Summer is here and with it, fresh tomatoes and basil! My basil is flourishing in the greenhouse but I am relying on the Farmers Market and organic grocery stories to find the early fruit. I recommend using your highest quality extra virgin olive oil and sea salt flakes (i.e. Malden’s). A taste of juicy summer in every bite!

Tomato, Basil and Bocconcini Salad

This is a ‘rough’ recipe as the size of your salad will depend on how many people you are serving or how many fresh ripe tomatoes you bought at the farmers market.

3 medium-large ripe tomatoes

bocconcini, sliced (Note: I accidentally bought ‘cocktail balls’ of bocconcini but they worked just as well sliced in half)

fresh basil

extra-virgin olive oil

balsamic vinegar (just a sprinkling)

seal salt flakes and freshly ground pepper

Slice your tomatoes and bocconcini. Separate the basil into individual leaves. (You can coarsely chop these if your basil leaves are very large.) On a serving platter, begin laying the tomato slices and top each with a bocconcini slice. You’ll often see this salad arranged in a circle but play around and have fun with the design. This time around, I used a very long bread plate and arranged them in a long line.

Drizzle the tomatoes and cheese with olive oil and sprinkle with balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve. Enjoy every bite and keep in mind that this salad will never be this flavorful in the winter with store-bought fruit!