Ingredients:

• 1.5 lbs Asparagus, blanched, (pencil thin)
• 3 each ripe tomato, diced
• 1 each red onion, fine diced
• 1/4 cup black olives, sliced
• 1/8 cup garlic, chopped, fresh
• 2 Tbs. capers, drained
• 3 Tbs. basil, chiffonade (or chopped)
• 3 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
• 2 Tbs. Olive Oil
• to taste kosher salt and pepper

Instructions and Comments:

Cut the tough inedible ends off the asparagus. Blanch in salted water, when the asparagus is bright green, it is done. Chill in an ice water bath. Cut the asparagus into 1 inch sections. Fabricate (slice, dice, chop) the rest of the ingredients, combine and chill. Season to taste and Enjoy!

Capers in Vinegar by Il Forteto Capers, used as a seasoning or condiment, are the pickled, unopened buds of the caper bush, a spiny shrub native to dry, rocky areas in the Mediterranean.