenever I'm making a salad dressing, I do like to either crush the garlic clove with a garlic press or grate it. This way you don't get
any big bits of garlic in your salad dressing. And also, the little bit of juice that comes out of the garlic makes the flavor of the
dressing even better. I like to add all of the dressing
for this amount of salad, then just toss until it's well combined. All that's left is to stir it together and coat every bite in
that amazing dressing. And my sister said the
secret here is the garlic. So do not skip it. It adds a lot of flavor. It's amazing what one little
garlic clove can do, right? All right, load it up. Oh, I love this. Freshness for summer. And wait until you try this
with garden-grown veggies. Cucumbers and tomatoes, oh, my favorite. I could literally eat
this salad all summer long and never get tired of it. I mean, look at this. It's got a little bit of everything, and everything in here is
just a winning combination. My husband's over there looking jealous. You want some of this? The salad (laughs). Okay, here we go. And the fresh basil in
here is goals, you guys. If you have to substitute, I mean, I guess you could
do chives, or what else? Parsley. But basil is so good. It gives this Italian flavor to it. Super fresh. I just want a little bit
of everything on my fork. That's why it took me so long. Okay, here we go. (upbeat music continues) Mm. (upbeat music continues) Oh. (upbeat music continues) Wowsers. My sister hit the jackpot with this salad. Thanks, Svetlana. (laughs) It's really, really wonderful. You can really taste that
little bit of garlic in there. It's not overpowering 'cause we let it sit in
the dressing for a minute. And that little bit of balsamic
vinegar (mouth clicks). Perfect dressing, I'm telling you. And so easy. Especially using that little
trick with the tomatoes, the salad comes together in,
like, five minutes, okay? I'm gonna go eat the rest
of this. I want this so bad. It is calling my name. Let me know where you guys
spotted Sharkie in the video. And if you guys love this salad, you are absolutely gonna love
that one right over there. So check it out. And one of my favorite
chapters in my new cookbook, dun dun dun, is the salad section. We have so many great new salads in there. Must-try, can't-miss kind of salads. I will leave a link to this in the notes, and we'll see you on the next
episode of Natasha's Kitchen. (upbeat music continues) I don't know how, but mine
tastes better than my sister's. Don't tell her (laughs).
