You eat with your eyes first. If you are a tomato lover like me, you already love fresh tomatoes with fresh basil. Cherry tomatoes are particularly juicy and sweet. These red and yellow tomatoes were in our local CSA box, The Produce Box, and I couldn’t resist eating them right away. If you can get different colored cherry tomatoes, that will add to the visual appeal to this dish. But whatever is most fresh, flavorful and available is best.
Now for the cheese….I love the versatility of cashew ricotta. I haven’t had dairy since 2013, and though that might sound crazy to most people (including myself at one point), I still enjoy decadent, delicious food. It doesn’t mean you’ll immediately eliminate all dairy in one swoop. But I urge you to try this ricotta. It’s great fresh, like on this salad, or even on toast; and it’s also great baked into a dish. You can also add a little garlic powder to it if you want to use it in a baked pasta dish. With this ricotta, there is no saturated fat, it’s not inflammatory like dairy, and it has a creamy flavor and texture similar to ricotta. You want to try not to overblend; but if you do, you can still use the mixture as a sauce or dip.
Directions
For the cashew ricotta, add all ricotta ingredients to a high speed blender. Blend for just a FEW seconds until it has a ricotta consistency. Try not to overblend. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use. Store the remaining ricotta in the refrigerator for a few days.
To make the salad, arrange the tomatoes and basil on a plate. Place a few dollops of the ricotta on the salad. Drizzle with olive oil, add salt and pepper to taste, and drizzle with dense balsamic vinegar if using.