BLT Caprese Salad

To me, nothing says Sunday quite like a lazy brunch. A big table laden with pastries, jams, pancakes, cakes, fruit, coffee and juices would be my ideal brunch menu, but what about if you’re in the mood for something light?

I’m not necessarily talking about ‘light’ in terms of healthy. I’m talking more don’t-feel-so-stuffed-that-you’re-never-going-to-eat-again-ever-ever-ever. After all, it’s almost summer and there is ice cream to eat.

That’s where this salad comes in. It’s light and refreshing, whilst still being reasonably indulgent. Crisp lettuce leaves tossed with sweet cherry tomatoes, fragrant basil leaves, creamy mozzarella pearls and crisp bacon, all drizzled with a rich, sweet balsamic glaze. Gimme gimme gimme!

If you don’t think this is enough to fill you up for brunch, might I suggest adding croutons? Not the rubbish ones out of a packet, but homemade croutons from thick, crunchy bread, cut into hearty cubes and baked in the oven until the outsides are crunchy but the insides are still warm and soft. Okay, so now I’m starving.

If you still don’t think that would be enough to fill you up, might I suggest you enjoy it alongside a brunch-appropriate cocktail, like this Ultimate Bloody Mary Cocktail?

Worlds away from an ordinary bloody mary, the Ultimate Bloody Mary Cocktail boasts the addition of heat-packed horseradish and olive brine, as well as a juicy king prawn for a garnish. Sounds amazing, right? In fact, if you scan the ingredients list, you could argue that the cocktail is a meal in itself!

I know many people prefer a BLAT (bacon, lettuce, avocado and tomato) over a traditional BLT, so you can totally throw some avocado in this salad, if you want to. I can’t stand avocado, so you won’t find any of the stuff in my salads. If you want to add in some hard-boiled eggs, extra cheeses, spinach leaves or pretty much anything else apart from avocado, that’s cool with me. Get creative!

With a title like “BLT Caprese Salad”, you might think that this dish is quite hard to make. Believe me – it’s not. Chop with bacon into small pieces and fry them. Chop the rest of the ingredients up and put them in a bowl with the cooked bacon. That’s pretty much it. Add some balsamic glaze if that’s you’re thing or eat it undressed if you prefer your salads naked. Hehehe.

BLT Caprese Salad

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Servings 1 serving

Ingredients

  

• 2 slices of bacon
• 4 leaves large lettuce
• 6 leaves basil
• 6 cherry tomatoes
• 6 mozzarella balls
• optional: balsamic glaze

Instructions

 

• Slice the bacon into small, bite-sized pieces and fry it to your liking in a frying pan.
• Whilst the bacon is cooking, shred the lettuce leaves and put them on your plate with the basil leaves.
• Slice the cherry tomatoes and mozzarella balls in half and add them to your salad.
• Drain the cooked bacon and blot it with some kitchen paper to get rid of the excess grease.
• Add the bacon to your salad and drizzle the whole thing with balsamic glaze.

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