I’m a strong believer that summer is a season where everyone should be inhaling as much fresh produce as they possibly can. While I absolutely love to cook, when it’s sunny and hot, I want to focus on enjoying the weather and spending time outside. Light meals (or starters) like this peach caprese are perfect when the ripeness of tomatoes and peaches are at their peak, and you’re looking for something quick and easy to throw together. Don’t be fooled, despite the simplicity of this, it’s an incredibly complex tasting dish and is only improved by using the highest quality of ingredients.
Ingredients:
- 4 medium to large heirloom tomatoes (various colors are nice, but not required)
- 2 medium peaches (as ripe as possible)
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella
- 12-14 basil leaves
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon flaked sea salt (such as Maldon)
- Pinch red pepper flakes
To assemble, slice tomatoes and peaches into wedges. Lazily place on a plate or platter (the more casual and informal it looks, the better). Tear chunks of mozzarella and basil and scatter over peaches and tomatoes. Drizzle with olive oil, then balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with kosher salt, flaked sea salt, and red pepper flakes.
Hoard entire platter to yourself (or share with others). Serve and enjoy!
Notes:
- The two different salts add depth. I use kosher salt for everything, and I find this helps enhance the flavors of the tomatoes and peaches. The flaked sea salt adds a slight briny taste and some nice crunch. One fresh tomato tastes different from another so you may need to play around with the levels of salt (using more or less), but keep in mind that tomatoes can take on a fair amount without tasting salty. Oh, and the red pepper flakes add just a tiny bit of heat—there’s a lot of sugar in the tomatoes and peaches and the pepper cuts that a bit.
- While I’ve mentioned this already, I cannot stress that you should use the best quality ingredients you can. This is the time when you use high quality olive oil (the kind you reserve for finishing a dish) and the thickest, most syrupy aged balsamic. And the mozzarella—the hand-pulled stuff by the fancy cheeses in the grocery store is the kind that’s best for this.
