Garden Fresh Caprese Salad with Balsamic Glaze

It’s hard to beat the classic Caprese salad flavor combination of fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil. However, this version adds another dimension by adding a rich and syrupy balsamic glaze instead of straight vinegar to top it off. This, combined with a really good quality extra virgin olive oil, is all you need to make this classic shine!

But before we delve into the recipe, I wanted to tell you a little story.

The first time I ever tasted or heard of Caprese salad was when I was 18 years old and working as an Au Pair in Switzerland. The lovely family I lived with introduced this salad to me and I absolutely fell in love with it! The delicate pairing of garden fresh tomatoes and basil and the softness of the cheese paired with the tart tangy flavour from the balsamic vinegar. YUM!!

When I had it there, we made it with bocconcini (which I was told was buffalo milk cheese! Fun Fact: Bocconcini originated in Naples and was once made only from the milk of water buffalo!)

Bocconcini (Italian pronunciation: [ˌbokkonˈtʃiːni]; singular Bocconcino, [ˌbokkonˈtʃiːno]) are small mozzarella cheese balls the size of an egg. Like other mozzarellas, they are semi-soft, white, and rindless unripened mild cheeses that originated in Naples and were once made only from milk of water buffalo.

~From Wikipedia

Anyways, when I came back to Canada, I just HAD to share this recipe I discovered with my family here. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find bocconcini cheese anywhere in my small town (this was in 2000 so there still wasn’t a ton of diversity in the cheese department. I was determined to share this delight I had found with my family, so I decided to use just regular mozzarella, and it turned out quite good I must say. So good that my mom fell in love with it (she’s a sucker for fresh tomatoes and basil too) and she makes it quite often to this day.

I have to tell you though when I discovered bocconcini in my town a few years ago, you better believe I made this Caprese salad ASAP!

Ingredients:

4 large ripe tomatoes
12 oz. Bocconcini or fresh mozzarella, large ball
1 large bunch fresh basil, washed and dried
3 T. really good extra virgin olive oil.
1 cup of balsamic vinegar
sea salt and fresh-cracked black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Thoroughly wash and pat tomatoes and fresh basil dry. Slice tomatoes into evenly sized pieces, approximately ¼” thick, and set aside. Discard the bottom and top pieces. Slice fresh mozzarella into ¼” thick pieces, as well.

On each plate, start with a tomato slice, followed by mozzarella and a large, fresh basil leaf. Repeat this pattern until you’ve added 1 tomato and approximately 3 oz. of mozzarella to each plate, finishing each arrangement with a tomato slice. Drizzle with high-quality extra virgin olive oil.

To make the balsamic glaze, heat 1 cup of good balsamic vinegar over medium-high heat until it begins to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the liquid is reduced to about 1/3 of its original volume, stirring continually. When the liquid becomes thick and syrupy, it is ready to use.

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Let glaze cool before drizzling over the fresh tomato, mozzarella and basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste and garnish with additional sprigs of fresh basil, if desired.

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I hope your family enjoys this Caprese Salad as much as mine does and remember, no matter how big or small your family is, you can tailor the size of this salad to accomodate it easily.

Bon Appetit!