The perfect sunny day salad: Peach Caprese

When summer is at its height and the peaches are so ripe that you can smell their sweet aroma just by walking by, it’s time for this bright salad – a fun twist on the traditional caprese salad of mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil. This version is really lovely, both from a flavour and visual standpoint, and it comes together in minutes. Just be sure to allow some time for everything to get nice and chilled. First things first: Seek out the best mozzarella you can for the salad. If there’s a market close to you that makes it fresh, that’s fantastic, but very good mozzarella can be found at your local supermarket. For salads, I like the type packed in water best.

Prep: 10 minutes, plus chilling (for the dressing)

Serves 4

Ingredients
120ml white balsamic vinegar
60ml extra virgin olive oil
2 white peaches, chilled
2 yellow peaches, chilled
230g fresh mozzarella balls, preferably water-packed
10 fresh basil leaves, torn
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Method
In a 250ml screw-top jar, combine the vinegar and oil. Screw on the lid and shake well. Refrigerate until well chilled. The dressing can be made ahead and stored in the jar in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Remove the pits from the peaches and cut them into 1.5cm-thick slices or wedges. Drain the mozzarella if necessary and pat dry. Use a sharp knife to cut it into ½ cm-thick slices.

On a serving platter, decoratively arrange slices of the white peaches, yellow peaches, and mozzarella. Scatter the basil leaves on top, drizzle over the dressing, and sprinkle the sea salt and pepper on top. Serve at once.

Extracted from Magnolia Table by Joanna Gaines (William Morrow, approx €23). Photography by Amy Neunsinger. Copyright © 2018 by Joanna Gaines. Reprinted by permission of William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.