This salad is as delicious as it is easy to create.
Salads are undergoing a kind of PR re-branding at the moment. For a long time the word salad would evoke the picture of a few soggy lettuce leaves and a chunk of watery cucumber served with quiche. Today salads are often the proud center piece of a meal however – bowls piled high with vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts, meat and cheeses: a beautiful array of colour and texture as delicious for the eye as they are for the mouth. The humble lettuce leaf has been upgraded to rocket, kale or spinach and the cucumber is usually spiralized or pickled to add a new dimension of flavour.
As you may be able to tell I relish in this reinvention of the salad and in the coming weeks I will be sharing a selection of vibrant summer salads with you all – my own input into the movement!
Today I am starting this series off with a twist on the simple Caprese salad. As with all the best Italian recipes the Caprese asks for very few ingredients (tomato, basil and mozzarella) and instead relies on the quality of produce to bring flavour. I have retained the simplicity and short ingredient list but tweaked the method sightly by macerating the tomatoes in a mixture of olive oil, basil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper – this softens and sweetens the tomatoes brings a new depth to the salad. These tomatoes are then mixed with the mild and creamy mozzarella and a little punch of pepper from the rocket for a fresh and flavoursome dish. Serve it as a lunchtime main, a side at a BBQ or with a selection of other salads for a healthy banquet.
Serves 4
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
- 500 g cherry tomatoes
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 large bunch of basil, finely sliced
- salt and pepper
- 100 g rocket
- 150 g fresh mozzarella
Method
- In a bowl mix together the tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, 3 tbsp olive oil, salt, pepper and half of the basil. Leave this to rest for 30 minutes so that the tomatoes can marinate.
- On a serving platter toss together the rocket and remaining basil leaves. Pour the tomatoes on top of the leaves and then tear over the fresh mozzarella. Top everything off with a last drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle over any extra basil leaves.
Thank you so much for reading this post, I hope that you enjoyed it! Please let me know what you think in the comments as I love hearing from you and do not forget to follow me on Instagram, Facebook and on this blog to see more recipes and foodie musings from me. The link to do both can be found below if on a tablet/ phone or in the side bar if on a computer. I have also recently joined Pinterest so follow me on there for even more foodie inspiration – my username is Wish to Dish.
Mouth watering! That looks so good.
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Thank you so much 🙂
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This looks amazing! I am going to try it the next time I smoke beer can chicken for dinner. I think it would go really well with that dish. Beautiful photos too by the way!
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Looks delish! LOVE Caprese Salad! 😊
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Ah thank you very much 🙂
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Love the bright colors!
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Thanks so much 🙂
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Looks very delish! And I don’t really like salads. I would be up for trying this one.
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Ah I am glad to have converted you to salads then 🙂 Hope you enjoy it if you do make it!
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This looks fantastic! I can’t wait to try it. I have a ton of fresh basil in my garden too. : )
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You lucky thing, thanks so much 🙂
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i can’t wait to make this one
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Thanks very much 🙂
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Love the colour combo you’ve used in the photos! Such a refreshing salad!
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Thank you very much 🙂
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Without a doubt these ingredients are some of my all time favourites… up in the top ten! Gotta be one hell of a salad!!!!
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I completely agree! Thanks so much 🙂
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A classic combination and a winner! My wife had a mozzarella and tomato starter at a restaurant a couple of months ago. It was accompanied by a sweet basil ice cream which was stunning, particularly with the mozzarella.
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Thank you! Wow that does wonderful – what a great idea!
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Please visit my blog thesoundoftime.wordpress.com
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I make it the same way, love it! So delicious 😁
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Ah amazing! Thank you 🙂
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Very beautiful photos ❤
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Ah well thank you very much 🙂 x
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Yummy…
P.S. Thank you for finding and Liking my Blog.
Your Blog is so Pretty, like a slick magazine.
WOW… Good Job. 🙂
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Thanks so much!! 🙂
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so simple yet so delicious. i’ve just recently bought some good balsamic vinegar and I want to eat it with everything 😀
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Thanks very much 🙂 It is such a wonderful store cupboard ingredient!
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Looks yummy!
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Thanks so much 🙂
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Looks sooooo good.
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Thank you 🙂
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Yum definitely going to try!
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Thank you, enjoy!
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Looks Delicious and colourful!
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Thanks so much!
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Simple and Delicious!
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Thanks so much! 🙂
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Such beautiful photos! Of course, for this salad to be that great it need real tomatoes, not the kind we buy here in NYC supermarkets.
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