[Week 12] A New (Another?) Way to Caprese Salad

Hello Farm Share Friends,

Last Thursday my family and I had dinner at The Broken Inn, a local restaurant that opened last year and quickly won the hearts and minds of all for its good food, good vibes, and street-side window serving vanilla and chocolate soft serve.

From day one, I have loved The Broken Inn’s salads, all served on mismatched china plates, the caprese being my current favorite. While there is nothing especially unusual about the Broken Inn’s caprese, it gets the basics right, using excellent tomatoes and mozzaralla, and keeping the seasonings minimal: olive oil, salt, and good balsamic vinegar.

But what I find myself really loving about this particular caprese salad is the layer of basil pesto spread across the bottom of the plate. Why? For one, it adds an element of flavor basil alone can’t provide, a punchy schmear to mop up with slices of juicy tomatoes and salty mozzarella, which soak up all the goodness like a sponge.

But two, for the practicality: the days of receiving massive weekly bundles of farm share basil are numbered, and soon we won’t have the luxory of showering our salads with tender, fragrant herbs. With pesto in the freezer, we can preserve those flavors of summer and make our tomatoes happy well into the fall.

On Friday we left for a three-day camping trip during which we lived on ratatouille and beans, and yesterday, upon returning home, I made a trip to the store solely for tomatoes and mozzarella, this salad top of mind. It came together in a snap, and with all of the tomatoes we are expecting to receive in the farm share today, it might just materialize again tonight.

Friends I know there is nothing new about combining tomatoes, mozzarella, and pesto, but should you be looking for another way to caprese, I think you’ll approve.

As noted above we are receiving lots of tomatoes this week, and I’ve included a few new recipes below featuring tomatoes in various forms. We’re also receiving delicata squash 🎉, which I love for its ease of prep, flavor, and visual appeal.

This week I’ll shoot to use the head lettuce, corn, and arugula earlier in the week. I’ll store the scallions on the countertop (in a glass filled with a little bit of water), and I’ll store the tomatoes and squash on the countertop as well.

Week