Heirloom Caprese w/ Mint Pesto

heirloom caprese with mint pesto / @loveandlemons heirloom caprese with mint pesto / @loveandlemons

And the season of simple recipes continues…

“What are you going to do with these?” asked the farm-stand man as I was fixating on these 3 gorgeous golden tomatoes. This question always flusters me… I should have an answer, but truthfully, I buy things on a whim and usually decide what to make later. And in this case, these tomatoes were so spectacular that knew I wasn’t going to “do” much.

heirloom caprese with mint pesto / @loveandlemons

“Um… I’m probably just going to slice and eat them…” He looked at me with a huge grin as if I had just given the right answer. I could tell he was pleased that his tomatoes would be heading to a good home. Then he told me they would be perfect tomorrow, but only tomorrow.

This is what I love about summer.

heirloom caprese with mint pesto / @loveandlemons

Here’s the plate of beautiful sliced tomatoes that we enjoyed last Sunday night… elevated (just slightly) with slices of fresh mozzarella and a bright mint pesto.

A little pesto goes a long way – save the extra for simple meals throughout the week. If you make this tag #loveandlemons or @loveandlemons on Instagram!

heirloom caprese w/ mint pesto

 
Author:
Serves: serves 2-3 as an appetizer
Ingredients
  • 2 large heirloom tomatoes
  • 1 ball of fresh mozzarella
  • salt & pepper
  • optional - red pepper flakes & sprouts for garnish
mint pesto: (this makes extra)
  • a huge handful of mint
  • a few basil leaves
  • 1 small garlic clove
  • ¼ cup pine nuts
  • juice & zest of 1 small lemon
  • ¼ - ⅓ cup olive oil
  • salt & pepper
Instructions
  1. In a small food processor, blend together the mint, basil, garlic, pine nuts, lemon, salt and pepper. Drizzle in the olive oil until and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings.
  2. Slice tomatoes and cheese and arrange on a plate. Season with salt and pepper, then drizzle pesto over the top.
  3. Store extra pesto in the fridge.
Notes
vegan option: Skip the cheese and just drizzle tomatoes with pesto. Or try sliced avocado in place of the cheese.

Plate: Anthropologie

32 comments

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  1. Awesome recipe. I love your combo of pesto w. the basic caprese salad. I will certainly try this. Really yummy !

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  4. Courtney d
    07.21.2014

    I made this for dinner last night for my meat-and-potatoes husband. It was so delicious! He especially loved the pesto and said he’d have it again some time. Thanks!

  5. I just picked up some lovely heirloom tomatoes yesterday, and they would be fantastic in this recipe! Thanks for sharing!

A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.