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Torta Woes? Try This Tantalizing Salad

Photo by LYNN KESSEL

Fresh basil and oregano will tantalize your taste buds in this tasty tomato and Monterey Jack cheese salad.

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 22, 2008

When my daughter Leslie was 10, she clipped a torta recipe out of a magazine and included it with some others she thought I should try.

Although I made most of those recipes over the years, that particular one fell by the wayside until recently, when I wanted to make something different as a potluck dish.

Yourdictionary.com defines a torta as "any of various-layered savory dishes, often containing creamy cheese, herbs, etc."

The recipe my daughter gave me was for a delicious, multilayered, sun-dried tomato and pesto torta. The photo depicted a picturesque, Grand Canyon-like mountain of tricolored layers of creamy cheese, and the recipe described a mouthwatering combination of fresh basil leaves, soaked sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, ricotta, freshly grated Parmesan and cream cheese.

The festive spread is served with crackers or sliced cucumbers, an ideal combination for summer entertaining. Although time-intensive, the torta was just what I was looking for. I decided to give Leslie's old recipe a try.

Carefully I began constructing my torta. I prepared the basic mixture in my miniprep food processor and, in the process, killed the motor. That was not a fortuitous start.

I divided the plain mixture into three bowls, then added the pesto combination to one, sun-dried tomato to the second and nothing to the third, leaving it plain.

I lined another bowl with cheesecloth and added first a layer of pesto-flavored cheese, followed by a layer of the sun-dried tomato-flavored cheese, and then a layer of the plain mixture. That completed, I repeated the process for a total of six layers. My mountain was done.

Covering the bowl with plastic wrap, I set it in the refrigerator to chill overnight. The next day, I inverted my masterpiece onto a platter. Wouldn't you know it? The law of gravity did me in. My mountainous cheese torta went "flata."

To put it mildly, I wasn't a happy camper.

Truth be known, I was tempted to throw out what was now a small hill into the trash on top of the recipe torn into pieces and what was left of my miniprep.

But reason prevailed. My better-half convinced me to go ahead and serve it anyway. So I scattered a few sprigs of basil leaves around the base and a circle of Carr's water crackers.

To my surprise, everyone loved it - and I mean to a person. I went back to the garbage to try and salvage my shredded recipe, but it was enmeshed in garbage.

So instead of getting that torta recipe this week, you're getting one for the delightful fresh herb and tomato-jack salad I also made. Another hit, it was so much easier than the torta. Just trust me.

Reader Dorthy Laegel of Seffner wrote me recently looking for a recipe for spinach lasagna. I personally don't have one but maybe someone reading this has a favorite they can share, and I'll give it a go.

FRESH HERB TOMATO-JACK SALAD

Salad

2 cups ripe tomatoes, 1-inch cubes

1 cup Monterey Jack cheese or Mozzarella cheese, 1/2-inch cubes

2 cups zucchini, 1/8th-inch slices

Dressing

2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano leaves

2 teaspoons torn fresh basil leaves

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons vinegar

In a medium bowl, combine all salad ingredients and set aside. In a tightly covered jar, combine all dressing ingredients; shake well to mix. Pour over tomato mixture; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Arrange on a lettuce-lined platter. Makes 6 servings.

Lynn Kessel can be reached at lkessel@mac.com or P.O. Box 913, Ruskin FL 33575-0913. For more of her recipes, visit southshore.tbo.com and enter search word: Lynn Kessel. Readers are encouraged to send in their favorite recipes and comments.

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