Heirloom Tomato Caprese Salad is the perfect summer dish. Juicy heirloom tomatoes, bursting with ripeness, join with creamy mozzarella and sweet basil for a light but very flavorful treat. Select a variety of heirloom tomatoes of different colors and sizes for more interest. If you can’t find heirloom tomatoes, use really fresh, ripe beefsteak tomatoes, preferably purchased at a farmers’ market. Use whole milk mozzarella, it will have the moist, creamy texture required and a very good taste. If you can find buffalo mozzarella (mozzarella di bufala) by all means please use it in this recipe for even better taste. Large, ruffled Genovese basil leaves are traditional for this dish; their aromatic perfume and deep green color really bring the right flavor note. We like to combine Genovese basil leaves and some other varieties (small leaf Lemon and Lime basils, Dark Purple Opal basil, Thai Holy basil and Siam Queen basil and a new variety spicy Serrated Leaf basil). The different basil leaves each add their own flavor elements, not to mention additional color and textural elements. Heirloom Tomato Caprese Salad is a delicious light lunch and the perfect summer appetizer, perhaps before Grilled Shrimp Scampi Pasta or Swordfish with Lemon Caper Sauce.
Total Time: 15 minutes. Serves 2.
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