Heirloom Tomato Caprese Salad

Use summer's finest to create this Heirloom Tomato Caprese Salad. Juicy tomatoes, creamy mozzarella, fresh basil and a quality olive oil meld together for a simple Italian style salad!

I'm sure we have all heard the phrase "keep it simple" and that is exactly what this recipe is!

Last Saturday I headed to our local farmer's market and came home with an abundance of fresh vegetables and even a pretty bouquet of flowers for me.

I knew for certain a caprese salad was on the docket as this is my most favorite salad to eat during the summer. Just can't get good tomatoes in the winter so I eat what I can now.

Are you ready to drool over this colorful salad?

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Tips for assembling
• Variations
• Related Recipes
• Get the Recipe

Ingredients

The basic ingredients for heirloom caprese salad are:

• Heirloom tomatoes - fresh and juicy that you can find at a farmer's marker or even in the specialty section of a grocery store.  Use a variety of colors and sizes to your liking.  
• Mozzarella cheese - fresh is the key to a great caprese salad.  For this salad I used ciliegine (small balls) and a log that was pre-sliced.  If you really want to kick it up a notch use creamy burrata.  It has a soft filling in the middle.
• Fresh Basil - I'm not really a gardener but I do keep a plant of fresh basil on my deck.  It comes in handy for all sorts of recipes.
• Olive Oil - I used extra virgin olive oil that can be found at most grocery stores.
• Spices - freshly coarse ground black pepper and flaked sea salt are my go to seasonings for this salad

Tips for assembling

• there is no right or wrong way to assemble your salad. I prefer mine on a platter so it can easily be served
• start by laying tomato slices on the platter until it looks good to you and then tuck mozzarella slices between tomatoes. Use a good sharp serrated knife for the tomatoes.
• cut cherry tomatoes and mozzarella balls in half and place on top
• tuck basil leaves to your liking
• sprinkle with pepper and salt
• drizzle with olive oil

Variations

• try burrata cheese
• drizzle balsamic vinegar
• flavored salts
• pesto - I have a homemade recipe that is fresh and delicious
• meat - prosciutto, salami (think Charcuterie board) to make it more of a meal

Related Recipes

I love anything caprese and these recipes are a twist on this classic salad.

• Lemon Caprese Salad - made with everything yellow (minus the basil!)
• Fresh Corn Caprese Salad - made with another summer favorite!
• Watermelon Caprese - these are a festive side for summer holidays by cutting the watermelon into stars
• Caprese Burger - topped with tomatoes, mozzarella, basil and drizzled with balsamic

Are you ready to bring this Heirloom Tomato Caprese Salad to your table?

Should tomatoes be refrigerated? Ripe tomatoes should be kept on your counter top and used up in about 3 days. If you refrigerate, the coldness can ruin the texture and a flavor loss occurs due to the flavor-producing enzyme activity being stopped. I try to use mine up quickly and not use the refrigerator.

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