Peach Caprese Salad

Aug. 23

Peaches and tomatoes are ripe at the same time – and their flavours pair perfectly. This dish is bright, tangy, sweet, creamy, and herby. It comes together in minutes with no cooking, which is perfect for summer. You can make a single plate for lunch or a large platter for a summer BBQ. It’s a great, savoury way to enjoy peach season before its gone.

Ingredients

For 4 people:

500g stone fruit, such as peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines, or cherries, cut into 1/4” thick slices
500g tomatoes, cut into 1/4” thick slices
250g fresh cheese, such as fresh mozzarella or bocconcini (sliced), burrata or ricotta (in bite size dollops)
25g basil, mint, or parsley, cut into ribbons
45ml olive oil (3 tbsp)
15ml balsamic vinegar (1 tbsp)
Salt to taste

For a single lunch:

1 peach
1 medium tomato
50-75g of cheese (3-4 tbsp)
3-5 basil leaves
15ml olive oil(1 tbsp)
5ml balsamic (1 tsp)
Salt to taste

Method

Peaches

For peaches, using a paring knife, slice around the equator of the peach, then twist in half like an Oreo to separate the two halves from the pit. For the half with the pit, follow the natural line in the peach to slice in half again. Twist again, then remove the peach pit. Slice into 1/4” thick slices. See video for demonstration.
For smaller stone fruit, like cherries and plums, cut in half and remove the pit

Tomatoes

For medium and large tomatoes, use a serrated knife to slice into 1/4” thick slices.
For cherry tomatoes, use a serrated knife to cut in half.
If you do not have a serrated knife, pierce the flesh of the tomato with the tip of your knife.

Basil

If you want to leave the basil whole, I recommend pan frying it in a few tablespoons of olive oil for 30 seconds to make it easier to eat and have a beautiful stained glass appearance
- Preheat 45ml (3 tbsp) olive oil in an 8-10” wide frying pan until shimmering
- Add in your basil leaves. If the oil is hot enough they will immediately sizzle.
- The basil leaves will fry in 30 seconds, they will look and feel crispy and vibrantly green. If your oil is not very high in the pan you may need to flip them.
- Remove to paper towel
- Fried basil is also amazing on pizza
To cut with a knife, stack your basil leaves, then roll tightly. Slice in 1/4” wide ribbons. Try not to repeat slicing the same pieces of basil, as basil tends to bruise and react to metal.
You can also rip the basil by hand

Cheese

For mozzarella or bocconcini, cut into 1/4” thick slices (the same as your tomatoes)
For burrata, rip the outside mozzarella layer into 1” wide pieces and break up the interior filling. Add 1” wide dollops during assembly.
For ricotta, add 1” wide dollops during assembly.

Assembly

Use as 12” plate for serving platter for assembly.

If you’re using slices of cheese,

Salt your tomatoes and peaches before assembly
Create layers that go tomato, cheese, peach, basil
Coat in olive oil and balsamic

If you’re using dollops of cheese,

Reserve a few very nice tomatoes and peaches for the final presentation
Using half your tomatoes, create an even layer on your serving dish
Using half your peaches, create an even layer on top of the tomatoes
Using half your burrata, add dollops of cheese between the tomatoes and peaches
Sprinkle with salt
Repeat for a second layer
Sprinkle with basil
Top with olive oil and balsamic
Add a few very nice tomatoes and peaches on top

If you want to be extra-fancy,

Layer all of your tomatoes as a base and sprinkle with salt
Starting from the centre of the dish, spiral your all peaches around and sprinkle with salt
In a bowl, break up the burrata then place the whole amount in the centre of the peaches
Top with basil, olive oil, and baslamic

Marko Savic