Minty Tomato & Mozzarella Salad

There is nothing more I love than a salad that is light but delivers an abundance of flavor. Over the past few years, the caprese has gained popularity all over the USA. Stepping out of grandma’s garden and making its way to four-star restaurant table tops. Rightfully so, the only real trick of a good caprese salad is a great tomato. My father swears by Jerseys and he is right. Aside from that, the traditional ingredients are simple and the process is fast; slice a tomato, slice some mozzarella, toss on a few basil leaves, drizzle with a good olive oil, and shove in your face. Sometimes you can toss in an onion or get fancy and drizzle with a nice balsamic glaze but at this time of year I like to keep it simple and let the summer tomato shine in all her glory.

August always seem to bring my caprese consumption up to about 3 nights a week. While I never tire of it, I do like to mix things up a bit and that is just what this recipe does. First, before we address the mint elephant in the room let’s talk about a one of the other changes here. We are using small tomatoes, you can use cherry tomatoes or grape. I used a variety called Jelly Bean that I grow from seed. They are superbly sweet and resemble a mini Roma. They are easy to grow and easy to eat! The smaller tomato makes this version a bit more casual and shareable and takes the pressure off finding that perfect big boy.

The use of the mozzarella and all other ingredients remain the same except for one big game changer…. no basil. That’s right baby, we are bucking centuries of tradition here and bringing in some variety with the use of mint. The mint brings in a lively burst of flavor that works so well with the mozzarella and tomato making this salad super satisfying!

Serves 4

What Do I Need

2 Cups of Grape or Cherry Tomatoes

¾ Cup of fresh mozzarella chopped

¼ Cup fresh Mint chopped

2 T Olive Oil

S & P

Now What

Slice tomatoes in half length-wise and place in a medium sized bowl, roughly chop mozzarella and add to bowl. Next, roughly chop your mint, I like to roll my leaves up like little cigarettes and chop them, add your mint to the bowl, next add your oil and gently mix the ingredients, add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Take Note:

Swap the mint for basil to return to tradition!