7.10.2011

Slow Roasted Tomato Caprese Salad


It's the middle of summer and for some reason I've been craving roasted veggies like crazy. It seems so silly heating up the whole kitchen just for a little crispy-tender-sweet broccoli or cabbage. Luckily these slow roasted tomatoes are delicious compromise. Given a light coating of olive oil, a few cloves of garlic, and a low 225˚ oven, little cherry and grape tomatoes transform into juicy, sweet bombs of flavor. Tossed with fragrant basil, nuggets of creamy mozzarella, and a bit of balsamic glaze you have a gorgeous summery side salad.


This recipe calls for a pound of tomatoes, but really the salad only uses about half of that. Don't worry, you'll find a way to use the remainder. You could smear a few of the roasted garlic cloves on some bread with a little olive oil and few roasted tomatoes. Or make a sort of bruschetta - pile on top of toasted, garlic rubbed slices of bread. The tomatoes are truly divine on their own as well, I ate most of my leftovers like little tomato candies. The rest I tossed with orecchiette, a pat of butter and some freshly grated parmigiano reggiano cheese.

Likewise, the balsamic glaze cooks down to about 1/3 - 1/2 a cup of liquid, more than you'll need for this salad. The leftover glaze will last in your fridge for quite a while. It's lovely over grilled meat and fresh or cooked veggies. Make sure to use fresh mozzarella, you want whole balls shrink wrapped in plastic or sold in tubs full of whey. I used boccocini, delicate bite sized rounds of fresh mozzarella, you can usually find them with the gourmet cheeses. 



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Slow Roasted Tomato Caprese Salad with Balsamic Glaze
Grape and cherry tomatoes turn sweet and deeply flavorful after slow roasting in a low oven. Tossed with fresh mozzarella, basil, and a balsamic glaze you have a beautiful summer salad.
Ingredients
    16 oz Cherry or Grape Tomatoes 2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1 teaspoon Ground Coriander Seed 1 head fresh Garlic 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt 1/2 teaspoon ground Black Pepper 1 cup Balsamic Vinegar 8 oz fresh Mozzarella 4-5 large leaves fresh Basil
Instructions
Pre-heat your oven to 225˚F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Halve the tomatoes and separate the cloves of garlic, leaving them un-peeled. Toss tomatoes and garlic with olive oil, ground coriander, salt and pepper. Arrange tomatoes on the baking sheet - cut side up.

Roast tomatoes (and garlic) for around 3 hours, until the edges are wrinkled but the insides are still a bit juicy. I found that round cherry tomatoes tend to take a bit longer than oval shaped grape tomatoes.

To make the balsamic glaze - heat the balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring vinegar to a boil and allow to reduce by about half, until it's thick and glossy. This will probably take around 20-30 minutes, keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn.

When you're ready to serve your salad, tear the mozzarella into bite size chunks and chiffonade the basil. Then, in a medium sized serving bowl, toss basil with the mozzarella and a cup of the roasted tomatoes. Drizzle with the balsamic glaze and serve right away with some crusty bread!
 
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 4 servings

28 comments:

  1. I love tomatoes and basil and boccocini! Roasting the tomatoes is a great idea - definitely have to try it!

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  2. Looks delicious! I love roasted tomatoes like this and the flavorings you used sound so yummy! Love the different colors too :D

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  3. Love anything caprese and the addition of the roasted tomatoes looks amazing!

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  4. @Renee - The roasted tomatoes are kind of addictive, I made another batch over the weekend and ate them all!

    @Heidi - Thanks! Yes, they're so pretty out the oven, like little tomato jewels.

    @Rachel - Thank you!

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  5. This salad looks so delicious! I love the idea of having this for a light, summery lunch. Plus your photos of it are so gorgeous!

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  6. I love roasted tomatoes. This looks rich and fresh. Yum! Thank you for sharing the recipe.

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  7. This looks incredible! As if I didn't love caprese salad enough your stunning photos just made me fall in love all lover again!!

    New to your blog; happy I found you!

    Mary xo
    Delightful Bitefuls

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  8. This is just gorgeous - what a lovely ode to summertime!

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  9. @Koci - Thank yo so much, it's definitely perfect for a light lunch!

    @Amy - Thanks for stopping by!

    @Mary - So happy you made your way here. And thank you so much, your comment made me blush a little :D

    @Angela - Thank you!

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  10. Самые вкусные салаты - http://na-salat.ru/

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  11. Thanks for sharing! It's so delicious!

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  12. Can the tomatoes be made ahead of time & finish the recipe later?

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    1. I think so, I would toss them with a bit of olive oil to keep the tomatoes moist. And definitely wait to chop the basil/drain the mozzarella/mix in the balsamic until you are ready to serve. I hope it works out for you!

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  13. I have a dumb question... Do you roast the garlic along with the tomatoes or no? I'm guessing no but I want to make sure. Thanks!

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    1. Yes I do roast it with the tomatoes! If you leave the cloves in the skin they roast really slowly and sort of melt garlicky juices into the tomatoes. Sometimes the cloves are still good to eat at the end (smear em on some bread) but the longer they roast, the more flavor they leave behind all over the tomatoes.

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    2. Okay thanks for the quick reply! I looooove roasted garlic so I'll definitely be using it =).

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  14. This reminds me of my friend who likes to roast slices of tomatoes on top of a piece of sliced shallot. Do you think that would be yummy? Thanks for the amazing recipe btw, love it!

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    1. Oh I'm sure it would be tasty! But the low/slow method here might dry up sliced tomatoes and shallots so I would watch carefully and use way less time. Definitely worth a try :)

      I'm so glad you liked the recipe!

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  15. Yum to anything caprese!! Nice twist with the roasted tomatoes.

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  16. That was wonderful!!!! I used mozzarella pearls (so it was already small pieces) and I drizzled on a store-bought, organic glaze, which really made it simple and freed up my stove for the other parts of our dinner. I put the tomatoes in the oven in the afternoon and they were ready and hot when my company arrived... Thank you. This is definately a keeper!

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    1. Oh great! I love success stories :) I especially like that out of season cherry tomatoes work so great with the recipe, since the flavors get so concentrated. I like the tip for the balsamic glaze, I have been seeing bottles more often lately at the grocery store. Thanks so much for commenting!

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    2. Yes, actually I had several boxes of organic tomtoes and all my tomatoes were green, which was part of the reason I decided to roast them. It worked very well & I enjoyed the last little bits for lunch today. yum!

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  17. Try roasting some cannellini (white kidney) beans in a frying pan with olive oil, garlic, kosher salt and red pepper flakes until they are browned and slightly crunchy (don't stir very often) and toss with your fresh mozzarella, roasted tomatoes and basil. It is a super great combo.

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  18. I'm not usually a fan of salads, but this looks absolutely delicious!

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  19. I made this for Valentine's Day and it was absolutely delicious! Both my husband and I loved it and he insisted I keep the recipe and make it again. Thank you!

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