Recipe of the day: Juicy nectarine and mozzarella salad

To jazz up your meat-free Mondays, nothing helps a salad like a good helping of cheese, basil vinaigrette, some chopped nuts and a helping of fresh herbs, particularly from this nectarine mozzarella salad.

This nectarine, mozzarella salad is healthy and has some crunch, sweetness and a slight hint of spice. 

This recipe is courtesy of the cookbook Sam Linsell and it has been described as a flavour bomb. 

Nectarine and mozzarella salad recipe

Ingredients

Basil Vinaigrette

• 30gms basil leaves (approximately 2 cups lightly packed)
• 25gms shallot (½ small), chopped
• ½ tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice (half a small lemon)
• 2 Tbsp white/red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil (mild in flavour)
• ¾ tsp sea salt flakes such as Maldon
• Pinch black pepper
• ½ tsp honey – optional

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Nectarine and Mozzarella Salad

• 4 – 5 ripe or slightly under-ripe nectarines, cut in half and sliced into wedges
• 1 ball of fior di latte mozzarella/Buffalo mozzarella or burrata
• About 150g net weight of cheese
• 1 wheel goats milk feta (or regular feta) (approximately 70g)
• Juice from half a small lemon
• 1 Tbsp vodka (optional)
• A small handful of chopped walnuts
• Leaves from a couple of mint sprigs, roughly torn
• A small handful of wild rocket leaves
• A generous coating of basil vinaigrette
• Sea salt flakes and black pepper

Instructions

1. To make the basil vinaigrette, place all the ingredients into a small or power blender and blitz until smooth.
2. Pour the dressing into a jar and keep any leftovers for later use.
3. Assemble the salad just before you want to serve it.
4. Place the sliced nectarines in a bowl with the vodka and lemon juice and give it a toss. Allow soaking for about 5 -10 minutes.
5. Scatter most of the sliced nectarines on a platter (reserving a few to go on top) and then break the mozzarella into rough pieces and place them in and around the fruit.
6. Crumble the feta over the nectarines and mozzarella.
7. Scatter over the remaining nectarines.
8. Generously drizzle the salad with basil vinaigrette.
9. Scatter the chopped walnuts, mint leaves and wild rocket.

This recipe from Sam Linsell courtesy of juicydelicious.co.za.