Garden mozzarella di bufala salad

With summer nearly upon us, I’m sure I’m not the only one turning to no-cook easy meals with vibrant colours and fresh flavours. Big bowls of salad, fresh fruit, crisp-breads slathered with delicious spreads, that sort of thing. One of my favourite warm weather salads is the classic Italian caprese, with fresh basil, ripe tomatoes, mozzarella di bufala and good quality olive oil. It’s naturally gluten free, so it’s a go-to for me when I visit the land of pasta and pizza. As much as I love the classic caprese, I do find it lacks a bit on the vegetable front. So for this summer season, I wanted to create a salad inspired by the caprese, featuring lots and lots of veggies. The result: this beautiful and vibrant garden mozzarella di bufala salad!

This salad is naturally gluten free and so fresh thanks to a generous squeeze of lemon juice. Thrown together in a matter of minutes, it makes a great main dish salad for lunch on the patio or a side as part of a larger lunch or dinner spread. Just make sure to get your hands on very fresh produce for this one because the veggies are the stars of the show. And definitely opt for some good quality mozzarella di bufala if it’s available to you, it really makes the dish.

I hope you enjoy the recipe, and the sunny days ahead!

-xo KA

Garden mozzarella di bufala salad {gluten free}

This is my greener spin on the classic Italian caprese salad. I like to use veggies with lots of different colours like mixed heirloom cherry tomatoes, mixed sprouts, and bright red peppers – opt for really fresh produce and good quality mozzarella di bufala. This salad works as a main for one person, but also makes a lovely addition to a larger spread.

Ingredients:

• A few large handfuls of salad greens of your choice (e.g. torn butter lettuce leaves, field salad, baby spinach or mixed greens)

• 1 handful heirloom cherry tomatoes, quartered

• 4 large green olives, pitted and chopped

• 1 big handful mixed sprouts or salad cress

• 1/4 of a red pepper, finely diced

• 1/4 of a cucumber, thinly sliced into half moons

• 1 ball (approx. 125g) mozzarella di buffala, halved and sliced

• 1 good drizzle extra virgin olive oil

• 1 big squeeze lemon juice (about 1/2 of a lemon)

• Sea salt flakes and freshly ground pepper

• 1-2 tbsp hemp seeds (optional)

Method:

Place the salad greens in a medium/large salad bowl. Arrange the cherry tomatoes, green olives, sprouts, red pepper, cucumber, and mozzarella on top of the salad greens, mixing gently with your hands. Drizzle the olive oil and squeeze the lemon juice over the salad, season with sea salt flakes and freshly ground pepper to your liking, and garnish with hemp seeds if using. Serve with additional lemon slices if desired.

Serves 1 as a main, more as a side.