Caprese Salad with Balsamic Glaze
Caprese Salad with Balsamic Glaze
This fabulous salad is a summer classic. It showcases perfectly ripe tomatoes and the abundance of basil available at this time of the year. The balsamic glaze adds a extra special flavor to this perfect summer dish.
Ingredients
- 1 cup balsamic vinegar
- 3 large tomatoes Ripe and tasty
- 4 oz fresh mozzarella cheese
- 8 large basil leaves
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- 1 drizzle extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
Make the balsamic Glaze
- Place the 1 cup of balsamic vinegar in a small, heavy sauce pan
- Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until the vinegar has reduced by half and becomes thick and syrupy in texture
- Place into a bowl to cool - I learned this one the hard way. If the vinegar is left in the hot pan, it can thicken into a kind of sludge rather than a lovely glaze. If that happens, toss it and start over
- Store in a jar or bottle. It will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks. I use this glaze on chicken, steak and burgers - it adds great flavor. (The KilKenney Kitchen owl loves it too!)
Make the Caprese salad
- Grab some fresh basil - I have a small pot growing outside the kitchen - easy and quick
- Wash and dry the basil
- Place 8 large basil leaves on top of each other
- Roll them like a cigar and chop the bunch into 5 or 6 pieces
- This technique is called a chiffonade and results in beautiful strips of basil to go atop the salad
- Grab your fresh mozzarella. You will find this at most large grocery stores in the specialty cheese section. (Most come in 8 oz balls, so I used half for this recipe and saved half for later)
- Cut the fresh mozzarella into 8 even pieces
- Slice the tomatoes into 8 slices and place the mozzarella pieces on top of the tomatoes (Oops - I just realized there are only 6 slices here! I made this one for 3 people the other night!)
- Sprinkle the chiffonade basil strips onto the tomatoes and mozzarella - spreading them out evenly, sprinkle with salt
- Drizzle the salad with a bit of extra virgin olive oil
- Add a good drizzle of the balsamic glaze
- Serve with your favorite grilled meats or fish and enjoy!
