When tomato and fresh basil is THIS good, I hate to do anything other than enjoy it fresh in a salad. My Basil Vinaigrette is simple to make, takes 5 minutes in a blender. You’ll love it. I promise.
First, the Basil Vinaigrette ingredients: fresh basil leaves, shallots (substitute with onion or garlic), sea salt, a couple slices of fresh chili pepper, good olive oil and a vinegar.
First you gotta chop up the shallots (or substitute with onion or garlic) and the pepper in the blender.
Next goes in the torn basil leaves, salt, vinegar and 2 tablespoons of water. You need that liquid to get things moving in the blender.
Let that baby whirl while you slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Look at that gorgeous mossy green!
Once it calms down a bit, the color turns bright vivid green.
The makings of a Caprese Salad.
Wait. Another beauty shot of the tomato.
Since I’m stacking this Caprese Salad up, I want to make sure that the bottom layer (which uses the bottom of the tomato) is flat — so that the whole stack doesn’t fall over. So lop off the round butt of the tomato so that it has a flat ass to sit on.
Start stacking and layering your Caprese Salad!
Lastly…drizzle the Basil Vinaigrette over your Caprese Salad.
Love that drizzle action!
Caprese Salad with Basil Vinaigrette Recipe
serves 4 as first course
4 large tomatoes, sliced into thick slices
1 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced into thick slices
1/2 cup loosely packed basil leaves
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
For the Basil Vinaigrette
1 small shallot, roughly chopped (substitute with 1 tablespoon chopped onion or 1 garlic clove)
2 slices fresh chili pepper
1 cup loosely packed basil leaves, torn
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons good white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt (1/2 tsp table salt)
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1. To make the Basil Vinaigrette, add the shallot and chili pepper to the blender. Next add the basil leaves, water, vinegar and sea salt. Blend. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil as you are blending.
2. To assemble the Caprese Salad, layer the tomato, fresh mozzarella and basil leaves. In between each layer, season with a bit of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Drizzle the basil vinaigrette on top.
Store extra basil vinaigrette in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
This is summer fest!
Summer Fest 2009 is a four-week, cross-blog celebration co-created (alphabetically listed) by A Way to Garden, Matt Armendariz of Mattbites, Jaden Hair of Steamy Kitchen, and Todd and Diane of White on Rice Couple, with guest appearances from Shauna and Daniel Ahern of Gluten-Free Girl, Simmer Till Done’s Marilyn Pollack Naron, and Paige Smith Orloff of The Sister Project.’ And from you that’s critical. Your contributions are desired, and needed.
Will you play along? Have a recipe or tip that fits any of our weekly themes? Starting today, with the subject of herbs, you can contribute in various ways, big or small. Contribute a whole post, or a comment, whatever you wish. It’s meant to be fun, viral, fluid. No pressure, just delicious. The possibilities:
Simply leave your tip or recipe or favorite links in the comments below a Summer Fest post on my blog, and then go visit my collaborators and do the same.
The cross-blog event idea works best when you leave your recipe or favorite links (whether to your own blog or someone else’s) at all the host blogs. That way, they are likely to be seen by the widest audience. Everyone benefits, and some pretty great dialog starts simmering.
Or think bigger: Publish entire entire posts of your own, if you wish, and grab the juicy Summer Fest 2009 tomato badge (illustrated by Matt of Mattbites).
Summer Fest 2009 Schedule:
- Tuesday, August 18: TOMATO WEEK. How do you like them love apples? (this week!)
What did my co-hosts make for the Summer Fest Party?
Simmer Till Done Made a Savory Upside Down Tomato Basil Bread
Matt Bites does Tomatoes 10 Ways
Away to Garden shows us her Quick Tomato Sauce Ever So Slowly
White on Rice tells us about their kiddie tomato thieves and makes Tomato Jam!
What a cute little girl! Paige from The Sister Project makes Curried Carrot and Tomato Soup
Gluten Free Girl makes Smoked Tomato Salsa
Did you try this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a review in the comment section! I always appreciate your feedback and I know other readers do, too!
Stay in touch with me in our 
I know this is an older post but I just had to say something. I simply adore this dressing! I made it for a baby shower for 45 ladies but, as I didn’t have any white wine vinegar on hand, I used fresh lemon juice. It was a hit. This is the best dressing I’ve had anywhere. I make this for myself and family often now.
Thank you so much Crystal! -jaden
I’ve been looking for a basil vinaigrette and this is the best I’ve found. Delish!
Ммммм…it’s amazing!
This is awesome. In a single sentence, i can say “simplicity at its best”. We already know about tomato-mozerrella salad. but the caprese and basil-vinaigrette dressing lifts up the entire thing.
Yum, What a nice color! I like to cook it in summer!
http://www.fourgreensteps.com/community/recipes/salads/caprese-salad
I have a gargantuan amount of basil and didn’t know what to do but when I found this recipe, it is now almost all gone. I have made this 3 times in the last 3 days for people that are vacationing.
Note that I swapped out the white wine vinegar and used white balsamic vinegar and it turned out excellent. No chile peppers in the house and I used 1/2 tsp of dried red pepper flakes. This recipe overall is outstanding. I used this topping for ciabiatta bread on the grill over some basil-mozzarella and sun dried tomatoes w/black olives. Delish!
I made this salad last night for friends. They loved it. Thank you for the recipe! I wanted something fresh, flavorful and simple. The basil vinaigrette was wonderful and I have been sharing your recipe (link included) non-stop! Thank you. I will come back often.
-Alessandra
I love all of your pictures as well. The first one is amazing! I couldn’t think of a better way to photograph those tomatoes. This salad looks so fresh, and I can almost taste the vinaigrette dressing–delicious!
-Sylvia
These photos are so vibrant and beautiful! I love a good caprese salad and this one looks good enough to grab off the screen! Yumm!
That almost makes me want to actually plant some tomatoes on my balcony next year. That way I can be overrun and need to find tasty recipes such as these to make.
I love the pictures especially the drizzle action. I love caprese salads in the summer time
Thank you Janice! That was fun — one hand drizzling, other hand clicking on camera.
As a basil lover, I found your entry for Caprese Salad with Basil Vinaigrette fascinating. I have never tried creating a basil vinaigrette. But now it is on my list of things to accomplish. Many thanks.
This looks like pure heaven! You’ve managed to bring the caprese salad to a whole new level – YUMMMM!!
This recipe just screams summer! Such vibrant, gorgeous colors. Delicious.
Caprese again but this time with roasted tomatoes — the hot tomatoes soften the cheese and a little sea salt pops the flavor. That’s on my recent post at http://www.kitchenelly.com/2009/08/roasted-tomato-caprese-served-warm/
I love to make an Heirloom Tomato Salad with Watermelon Sorbet and Pickled Watermelon Rind! The recipe and a photograph can be found here:
http://www.porktopurslane.com/search/label/Heirloom%20Tomato%20Salad%20with%20Watermelon%20Sorbet%20Pickled%20Rind%20and%20Micro-Basil
My first ever blog post, and it’s about tomatoes. In tomato week. Go figure.
http://unfussyfare.com/2009/cherry-tomato-and-farro-salad/
Beautiful photos, as usual Jaden.
I make a pesto vinaigrette as my “house” dressing all the time. I like the idea of adding a bit of chili to it. I’ll have to try it.
I’m a bit late to the party with my one and only Summer Fest entry, but I just put up a basics� post on my blog about �How to Peel and Seed Fresh Tomatoes.” I had some “ugly” tomatoes at the end and the best thing to do was peel them.
http://formerchef.com/2009/08/20/how-to-peel-and-seed-fresh-tomatoes/
I really don’t think there’s anything better than fresh basil. I LOVE the idea of making it into a nice dressing. Your towers look sooo pretty!
Caprese salad is one of my all-time faves! To me, tomato, masil, and mozarella make up the ultimate summer trifecta. I’ve got 2 different kinds of basil growing in my garden and I think I need to test out you vinaigrette recipe with both and compare!
Great descriptions and inspiring photos. Wow, that really looks good. Makes me feel guilty for just tossing the tomatoes in with all the other veggies & herbs which is what happens on most nights…
http://macgardens.org/?p=1067
These colors are amazing! You have sold me on this salad, that’s for sure. (and I love the flast-ass comment.)
Mouthwatering pics as usual. I was on a similar flavor wavelength a few weeks ago when I made Panzanella (Italian Bread Salad). What’s better than tomatoes, basil and mozzarella? Great use for day-old bread too.
http://mamachronicles.typepad.com/in_jennies_kitchen/2009/08/panzanella-thoughts-on-the-late-blight.html
Oh Jaden how I pity you and your poor 80 degree winters. hehehe Our summer here has been so messed up my poor garden is going uhh…wtf is going on because one day it is 90 and the next day it is 70s. Although my tomato plants that have survived fungus death are producing faster than I can grab them.
Although my basil is threatening taking over the whole garden (last I checked it was creeping into tarragon’s territory and tarragon was looking at parsley for support).
Nicely done and love the vinaigrette.
LOL that’s exactly what my mint was doing — i called it hostile takeover!
It’s funny, because we were making this for a while in the winter–making winter/canned tomatoes taste good by roasting them with olive oil first (http://www.biggirlssmallkitchen.com/2009/03/potluck-parties-magazine-club-marchthe.html), but I’ve completely neglected to make caprese since summer started!
Thanks!
What a wonderful coincidence! I just finished a series of tomato salads on my blog so I can join in on the summer festivities! Here are my 3 favorite tomato salads:
http://80breakfasts.blogspot.com/2009/08/tomato-salad-1.html
http://80breakfasts.blogspot.com/2009/08/tomato-salad-2.html
http://80breakfasts.blogspot.com/2009/08/tomato-salad-3.html
Glad to celebrate tomatoes with you all! 🙂
I SO should make this. I have an s-load of basil in my garden right now. No tomatoes to speak of, I have a big tomato plant that gives me like one cherry tomato a week. Oh well.
I happen to have a tomato recipe this week! (all the other weeks of Summer Fest, I’ve been making the wrong dishes at the wrong time…pear jam the week AFTER fruits from trees week, etc.) Check it out, a summer succotash, using some ripe juicy local tomatoes that I picked up at the farmer’s market. http://tastyeatsathome.wordpress.com/2009/08/19/summer-succotash/
Your photos are amazing. A delicious scrolling and drooling experience !
I’ve been putting the oven on low, popping in the tomatoes and just waiting a couple of hours for that summer flavour to intensify.
I’m sure I could use them in so many dishes but I think I’ll just eat one, and then another …..until the inevitable !
http://tomatolover.com/roasted-tomatoes/
Simple & delicious! Perfect time to eat tomatoes!
What a gorgeous tomato! And that vinaigrette looks fabulous. I agree with you – all I want to do with a sweet summer tomato is pair it with some fresh basil, fresh mozzarella, and great olive oil. It just doesn’t get any better than that.
Very pretty!
Love the sliced tomato glamour shot series, and seriously jealous of the garden. I’m not letting my two tomatoes plants know there’s more to life than my tiny Brooklyn patio!
However, they’re happily popping out more tomatoes than I can eat as it is, in spite of the blight. Last weekend, I used the cherry tomatoes in a caramelized tomato tart:
http://zested.wordpress.com/2009/08/19/caramelized-tomato-tart/
awww…tiny cute Brooklyn patio! Hey at least you HAVE a patio! 😉
Just awesomely, the red devil in play! lol! 😉
Mmmm, that looks sooooo good – normally I just do a caprese with a drizzle of oil but that vivid green dressing is just stunning! Amazing pics as always. My tomato season is just kicking off here in the UK – no hot summer for us this year! But the tomatoes are just starting to rippen so I’m storing up all these yummy tomato recipes for the inevitable glut in a week or two’s time! http://www.rosylipsandlavender.com/2009/08/summer-fest-tomatoes.html#comments
sometimes I do just sea salt and olive oil, but it’s so nice to have that tang and brightness in the vinaigrette
What a totally brilliant way to serve Caprese salad! You are a tomato genius! The photos are stunning. As is that dressing! It looks like it would do just fine as a shooter – straight up!
I made a roasted cherry tomato clafoutis – http://tinyurl.com/q3jedo – but my very favourite tomato thing this year was a roasted Roma tomato and goat cheese Tarte Tatin. Bliss! http://tinyurl.com/q7spcy
so tomato season is not lost for you, jaden! you’re very lucky. in the northeast, we’re pretty much accepting our fate…which is why i chose this recipe to share.
this year, with tomato season being less than perfect, i think this is the recipe i�d like to submit for summerfest. it coaxes the best out of even less than perfect tomatoes with a little trick�a quick vinegar soak.
http://lesauce.typepad.com/le_sauce/2009/07/pickled-tomato-sauce-with-fried-basil.html
Amazing photo series! I want to go plant some tomatoes now! Okay, maybe for next year 🙂
Very beautiful!
Wow…this looks like a jazzed up version of caprese salad! I can’t wait to try it!
Thanks for sharing it with us!
You’re welcome! It’s jazzed up but super easy
It’s gorgeous, stunning and mouth-watering.
Thanks Divina!
I think I could live off of heirloom tomatoes…
We’ve been cooking a lot of them lately, but this recipe really stood out:
http://www.loveandoliveoil.com/2009/08/heirloom-tomato-panzanella.html
Panzanella, with fresh local heirloom tomatoes, basil, and cucumber, it’s like summer on a slice of bread. Yum!
ahhh yummmm
Oh, that’s my favorite dish of summer, stacked up lovely! You kept things cool and easy. And smart. Now I need a beautiful caprese to go with my tomato bread. Nice job, Jaden!
Thank you and happy Summer Fest! Let’s do again next yr?
That vinaigrette looks amazing. Just last week I made this salad, just drizzled with olive oil, red wine vinegar, s/p. The fam ate it right up. I’ll definitely do the vinaigrette next time!
oooh…that looks so good and refreshing. we will be eating salads for a long time coming here in texas…at least several months! thanks for co-hosting summer fest-i really had a blast participating. here’s my tomato offering:
http://thecosmiccowgirl.wordpress.com/2009/08/18/provencal-tomato-tart/
I have Earthboxes too! I love them. We use them in addition to the raised beds and I have to say, the stuff growing in my Earthboxes is 3x bigger than the stuff in the ground. I can’t say enough good things about them. It’s funny to think that you don’t plant yours until Fall.I always think everyone goes through the 4 seasons like we do.
Yum, yum, yum in my tum. Need I say more?
that salad looks absolutely mouthwatering – I had to refrain from licking my computer screen! Oh and that basil… AMAZING!
Holy stack of tomatoes and cheese! You combined some of my favorite ingredients for this recipe. Love it!
I’m a week behind you guys for tomato posting, next week I’m posting slow roasted tomatoes and some delicious recipes to use them in like pastas and salads. But I do have some older yummy ones, like parmesan crusted tomato slices.
http://dianasaurdishes.com/05/how-to-boil-perfect-corn-on-the-cob-with-parmesan-tomato-slices/
BTW I made some varieties of ketchup for the final week
http://thehealthyirishman.com/2009/08/homemade-tomato-ketchups/
REALLY pretty photo. You can’t beat simple delicious recipes. Fabulouso.
Well, dinner tonight was going to be salmon marinated in an orange/ginger/garlic marinade. However, I think the new plan will be to marinate the salmon in the basil vinaigrette, grill it and serve with chopped tomatoes and more vinaigrette! I absolutely love tomatoes and basil together.
This looks amazing, I’ve making a caprese salad with my slow-roasted tomatoes.
Slow-roasted tomatoes are my favorite. Sometimes I add them to pesto, sometimes I eat them w/ mozzarella and drizzled with olive oil and basil. Other times I add them to pasta as a �sauce� because the flavor is so intense! I also bake them w/ zucchini. Happy Summer Fest!
http://www.thenaptimechef.com/2009/07/napping-with-vegetable-roasting-rules.html
http://www.thenaptimechef.com/2009/07/napping-with-edible-vineyard-sunday.html
I had to laugh when I saw your caprese salad as I did almost exactly the same thing with the exception being that I tried to stack cherry tomatoes with boconcini’s (or whatever those little mozarella thingies are called) and then I ended up making it into a sandwich…. DE_LI_CI_OUS!!!
Love that shot of the water going in.
My summer fest contribution is all about how I reclaimed cold summer soups after the vichyssoise catastrophes of my youth. If I’d had some of your pesto I could have swirled it in and made it palatable.
Here’s my contribution:
http://5secondrule.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/08/how-to-make-fresh-tomato-soup.html
Thanks for organizing this gathering.
Gorgeous Photos!!! I want to take a bath in the Basil vinaigrette! Planting tomatoes for winter…here in Seattle we can only dream of such shenanigans. Here’s my take on savoring our unseasonably warm summer and its resulting tomato bounty! http://plantedathome.com/blog/2009/08/18/pacific-northwest-tomatoes/
Winter tomatoes?? Hmmmmm.
😉
That basil vinaigrette sounds amazing. I’m so there!
My tip today is how to get delicate tomatoes home from the farmers market without squishing them:
http://summertomato.com/farmers-market-update-how-to-transport-soft-fruits-and-vegetables/
Oh my gosh! This recipe looks so good (your photos are amazing) and looks rather simple to make as well. I’m excited to give it a try.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!! This is one of my FAVORITE things to eat! I have a few tomatoes growing, but they have been a little scrawny. I am like you though, my basil plants are huge.
Wish I had heard about this earlier, LOVE the whole idea and can’t wait to whip up that vinaigrette! Here’s a post I did on herb ideas. Hope it fits well.
http://cathyshambley.blogspot.com/2009/08/chillin-it-with-herbs.html
What a gorgeously perfect caprese!
I went with a tomato and cheese dish too, with my Roasted Tomato and Cheddar Tart:
http://piccantedolce.blogspot.com/2009/08/roasted-tomato-cheddar-tart.html
That looks really wonderful. My parents have an abundance of basil growing in their back yard right now and this looks like a great way to use some. Thanks for the recipe!
This looks delicious. Can’t wait to try the vinagrette. Like you we have alot of basil growing. Would like to try this with some lime basil. Just added this to the garden this year and are quite impressed with the taste. It really tastes like lime!
Wish we had a garden to grow fresh fruits and veggies. Oh, to have a proper house. 🙂
Your photos are simply breathtaking. Gorgeous.
Love how you stacked the salad! Like you, I kept it simple. Then the tomatoes are at their prime, they don’t need much help.
Here’s my final entry. Wish this Fest lasted longer!
http://christie-corner.blogspot.com/2009/08/summer-fest-week-4-tomato-salad.html
I agree – when you’ve got a fresh summer tomato, it almost seems wrong to do too much to them. Here’s my entry for this week – my favorite ways to use raw tomatoes:
http://tnlocavore.typepad.com/tennessee_locavore/2009/08/my-name-is-kristina-and-i-have-a-problem.html