Fresh From Nancy's Garden

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Peachapalooza Part 2: Peach, Tomato & Fresh Mozzarella Salad

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You’re going to love this Peach, Tomato and Fresh Mozzarella Salad. Wait until you taste the first bite–the warm slightly crispy bread and the salty-lemony dressing with the crunch of the pistachios and the sweetness of the peaches and the fresh tomatoes–it’s so so good. This is definitely my new favorite. I think you’ll want a second helping!

 

My version was inspired by Stephanie Izard’s recipe for a Tomato, Stone Fruit and Fresh Mozzarella Salad that I found in the Off Duty section of the Saturday Wall Street Journal. I love that section of the paper–it has great articles on style, fashion, design, adventure, travel and of course, eating and drinking.
 
I adapted her recipe to accommodate all my peaches. It’s kind of like an Italian Panzanella salad but the pistachio-lemon dressing makes it so different. And the freshly toasted croutons allow you to soak up every last drop of the dressing.
 
INGREDIENTS FOR PEACH TOMATO & MOZZARELLA SALAD
Serves 4–but can be doubled
  • 1/2 cup roasted and salted pistachios, roughly chopped
  • juice of 2 large lemons
  • 2 TBS. honey
  • 5 TBS. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 TBS. olive oil to toss bread in before toasting
  • salt & freshly ground pepper
  • 2 1/2 cups roughly torn bread (I used a La Brea bakery French round)
  • 1 1/2 lbs. heirloom tomatoes, cut into wedges 
  • 3 ripe peaches, cut into wedges
  • 10 oz. fresh mozzarella, sliced into 1/4 in. rounds
  • 8 basil leaves, roughly chopped

Roughly chop the pistachios. Here’s a suggestion–BUY THEM ALREADY SHELLED! I couldn’t find them at my market and it took a long long time to shell them!

To make the vinaigrette: In a medium bowl whisk the pistachios, lemon juice, honey and olive oil until well blended. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside. You can make this ahead of time and leave out at room temperature for a couple hours.

Here’s my peach and tomato harvest! Now you can see why I needed peach recipes! I actually doubled the recipe when I made it which made shelling the pistachios an even bigger job!

Cut the peaches into wedges and other shapes.

Cut the tomatoes. I used a variety of tomatoes and left some of the cherry tomatoes whole. 

Mix tomatoes and peaches in a large bowl and season with salt. Set aside.
 

Toss the torn bread with about 1 TBS olive oil and season with salt. Spread in a single layer on a baking tray and bake at 375 degrees until nicely toasted, about 12-15 minutes. Check from time to time. You don’t want them to be too dry. I found bigger pieces were perfect–just a little crispy but warm and soft on the inside.

To assemble: Put the sliced mozzarella on a plate and season with salt and pepper. Spoon the peach-tomato mixture on top of the mozzarella. Arrange the croutons on top and drizzle the vinaigrette over all of it. Garnish with the basil and serve immediately. 

I think you’ll agree–this is the best summer salad yet!

Remember, read it first at Stu News.

 

Categories: Soups & Salads

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