Caprese Salad

If you’re anything like me, you get very excited about really good, fresh produce. Like, way too excited. I found myself the other day running around a particularly nice market in Dublin with an armful of heirloom tomatoes, globe artichokes, and yellow courgettes (with a huge grin on my face I might add!).

It’s the small things in life isn’t it?

But there’s really only one thing you can do with fantastic produce such as this, and that’s enjoy it in it’s purest form. That’s where this aromatic Caprese Salad comes in. Fresh, sliced tomatoes, creamy mozzarella, and aromatic basil combined? Perfection. That’s pure perfection.

I dress my salad with a sprinkle of sea salt,  a drizzle of pesto and balsamic vinegar. That’s all it needs. The heirloom tomatoes give such a colourful twist to this salad too. High quality mozzarella is an absolute must!

The only other thing this needs is a side of fresh, crusty bread. I had some lovely sourdough (which is, lets face it, the only kind of bread worth talking about), but realistically you can use whatever fresh crusty bread that you have on hand.

If it’s not fresh and crusty, however, don’t you dare go near this salad with it.

It’s not worthy.

Caprese Salad

2015-07-05 06:24:42

Serves 4

Fresh, sweet tomatoes pair with creamy mozzarella and aromatic basil for this wonderful summer salad.

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Prep Time

5 min

Total Time

5 min

Prep Time

5 min

Total Time

5 min

Ingredients

1. 4 heirloom tomatoes (try to vary colours)
2. 1-2 ball fresh mozzarella
3. A handful of basil leaves
4. 1 tbsp pesto
5. 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
6. 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
7. Sea Salt

Instructions

1. Thickly slice the tomatoes.
2. Slice the mozzarella.
3. On a serving board (I used a piece of rectangular slate), arrange the slices of mozzarella and tomatoes, alternating with each layer.
4. Place some lightly bruised basil leaves between the slices, as much as you like. I use loads of basil because I love it so much, but you can really add as much as you like.
5. In a small bowl, mix the olive oil and pesto and drizzle over the salad.
6. Drizzle over the tbsp of balsamic vinegar.
7. Serve with some crusty bread as a light dinner or as a side to a bigger feast!

By Alice Goodwin

Sauce Pots http://www.saucepots.net/