Name: Tuna, Peach and Bocconcini Caprese Salad
Prep time: 15 min
Ingredients: 1 avocado; 2 peaches; 2 limes (, zested and juiced); 2 170 gram (approx 6 oz) cans of good quality chunk tuna (Italian if possible); 1 200 gram ( approx 7 oz) of Tre Stelle Bocconcini Pearls; 1 1/4 cups of cherry tomatoes (, halved); 1/4 of a medium red onion (, thinly sliced); 1/4 cup fresh basil or lemon balm (, chiffonade-ed); 3-4 tbsp olive oil; Kosher salt; Cracked black pepper; 1/2 fresh jalapeño or Serrano pepper (, finely diced)

Ever find that you wish, even ache, for summer to finally get here, only to feel that it’s then just flying by? it too so long to arrive, the nerve of it to rush to depart!

While it’s here, we do our best to make every moment count. For me the day starts early. Not that I necessarily want it to, but hearing all the birds chipping away, just as the sun is ready to rise, is such a sublime sound. I don’t mind that alarm clock! I’m such a light sleeper, so it doesn’t take a lot to get my eyes open. Since I’m up, I might as well enjoy one of my summer joys: enjoying a cup of coffee out on the balcony, after I’ve watered all the plants and herbs before the sun’s heat hits them.

It’s been a good summer for produce and a variety of different fruit. I’m always so giddy when cherry season starts, and I wish it would last a bit longer each year. We get spoiled. First, we get the cherries from the States, and then here in Ontario the trees start sharing them gems a few weeks later. In essence our season gets extended, I guess 🙂

Tomato and Peaches Belong Together

So, now we’re into stone fruit and tomato season! Yippee! 😀 When I was a kid, and it was our garden that was producing the harvest, each crop was unique and used distinctly, for different purposes. We would never have thought of combing a savoury veg with a sweet fruit. We would never have put nectarines on pizza, watermelon in salad with olives, etc. But now, these types of combinations are amongst my favourites. Thank you, Globalization, for introducing us to how other ethnic groups eat (which is really where so many of these combinations come from) See my Watermelon Feta and Olive Salad, my Melon and Feta Tetris Salad or my Honeydew and Cucumber Salad with Feta as tasty examples. And truly, tomatoes and peaches are one of the best combos; they both have a sweetness, but the acidity of the tomato really compliments the sweet flesh of peaches.

Because it’s summer, salads reign supreme in my kitchen. There are so many amazing combinations we can discover, if we just think outside the box. We can still make a classic salad, but why not put a twist on it? And that’s what happened with this recipe that I’m sharing with you today.

A Caprese Salad is such a fun and fresh way to make the most of summer tomatoes, fresh basil, and cheese. So what could I do to switch it up? Well, I wanted it to be a bit more substantial, so I decided to add tuna. Really good imported Italian tuna. There is so much flavour to Italian tuna. But if you can’t source it, fee free to replace it with high quality, sustainable, and wild (if possible) chunk tuna.

Then came the tomatoes. Whether it is fresh cherry tomatoes on the vine, golden grape tomatoes, or even seeded and sliced Roma tomatoes, they will all work. But I didn’t want to stop at tomatoes. So I grabbed a couple of fresh peaches and sliced them into the bowl. Chunks of fresh avocado, thinly sliced red onion, and a simple dressing of squeezed lime, olive oil and salt and pepper, and it was almost done.

But wait, you’re saying, “This is supposed to be a Caprese Salad. Where’s the cheese?” Aah, I have the perfect cheese for this salad: Tre Stelle Bocconcini Pearls. Those little white pearls are bite-sized perfection. They really become the star of the recipe, adding that creamy burst amidst all the other textures. A sprinkling of jalapeño confetti, and some shredded basil or lemon balm, and dinner, lunch or even breakfast, is served! But a great alternative to bocconcini pearls is torn burrata, just saying!

2017 Tre Stelle Campaign

And I’m serving up something else: I’ve partnered with Tre Stelle Cheese to let you know about an amazing Sweepstakes. Right now, after purchasing a container of either the Tre Stelle Feta or Bocconcini, you can enter for the chance to win some fabulous prizes. You will then have a chance at winning 1 out of 150 cooking appliance prizes, or a grand prize for you and a guest to attend the Tre Stelle Cooking School in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Tre Stelle is giving away a total of 3 Grand Prize trips. Amazing! Wish I could win!! The Sweekptakes is going on until October 15, 2017. I hope everyone who can, does enter. I mean, it’s a win-win. You get some great cheeses to eat, let alone the opportunity to visit Niagara for a cooking school event! Check it all out here!!!

In the meantime, enjoy all the summer salads that you can. And live in the moment, ‘cuz summer won’t last forever. Whether you put them in an avocado boat or not!

Love Jen

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