Rebecca’s Table Caprese Salad

Name: Rebecca’s Table Caprese Salad
Yield: serves 10 to 12
Ingredients: 1/2 cup pine nuts; 2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped; 4 ounces fresh basil, stemmed (about 4 cups lightly packed leaves); 1/2 to 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1/2 medium lemon); 2 (8-ounce) packages baby arugula (about 4 cups lightly packed) or other baby greens; 2 pounds fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced in 1/4-inch-thick rounds; 2 pints cherry or pear tomatoes, halved (I use a mix of yellow, reds, and oranges, or whatever I have on hand in the garden); 6 to 8 medium-to-large, ripe tomatoes, sliced in 1/4-inch-thick rounds and lightly sprinkled with kosher or sea salt

December 14, 2011

Every summer I have out-of-control basil growing in my garden, and it’s a serious challenge to come up with ways to use it all. It sometimes seems to grow faster than I can pick it. Then there is my garden arugula and several bountiful bushes of candy-sweet cherry tomatoes of varying colors. This salad guarantees that no cherry tomato or basil leaf goes to waste. For parties, I take a huge platter-size version of the salad, drizzle the pesto vinaigrette over the fresh mozzarella, and leave a small pitcher of the vinaigrette on the side for those who can never get enough of the deliciously pungent stuff.

Recipe notes

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