Slow Roasted Tomato Caprese Salad

By ltruitt

From Tasty Kitchen

Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 3 hours
Servings: 4

Grape and cherry tomatoes turn sweet and deeply flavorful after slow roasting in a low oven. Tossed with fresh mozzarella, basil, and a balsamic glaze, you have a beautiful summer salad.

The recipe makes more tomatoes than you need for the salad. They’re delicious on their own, like little tomato candies. Add them to your favorite pasta dish or use them in bruschetta, piled on toasty, garlic rubbed bread.

Ingredients

• 2 pints Grape Or Cherry Tomatoes
• 1 head Fresh Garlic
• 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 teaspoon Ground Coriander Seed
• 1/2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
• 1/2 teaspoons Freshly Cracked Black Pepper
• 1 cup Balsamic Vinegar
• 8 ounces, weight Fresh Mozzarella
• 5 leaves Fresh Basil
• Crusty Bread, To Serve

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat your oven to 225ºF and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Halve the tomatoes and separate the cloves of garlic, leaving them unpeeled. Toss tomatoes and garlic with olive oil, ground coriander, salt and pepper. Arrange tomatoes on the baking sheet, cut side up.

Roast tomatoes for around 3 hours, until the edges are wrinkled but the insides are still a bit juicy. I found that round cherry tomatoes tend to take a bit longer than oval-shaped grape tomatoes.

To make the balsamic glaze, heat the balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring vinegar to a boil and allow to reduce by about half, until it’s thick and glossy. This will probably take around 20-30 minutes; keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn. You’ll definitely have extra glaze; it will keep in the fridge for quite a while.

When you’re ready to serve your salad, tear the mozzarella into bite size chunks and chiffonade the basil. Then, in a medium sized serving bowl, toss basil with the mozzarella and a cup of the roasted tomatoes. Drizzle with the balsamic glaze and serve right away with some crusty bread!