So easy and festive and great for holiday entertaining. I love to add homemade pesto to this for a bit of extra dimension. (And, I think our homemade pesto is amazing!)
Candy Cane Caprese Salad with Basil Pesto
Ingredients
- 2 heirloom tomatoes
- 1 log fresh mozzarella
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Baguette
- Basil pesto store bought or homemade recipe below
Basil Pesto
- 2 cups fresh basil stems removed
- 3-4 cloves of garlic minced
- ¾ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/3 cup nuts of choice I like to use pine nuts or slivered almonds; ensure nuts are unsalted and can be roasted
- ¼ cup to 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup to ¾ cup olive oil
Instructions
- Slice tomatoes and mozzarella into slices, roughly 1/4” thick. Position tomatoes and mozzarella on a large cutting board or serving plate, alternating to form a candy cane pattern, shaping as you build.
- Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Slice baguette into 1/2” rounds and place on baking sheet. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Broil for roughly 2-3 minutes on top rack of an oven, just until browned slightly. Serve on side. Note, if you’re short on time, store bought crackers work great, too.
- Drizzle basil pesto over candy cane for extra depth of flavor.
Basil Pesto
- Place all ingredients except olive oil in Cuisinart or blender. Begin to blend and drizzle olive oil into blender while going to emulsify. Adjust level of olive oil needed to drive desired consistency.
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