Caprese with Garden Basil

Name: Caprese with Garden Basil
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 3 to 4 large ripe tomatoes (any excellent variety), sliced ¼ inch thick; 1 pound fresh mozzarella (buffalo mozzarella if you can find it), sliced ¼ inch thick; 1 large bunch fresh basil, leaves picked; Extra virgin olive oil — the best you have; Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper; Balsamic reduction (optional)

The Caprese is not a recipe. It's an act of faith — faith that your ingredients are good enough to stand alone. Three things: tomato, mozzarella, basil. That's it. If any one of them is mediocre, there's nowhere to hide. If all three are great, there's nothing better.

4 servings

Yield

10 minutes

Time

None. This is a moment, not a leftover.

Keeps

Ingredients

3 to 4 large ripe tomatoes (any excellent variety), sliced ¼ inch thick
1 pound fresh mozzarella (buffalo mozzarella if you can find it), sliced ¼ inch thick
1 large bunch fresh basil, leaves picked
Extra virgin olive oil — the best you have
Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Balsamic reduction (optional)

Method

Arrange alternating slices of tomato and mozzarella on a platter, overlapping slightly. Tuck basil leaves between and on top.
Drizzle generously with your best olive oil.
Sprinkle with flaky salt and a few cracks of black pepper.
If using balsamic reduction, drizzle it lightly — a little goes a long way.
Serve immediately at room temperature. Never refrigerate a Caprese.
*Storage:** None. This is a moment, not a leftover.
*Seasonal note:** Fresh mozzarella should be milky and soft, not rubbery. If you can find burrata (mozzarella filled with cream and stracciatella), use it — when you cut it open and the cream oozes over the tomatoes, it's a religious experience. Grow your own basil if you possibly can. The stuff from the garden, picked minutes before serving, is incomparably better than store-bought.

· · ·

Why We Made This

We started Gathered Guides because food tastes better when it's in season. Every recipe in the Seasonal Harvest series was written around what the land actually offers — not what the supermarket ships from 3,000 miles away.

📖

No SEO Filler

Just the recipe. No 2,000-word life story before the ingredients list.

🍳

Tested in Real Kitchens

Every recipe was made, adjusted, and made again until it worked perfectly at home.

🎁

Beautiful Enough to Gift

Designed to feel like something you'd find in a bookshop — not printed from a blog.

Here's What You're Getting

Seasonal Harvest: Summer

25+ recipes

Peak summer produce recipes
Grilling, salads & cold soups
Preserving summer's bounty
No-cook & quick-cook meals

Get Seasonal Harvest: Summer — $12.99

Instant PDF download

Instant PDF download. No subscriptions. No hidden fees.

🔒 Secure checkout

📱 Works on any device

🌿 Made in BC

Free Guide — No Credit Card

Get it here free — 20 herbs your kitchen already has

Fire cider, elderberry gummies, garlic tonic & more. Yours free — no strings attached.

We respect your inbox. One guide, then we're done.