This avocado caprese salad doesn’t get any more delicious with peak season heirloom tomatoes, buffalo milk mozzarella, creamy avocado, heady basil, and a tangy balsamic dressing.
Every summer I look forward to the arrival of sweet, juicy heirloom tomatoes. Lucky for us, beautiful heirloom tomatoes from Cherokee Purple to Costoluto Genovese arrived in droves late spring at the farmers market. Without fail the first salad that I always make is a classic caprese. This classic summer salad is my go to for lunch and dinner when I don’t feel like cooking. To make it more filling, I added avocado for a complete meal. This avocado caprese salad doesn’t get any more delicious with peak season heirloom tomatoes, creamy buffalo milk mozzarella, creamy avocado, heady basil, and a tangy balsamic dressing.
For the salad, use different in season heirloom tomatoes for the best taste. I slice them to about ¼ of an inch so they’re not too thick to bite into. The buffalo mozzarella are also sliced to the same thickness and arranged on a platter overlapping with the tomatoes and basil leaves. Everything is lightly seasoned with salt and let stand for about 15 minutes to let the flavors meld and juice released from the tomatoes and mozzarella.
Right before serving, the avocado slices go right in the middle of the platter and a tangy balsamic vinegar is drizzled on top. This avocado caprese salad is a terrific first dish for a dinner party or a light meal served with crusty bread and can be scaled to feed a large crowd or a meal for one. Sweet heirloom tomatoes, herby basil, creamy mozzarella, and delicious avocado make this dish a real summer treat.
If you like salad, check out these recipes: tomato fig peach salad, fig watercress goat cheese salad, and cherry tomato salad.
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Avocado caprese salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound heirloom tomatoes
- 8 ounces buffalo mozzarella, room temperature
- 2 Hass avocados, pitted and sliced
- ½ cup basil leaves
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsbp aged balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ¼ teaspoon Flaky sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon Freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Slice mozzarella into ¼ inch slices. Lay them on a plate and let them sit loosely cover to room temp.
- Slice the tomatoes into ¼ inch slices.
- On a serving platter, arrange the mozzarella, tomato slices, and whole basil leaves so they overlap. Sprinkle with salt and let them sit at room temp for 15 minutes.
- To prepare the dressing, in a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, and pepper.
- Slice the avocados lengthwise and set them in the middle of the platter.
- When ready to serve, drizzle with balsamic dressing.
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