Photography by Marie Viljoen.
Summer, the official version, is over. If there is one constant to my summer and early fall supper menus it is an ever-evolving riff on a famous salad that basil defines: the caprese.
Opal basil on my September terrace; bees love the flowers, humans love the leaves.
Insalata di caprese, with September’s Brooklyn-grown basil. And if they are truly of the season, this salad’s supple framework allows you to improvise.
Sweetly sour quick-pickled wild blueberries add tang to a tangle of bitter radicchio with shaved radish.
In my farmers’ market and forage-inspired versions of the caprese salad, seasonally shifting fruits and vegetables (and vegetable-fruits) provide contrast for the soft cheese, whether it is fall-apart creamy burrata, sliceable mozzarella, or assertive feta.
Whole burrata with figs and tomatoes, peppery nasturtium leaves, and purple basil.
Mint joins basil, and feta stands in for mozzarella, with figs, cucumber, and freestone peaches. So why not deploy fruit-fruit, like cherries, peaches, and figs (yes, we know they are actually modified flowers), in a caprese?
Quick-pickled cherries, nectarines, and tomatoes top mozzarella, with purslane and basil.
When I add seasonal fruit to these salads, I often add a layer of flavor by pickling the slices (or whole berries) for 30 minutes or less in a 100% vinegar brine seasoned heavily with salt and sugar, or honey.
Crisp, soft, salty (with ramp leaf salt), juicy with smacked cucumber, and sweet with peach.
Late summer blackberries, soused in balsamic for 20 minutes, transform this basil-strewn salad.
Shaved fennel with lemon juice, with cherries and burrata under flurry of cilantro, basil, and mint. Even the smallest of gardens is able to provide fresh-picked soft herbs for salads that speak not just to the season, but to the moment.
Summer’s tomato supply is endless, extending well into early fall, when figs appear.
Grilled tomatoes, served warm, with shoyu, balsamic vinegar, and clouds of basil.
Burrata with tomatoes stewed in olive oil begs for bread, or a spoon.
Grilled warm peppers and burrata with an anchovy dressing.
Outdoor evenings now require candlelight, but the season of basil lives on.
Watermelon with basil and burrata.
For peak watermelon season and ready in under 5 minutes (or as quickly as you can slice your watermelon and tear open your burrata), this exceptionally refreshing, simple salad is deeply rewarding to eat: Pillowy and crisp, creamy and sweet, and the pungent with sweet basil moderating every mouthful.
Watermelon and Basil Salad with Burrata
If your watermelon has hard seeds, prick them out with the tip of a knife.