Heirloom Tomato Caprese Salad with Homemade Pesto

Ingredients

Servings

4 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 10 12 14 16

US / METRIC

4

Heirloom Tomatoes

1 pckg

Buffalo Mozzarella Balls

1 handful

Fresh Basil

as needed

Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

to taste

Dark Balsamic Vinegar

to taste

Sea Salt

to taste

Ground Black Pepper

2 bunches

Fresh Basil

1 1/3 cups

Parmigiano-Reggiano , grated

or Any hard Italian cheese of choice

8 cloves

Garlic

2/3 cup

Pine Nuts

1/2

Lemon

Cooking Instructions

HIDE IMAGES

Step 1

Gently rinse Fresh Basil (2 bunches) with water and pat dry or dry in a salad spinner. Separate the leaves, discarding the stems.

Step 2

Pack the basil leaves into a food processor with Parmigiano-Reggiano (1 1/3 cups) , Garlic (8 cloves) , juice of the Lemon (1/2) and Pine Nuts (2/3 cup) .

Step 3

Pulse until finely chopped.

Step 4

With the processor running, slowly drizzle in Extra-Virgin Olive Oil (as needed) , pausing while it incorporates, until smooth paste forms.

Step 5

Cut Heirloom Tomatoes (4) and Buffalo Mozzarella Balls (1 pckg) into thick slices.

Step 6

Overlap tomatoes on a large platter or individual salad plates (alternating colors if using red & yellow varieties), with a thin slice of mozzarella between slices.

Step 7

In a small bowl, combine 2 teaspoons of pesto with 3 tablespoons of your best quality olive oil until blended. Drizzle over tomato and mozzarella slices.

Step 8

Drizzle with Dark Balsamic Vinegar (to taste) .

Step 9

Chiffonade the Fresh Basil (1 handful) and sprinkle it over the salad. Finish with Sea Salt (to taste) and ground Ground Black Pepper (to taste) . Serve and enjoy!