Hot Bacon Caprese Salad

Everything is better with bacon, including

the classic Italian Caprese Salad

with the addition of a hot bacon dressing!

Fresh from the pages of the June issue of Southern Living Magazine, I was not-so-patiently waiting for the arrival of heirloom tomatoes at our Farmers Market!

Hot Bacon Caprese Salad,

recipe courtesy Southern Living

Ingredients

Assorted heirloom tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch slices

Fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2-inch slices

Fresh basil leaves

4  – 6 bacon slices, coarsely chopped

3 to 4 Tbsp. red wine vinegar (I substituted 3 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar)

2 tablespoons  extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Arrange tomatoes and cheese on a serving platter, placing basil leaves among the slices. Sprinkle with desired amount of salt and pepper.

 Saute bacon in a large skillet over medium heat 6 to 8 minutes or until crisp. Remove from heat, reserving bacon and 2 Tbsp. drippings in skillet. Let stand 1 minute. Add vinegar and oil, stirring to loosen browned bits from bottom of skillet. Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp. kosher salt and 1/2 tsp. black pepper. Drizzle warm bacon mixture over tomatoes and cheese.

Serve immediately.

Notes: I cooked the bacon, removed it from the pan, draining it on paper towels and then sprinkled it over the salad to get an even distribution of bacon. Then I made the dressing in the pan with the reserved drippings to drizzle over the salad.

You can find a printable recipe, here.

Now that we’ve sampled the hot bacon version,

it’s going to be hard to go back

to the classic Caprese Salad!

If your tomato cup runneth over and you need

some additional tomato inspiration,

click on the links below for a taste!

You Say Tomato,

Table and Centerpiece

Heirloom Tomato Pie 

 Or a individual serving,

 Mini Tomato Pies/ Tarts

BLT Bruschetta

Thank you for your visit, sharing with:

 Metamorphosis Monday