Tomato Peach Salad with Basil
Ingredients
- Salad:
- 4 medium ripe tomatoes mixed varieties if available
- 3 medium ripe peaches or nectarines slightly firm
- ½ small red onion very thinly sliced
- Large handful of fresh basil leaves torn
- 75 g fresh mozzarella or burrata torn (optional)
- Dressing:
- 3 tablespoons good quality extra virgin olive oil
- 1½ tablespoons aged balsamic or white balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey optional
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard optional
- Flaky sea salt and cracked black pepper
- Finishing:
- Extra basil leaves
- Extra drizzle of olive oil
- Extra flaky sea salt
- Pinch of chili flakes optional
- Toasted pine nuts or chopped pistachios optional
Instructions
- Slice tomatoes into 1 cm rounds or wedges. Season lightly with flaky salt. Set aside 5 minutes to begin releasing juice.
- Halve peaches, remove pits, and slice each half into 4–5 wedges. Do not peel.
- Slice red onion paper thin. Soak in cold water 5 minutes. Drain thoroughly.
- Whisk olive oil, balsamic, honey, and mustard together until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper.
- Arrange alternating tomato slices and peach wedges across a large flat platter in a loose, overlapping pattern.
- Scatter drained red onion over the top. Tuck torn mozzarella or burrata between the slices if using.
- Drizzle all the dressing evenly over the platter.
- Scatter torn basil leaves over the top. Season with extra flaky salt and cracked black pepper.
- Rest for 10 minutes before serving. Spoon the accumulated juices back over the salad.
- Finish with extra basil, a final drizzle of olive oil, and pine nuts or pistachios if using. Serve immediately at room temperature.
Notes
- Salt tomato slices before assembling — it begins drawing juice immediately and produces the natural dressing that forms during resting
- Tear basil rather than chopping — torn basil stays green longer and does not oxidize at the cut edges
- Choose peaches that are ripe but slightly firm — very soft peaches collapse when sliced and dressed
- Use your best extra virgin olive oil — this salad is simple enough that every ingredient is tasted in every bite
- Rest the salad for the full 10 minutes after dressing — this step is what transforms it from dressed fruit into a genuine dish
- Serve at room temperature only — refrigeration kills the flavor of both tomatoes and peaches
- Use white balsamic to avoid staining the peaches dark brown where the dressing touches them
- Assemble no more than 30 minutes before serving — basil wilts and the fruit releases too much liquid beyond this point
- A mix of tomato colors and sizes makes the platter more visually interesting with no extra effort