Description
A refreshing and vibrant Cherry Tomato Salad featuring sweet nectarines, creamy Ciliegine mozzarella, and a zesty champagne vinaigrette, perfect for summer gatherings or a light meal.
Ingredients
Scale
Salad Ingredients
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 3 nectarines, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1/2 cup very thinly sliced cucumber
- 1/2 of a small shallot, finely diced
- 1 8-oz container Ciliegine (small mozzarella balls), halved
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- 1/4 cup chopped basil
Dressing Ingredients
- 1 tbsp champagne vinegar
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp honey
- flaky salt, to taste
Instructions
- Combine the ingredients. In a large bowl, add the halved cherry tomatoes, chopped nectarines, thinly sliced cucumber, finely diced shallot, halved Ciliegine mozzarella balls, chopped parsley, and chopped basil. Mix gently to combine all salad components evenly.
- Make the dressing. In a small bowl or jar, whisk together champagne vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, honey, and a pinch of flaky salt until thoroughly emulsified. Taste the vinaigrette and adjust the balance of acidity and sweetness by adding more lemon juice or honey if needed.
- Toss the salad. Drizzle the prepared vinaigrette over the salad mixture and toss gently but thoroughly to coat all ingredients evenly with the dressing.
- Serve or chill. Serve the salad immediately for fresh texture and bright flavor, or refrigerate for up to 1 hour to allow the flavors to meld together for a more harmonious taste.
Notes
- Use ripe nectarines for the best sweetness and texture contrast.
- Chiliegine mozzarella is small fresh mozzarella balls; regular fresh mozzarella cut into similar-sized pieces can be used as a substitute.
- Adjust the amount of honey and lemon juice in the dressing to suit your preferred sweetness and acidity levels.
- Refrigerate the salad for no longer than 1 hour to maintain freshness and prevent the mozzarella from becoming too soft.
- Flaky salt adds a nice crunch and enhances flavor; kosher salt can be used as an alternative.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: No-cook, Tossed
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 150
- Sugar: 9g
- Sodium: 180mg
- Fat: 9g
- Saturated Fat: 3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 12g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 6g
- Cholesterol: 15mg
Keywords: cherry tomato salad, nectarine salad, summer salad, mozzarella salad, fresh herb salad, easy salad recipe
