Slow Roasted Tomato Caprese Salad
The classic Caprese flavor combination gets a twist with slow roasted tomatoes, which brings out a deeper flavor and sweetness from the tomatoes.
Have you ever picked up the most beautiful, bright red, unblemished, perfect tomatoes from the store….
only to get home, take a little bite, and find out that they’re not so great?
It’s such a letdown.
I mean, they just looked so darned good, right?
These tomatoes still have hope, my friends.
This is a time when you may not make fresh tomato caprese, but rather, a slow roasted tomato caprese instead.
Roasting helps tomatoes out by intensifying and concentrating the flavors.
And it gets better when you slow roast them with a little aged balsamic, because the balsamic gives the tomatoes a little sweetness to counterbalance the tomato’s acidity.
Enjoy!
Slow Roasted Tomato Caprese Salad
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb on-the-vine tomatoes
- 1/2 lb ball of fresh mozzarella
- about 2 tbsp good quality aged balsamic vinegar
- 15 leaves of basil
- extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
- flaky sea salt
- freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
- Slice the tomatoes into thick slices, about 1/2 inch thick. Lay them on a baking sheet and give them a little showering of salt and pepper.
- Spoon about 1/2 to 3/4 tsp of balsamic onto each tomato slice, making sure to bathe the entire top.
- Roast the tomatoes for 2 hours, until they soften up and contract a bit.
- Carefully scoop the tomatoes up with a spatula, and layer them with a slice of mozzarella, and basil leaves. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a little flaky sea salt, to taste. Enjoy with crusty baguette, or all by itself!
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
15 Comments on “Slow Roasted Tomato Caprese Salad”
I’m pretty sure that if I made all of that, I wouldn’t share it with anyone… I’d just sit and eat until it was all gone! Yumm!
LOL! This cracks me up =) My husband jokes about this with me…he says when I don’t share, that’s when he knows it’s REALLY good. LOL.
WOW. That’s one way to make not-so-good store-bought tomatoes great! Funny story: I was in Montana & Wyoming last week and people there are obsessed with balsamic vinegar. It was everywhere! One place even had it on the table along with the ketchup.
Those tomatoes look delicious. In fact tonight I am going to make a tomato and feta tart for dinner but I don’t have time to pre-roast the tomatoes. I guess it should work out though. I’ll add lots of garlic and herbs – maybe a little pesto too. Yum, I’d better get going.
Thats a really nice looking caprese salad! Love the colours in that photo
Outstanding rescue of mediocre tomatoes! Thanks so much!
Thanks Wendy!
Joanne your photos are just getting better every day. Really professional looking. New camera? I just came back from Italy and I am all about keeping the celebration going and slow roasting your tomatoes sounds like a great way to bring some added flavor to this dish. Take care, BAM
Haha you’re sweet! No new camera, I think I’m just starting to understand more fundamentals little by little…emphasis on that “little by little” part LOL. Yes I saw your latest post and that stripey pasta is gorgeous. I’m hoping to go this fall, I can only hope!
I love slow roasting tomatoes….and I like the idea of adding balsamic
Yeah, the balsamic was really nice, it made the flavors even richer!
What a clever way to save the tomatoes. I’ve got to try this–looks delicious, Joanne. Hope you had a great 4th! x
Thanks Caroline, hope you did too!!!
That happened to me, beautiful looking bad not so good flavor. This is a wonderful to rescue those tomatoes.
They must be really good at the genetic modification now…or whatever you call it LOL. I read that all peaches look red now, you have to look for warm yellow tones to judge ripeness (though, I usually just smell and that works the best for me). They trick us sometimes!