Copycat Caprese: Smitten Kitchen's Cubed, Hacked Caprese

When I saw this recipe for cubed, hacked caprese salad on Smitten Kitchen I knew that I would be making it that night. I was planning on making homemade pizza for dinner with friends (as you all know I like to do sometimes), and thought this salad would be a perfect partner in crime.  I printed out the recipe, tucked it into my purse, bought fresh mozzarella and fat, ripe, red Jersey tomatoes on the way home from work and threw it together to nosh on while we were waiting for the pizza to cook. 

Caprese salad, and I mean good caprese salad, is one of my favorite Italian-inspired dishes. No, it doesn't hold a candle to my baked penne with sausage and spinach or my spinach pumpkin linguine (what can I say? I like spinach). But when you have caprese salad made with excellent mozzarella cheese, you only need a little bit and when you have fresh-from-the-vine tomatoes you can let them star as the lead ingredient. 

This salad has both perfect mozzarella and exemplary tomatoes. It also uses white beans, which I love for their addition of healthy fiber and protein to an otherwise indulgent dish and fresh (or store-bought) pesto sauce for its light basil flavor, reminiscent of Indian summer. 

Cubed, Hacked Caprese Salad
(Adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Ingredients:

3/4 to 1 pound fresh mozzarella, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
1 pound peak-season tomatoes, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
1 15-ounce can white beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup pesto (or a handful of slivered basil plus 1/4 cup olive oil)
3 to 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Mix all ingredients. Season with salt and pepper and then reseason again to adjust to your taste. Eat at once or keep it in the fridge up to a few days. Shelf life depends on how fresh your mozzarella is.

Comments

[Louise]

Wonderful post Maris. I missed this recipe at the Smitten Kitchen. Thank you so much for bringing it to my attention. I too like the carefully chosen additions. Very nice indeed!

[Karine]

I saw that recipe too and I also thought I looked so good! Yours looks delicious too. Thanks for sharing!

[Eralda]

Love the addition of beans and pesto to the traditional caprese ingredients. Sounds so fresh and delicious. Perfect for a weeknight meal.

[Cate O'Malley]

I have pesto and beans on hand ... think I'll have to pick up the other ingredients and give this a whirl this weekend - sounds delicious!

[Southern Grace Gourmet]

Looks delicious. I love salads that incorporate beans, they are healthy and tasty! and thanks for coming by my site, so I could find yours! Great Site!

[Bill Medifast]

Excellent! I made this when I saw it on Smitten Kitchen too. It really is delicious.

- Bill

[Sophie]

What an easy yet so flavourfull salad!

Yum!

[elra]

Love the vibrant color on this salad. I am sure it delicious too!

[thatShortChick]

this reminds of when my mom recently made a caprese lasagna (courtesy of a recipe from Rachael Ray) and it was surprisingly good (I'm not really a fan of lasagna).

this salad looks much better though!

[Cecile]

Another recipe that gets copied and filed with the rest of my faves. Keep them coming!

[brandi]

I love white beans with tomatoes, and this just looks perfect!

[Daryl Callahan]

I am going to try the buratta. The above post has enticed me to try it. There is a really neat Italian shop near me that I have wanted to try and tonight will be the night!

[kat]

love the addition of white beans!

[mandy]

This is one of my favorite summer dishes.

[Daryl]

Looks beautiful and I can attest to the fact that it was

[Maggie]

If you are a caprese junkie, might I ask if you've discovered buratta yet? If not, run, do not walk, to your nearest Italian market or gourmet cheese shop and find some. It's the champagne of mozarella, and you will never go back once you've tried it! I promise. You can trust me because I lived in Italy for 4 months... :)