Summertime Caprese Salad
First up, thank you for all the feedback on my last Stitch Fix post. If you’re curious, most people thought the tanks were unflattering and recommended keeping the jeans and dress so that’s what I did. Can’t wait to wear both items sometime soon. Seriously, your comments it made it so easy to decide what to keep — now I kind of want to do the same thing when I get my next Fix.
In other news, I’m pumped because today is the FIRST day of summer!!!
I may complain about the heat and humidity but overall, I LOVE summer. Always have and always will. I love being warm, I like being outside and I enjoy swimming, reading books next to the pool/ocean and wearing short shorts and cute dresses. Summertime food is the best too. Fresh veggies and herbs, lots of berries, peaches and melons, all things grilled, smoothies and my absolute fav: salads.
Oh and perfectly ripe, juicy tomatoes. Give them all to me!
We actually have six tomato plants out back with at least 30 green tomatoes right now. I’m waiting patiently and as soon as they get ripe I’ll be eating them every day, on any and everything. And I’ll also be making this caprese salad.
It’s the perfect appetizer for a summer shindig. Not only does it highlight two ingredients that are abundant (and cheap) during the summer months, but it’s amazingly flavorful without requiring a ton of ingredients.
Plus, it looks fancy. I’m all about easy dishes that look like they take a lot of time and effort.
Side note:
There are many, many caprese salads out there. The concept is relatively simple — alternating layers of mozzarella, tomato and basil — but this particular version is a tiny bit more elaborate in terms of the spices and has more flavor because of it.
The idea for this little gem actually came about months ago. We were at an engagement party and the host served the most amazing caprese skewers I had ever tasted. Everyone was raving about them. A few days later, when I literally couldn’t stop thinking about them, I emailed the bride-to-be, Courtney, to get the recipe. Her cousin, Molly, generously shared the recipe with me and I used it for inspiration to come up with the version I’m sharing today.
Hopefully you all like it as much as I do!
Make this whole foods salad to serve as an appetizer at a party (4th of July is approaching quickly!), a light lunch or as a side salad with dinner. It pairs amazingly well with whole grain crusty bread and grilled protein.
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Prep time 45 mins
Total time 45 mins
Author: Brittany Mullins Serves: 6
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon minced fresh parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- 1 pinch dried oregano
- 1 Tablespoon capers, drained
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 Tablespoons olive oil
- freshly ground pepper and sea salt
- 1 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
- 2 large ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced
- 1 bunch fresh basil (about 20-30 leaves)
- 1 (7 ounce) jar roasted red peppers, drained and julienned
- crushed red pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix together parsley, basil, oregano, capers, garlic, and olive oil.
- On serving platter, arrange mozzarella cheese slices and tomato slices in alternating layers. Add a basil leaf between each later. Top with roasted red peppers. Drizzle with the herb and olive oil mixture. Cover and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper and serve.
Nutrition Information Serving size: 1 oz of cheese 2 slices of tomato and toppings Calories: 129 Fat: 10g Carbohydrates: 4g Sugar: 2g Fiber: 1g Protein: 7g
3.2.2708
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