Strawberry Caprese Salad

Yummy summer salad alert!

Oh and another book review too.

I requested a copy of Here’s to Us by Elin Hilderbrand from the library when I found out that one of the bloggers I follow had developed recipes to be included in the novel. The book seemed interesting enough and it’s always fun to see book inspired recipes, so I dove right in.

However, the “light summer read” was anything but. While it was a quick read for such a long book, it was anything but light. There was death, betrayal, affairs, and serious drug addiction. It was a very heavy book. And there were only 4 recipes included in the whole 400+ page book – and I didn’t even like them! Sad panda.

You can get my whole book review and the synopsis of the book over here on GoodReads – I’m terrible as writing synopses, I mean, why rewrite what someone already wrote (and probably better than I did), right?

But I was determined to make something inspired by the book. Thankfully, a couple of the main characters were chefs, so quite a lot of food was mentioned in passing, including a Strawberry Caprese Salad.

Initially, I considered making a true caprese, consisting of strawberries (in lieu of tomatoes), basil, mozzarella, and balsamic vinegar. But then I got a good look at my garden and all of the salad greens that were ready for picking and decided to make it a lettuce salad as well. And I found a recipe for a honey-balsamic reduction that was absolute perfection!

This was a winning salad! I love salads anyway, so I’m always happy when I find another that I can add to my lunch rotation!

Strawberry Caprese Salad

Adapted from Bojon Gourmet

Balsamic Reduction

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp honey

Salad

2 cups spring greens

½ cup sliced strawberries

¼ cup blackberries

2 tbsp mozzarella cheese, cubed

1 tbsp chopped walnuts

1 tbsp fresh basil, sliced

Place the balsamic vinegar and honey in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until reduced to about 4 tablespoons. The reduction will be thick and syrupy (it will thicken more as it cools). Cool to room temperature.

Place the greens in a bowl. Top with berries, cheese, walnuts, and basil. Drizzle with balsamic reduction and serve.

Makes 1 salad with leftover balsamic reduction.

Want more? Try these delicious salads!