I have decided to do a little 2-week recipe marathon. I have so many recipes “waiting” in queue to be posted and I think this brief change in direction might help me catch up a little. Plus, I would love to be able to crank some more meal ideas out onto the 100 Days of Real Food Resources page (all of which link back to recipes on this site).
So, without further ado, this particular recip
e is my favorite “salad” of all time. Maybe this is because it doesn’t contain any lettuce and I am not too much of a lettuce person. This variation of the caprese salad is especially fabulous with locally grown in-season tomatoes. I ate the one pictured last night, and felt like I could have licked my plate at the end. Now that is a good salad. And if love it as much as I do you can get creative with different ways to serve it. Check out the panini I made (pictured below), which is just the salad ingredients melted inside two pieces of whole-wheat bread and served with balsamic vinegar for dipping.
- 1 ripe tomato, any variety (preferably locally grown or home grown)
- Fresh mozzarella cheese (if you can swing it the more expensive stuff is worth it…especially the balls of mozzarella floating in water)
- A handful of fresh basil leaves
- Decent quality balsamic vinegar
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 serving of basil pesto (recipe below)
- Cut the tomatoes and mozzarella into slices about ¼ inch thick
- Arrange the tomatoes flat on a plate, top each one with a slice of mozzarella, and then either with whole or sliced basil leaves
- Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, if desired
- Add a dollop or two of pesto to the plate
- Sprinkle with balsamic vinegar
Hint: If I am in a hurry I just chop everything up into pieces and throw it all together in a bowl. It tastes just the same that way!
Caprese Salad turned into a panini sandwich
- 1 loosely packed cup of fresh basil leaves removed from stem
- 3 tablespoons pine nuts
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 whole clove of fresh garlic
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- Combine all ingredients in a small food processor or mini chopper. Process until all ingredients are blended together. Leftover pesto can be stored in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to one week. In addition to the salad above, pesto can also be used as a pasta sauce or topping for crackers (with or without a slice of cheese).
Yum! Really want to try this!!
Caprese Salad is one of my favorite things to eat too! Just last week our family went to Hershey Park and when I was looking for a vegetarian dinner for myself, I found a panini stand serving caprese panini. It was so delicious!! I’m so excited to try your recipe – I’m sure it will be even more tasty, especially with homegrown tomatoes!!
I’ve turned all my salads the past few weeks into capreses – love it! I use spinach as a base, slice up a bunch or cherry tomatoes (orange red and yellow are growing like crazy from the garden!)and sliced basil leaves and chucks of mozz – also excellent with goat cheese crumbles. Haven’t tried a pesto yet but now I know what to do with all the basil from the garden! Thanx!
Yeah! I absolutely love caprese salad made only with fresh mozzarella. I have made it on brushetta, but had not considered a panini before. Now I know what is for lunch tomorrow. Thanks for the site. I just found it and already it is bookmarked.
did you include the pesto in the mix of things for the sandwich or just the other stuff? New at all of this. THanks.
Yes…I definitely included the pesto. I rubbed it on just like you would mayo. Enjoy!
can you freeze the pesto??? if so for how long?
I freeze a lot of my pestos but find that they don’t last nearly as long when you pull them out. So I would use them up quickly or freeze them in smaller batches so it doesn’t go bad before you can eat it all.
Yes, it can be frozen. I think it would be okay for a few months (if it even lasts that long…I use mine up pretty quickly!) Also, I freeze mine in ice cube trays, but remember since it contains oil it will still retain some liquid.
I had never had either a Caprese Salad nor a pesto, so these were both new. I grilled them like a grilled cheese or panini. Score! We’re going to do the Caprese Pasta Salad this week.
Ok. So, I’m taking a risk at asking a question when this post is like 2 years old… But, I’ll ask it anyway with some hope!
Sooo, LOVE this idea of this recipe and the sandwich version! Want to try both… But then I saw the pesto portion. This happens often. I see a recipe that looks soooooo good and a great healthy choice for my family, but then must pass on it for some reason. We have nut and fish allergy in our home (enough for epi pens). so, every time I see pesto in a recipe I cringe and move on. That cuts out many options and many recipes. Any ideas? Like, does the pesto taste as good if I just omit the nuts? Would the salad or sandwich taste as good if I omitted the pesto all together? Is there a substitute for the pine nuts?
For the sandwich or the salad, I would just use the basil leaves or omit it all together. I don’t know about a nut substitution in the pesto, but I have seen other nuts than pine nuts used in pesto recipes.
yes — i’ve made it with a mortar and pestle — not nuts — delish!
I make pesto all the time and never use pine nuts or any nuts. It doesn’t matter, it still taste good. I have never really tasted a difference.
I know I’ve made basil pesto without pine nuts before; not this exact recipe, but something similar. You may have to try adding a little more Parmesan to keep the right consistency, but it’s worth a try.
I know it’s late but I saw on another blog once where someone used sunflower seeds in place of the pine nuts. She said it still tasted nutty but without the nut allergy.
Can you eat pumpkin seeds? I have read where people substituted pine nuts with other nuts or seeds. I have seen other people comment that they have made pesto without any nuts at all.
love the pumpkins seed idea — pine nuts are so expensive — i’ve also used almonds or walunts — whatever i have on hand — of course, that won’t help someone with nut allergies….
i’m guessing sunflower seeds would work well too! gonna give those a try tonight…
I made these sandwiches for dinner tonight and they were awesome! I didn’t have any fresh basil, so I spread the pesto on the bread before I grilled it and it was awesome. Next time I’ll use even more
Thank you for sharing!
Wow! So yummy! This whole concept was a new one for me, bought basil and pine nuts for the first time ever to make my very own batch of pesto and whipped all the ingredients together on a yummy whole wheat pita and grilled to perfection. Definitely having this again tomorrow for lunch. Who new that caprese (something I’d never heard of) could be sooooo good?!
I am definitely going to try this one.
[...] Caprese Salad with Basil Pesto (100 Days of Real Food) [...]
Hi! I’ve never made pesto, is it supposed to be pretty thick- not runny?
It’s supposed to be a little on the runny side when you first make it because of the oil. Once you refridgerate it, it will thicken up because the oil gets thick as it cools.
Hi Andee. Yes, it’s thick, I guess almost paste like. Jill
If using store bought pesto, how much do you need for this recipe?
Hi Valerie. The recipe just calls for a dollop or 2. So, maybe 2-3 tablespoons depending on how much you like. Jill
Andee, Pesto is supposed to be thick not runny. Add more basil and cheese to thicken it up.
I made the panini and added bacon. Yum!
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I love the caprese salad…I have to suggest trying the Balsamic Glaze at Trader Joes for this. it’s stays on top without running all onto the plate. it’s also fab on Brucchetta and strawberries also..bad spelling I know
can you post the panini and balsamic vinegar recipe
Hello Anya. We don’t have a recipe specific to the panini but Lisa explained it as such: “Check out the panini I made (pictured below), which is just the salad ingredients melted inside two pieces of whole-wheat bread and served with balsamic vinegar for dipping.” Hope that helps. ~Amy
[...] and I rolled out the pizza dough after the boys went to bed, and Dave made some pesto sauce. He added some (not allowed but I totally spaced) canadian bacon with spinach and I stuck to [...]