There are few foods more gloriously satisfying than a perfectly ripe and juicy heirloom tomato. And when sliced into thick cutlets of tomatoey goodness, paired with a balsamic glaze and creamy vegan cheese, and laid alongside peppery nasturtium leaves, flowers and sweet basil, this vegan caprese salad is the embodiments of freshness, of deliciousness, and of the true splendor and bounty of summer.
The earth laughs in flowers.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
Salting Your Heirlooms
One of the ways to really bring out the flavor of this vegan caprese salad is to salt your heirloom tomato slices several minutes before eating them. Doing so ensures that you’ll bring out the most possible flavor from the slices of tomato, as the salt will have sufficient time to diffuse through the watery cells of the fruit.
Another benefit of salting the tomato slices beforehand and letting them sit is that the tomatoes will release some of their juice post-salt. For that reason, be sure to set your salted tomato steaks in a colander with a bowl underneath. This will allow you to capture the escaping tomato liquid (a.k.a. flavorful tomato tears), and add them to the balsamic glaze that you’ll make for the dressing of this vegan caprese salad.
A garden to walk in and immensity to dream in–what more could he ask? A few flowers at his feet and above him the stars.”
– Victor Hugo
Balsamic Glaze 101
Making a glaze is really not all that difficult, though it can be if you overthink it. Essentially, all you need to do is transform a vinegar into a thicker textured drizzle by lightly boiling it in a saucepan.
One of the ways in which you can transform a vinegar into a glaze is to add a bit of sugar. In this recipe, I found that 2 teaspoons of sugar perfectly offsets the sourness of black balsamic vinegar, and allows the glaze to thicken without hardening into a caramel.
From my experience, when making these Carrot Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Medjool Dates, my first attempt at a glaze over-thickened and become a teeth-adhering nightmare caramel that I had trouble even removing from the saucepan. This is because I over-reduced it, expecting the glaze to thicken completely during the cooking process, rather than during the cooling process afterwards.
Really, all you need to do is reduce the vinegar to the point where, when scooped up in a spoon, the vinegar runs down the spoon slightly slower than would vinegar straight out of the bottle. This indicates that it has thickened up a bit, and that, when cooled, will be the perfect drizzling texture for your vegan caprese salad.
I must have flowers, always, and always.”
– Claude Monet
Vegan Caprese Salad: Recipe Video
Violife Feta vs. Mikoyo’s Mozarella
For the creamy element in this vegan caprese salad, you have the option of including little slices of Violife Feta or Mikoyo’s Mozarella.
Violife’s Just Like Feta is a creamy and amazingly delicious choice of vegan cheese for this caprese. The feta gives this dish an extra salty kick that mozarella does not necessarily have.
Mikoyo’s Mozarella, on the other hand, is as equally delicious as the Violife feta, but has more of a temperate and mellow flavor than the feta does. Additionally, mozarella is also much more traditional for a caprese than feta is, so if concerned with the verisimilitude to that of an authentic Italian caprese, then go with the mozarella instead for this vegan caprese salad.
A weed is but an unloved flower.”
– Ella Wheeler Wilcox
A Nasturtium A Day..
Yes – you can eat nasturtiums! And not just the leaves but the flowers and stems, too. They have a vibrant flavor, a kind of peppery and spicy verve that really livens up this vegan caprese salad and compliments the heartier heirloom steaks really well.
And better yet, nasturtiums are one of the easiest flowers to grow, as they’ll pretty much grow anywhere, in poor soil or in rich, in sun or partial sun, in cracks in the pavement or in a crowded garden. The point being that if you want to grow some nasturtiums for eating, you likely can, as long as you have access to a space to do it, some seeds, and a moderate amount of water.
In addition to their accessibility, nasturtiums are also incredibly dense in essential nutrients, primarily vitamin c.
The only drawback? Nasturtiums are an attractant for pests, especially aphids. So you may have to navigate around certain leaves and blossoms teeming with little insects.
Here’s a great article about nasturtiums, if you’d care to know more!
I will be the gladdest thing under the sun! I will touch a hundred flowers and not pick one.”
– Edna St. Vincent Millay
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If you like this vegan caprese salad, check out these fresh and equally eatable vegan salads.
Butterflies are self propelled flowers.”
– Robert A. Heinlein
If you enjoyed this vegan caprese salad, consider leaving me a comment or recipe rating (clicking on the stars) before you go – it helps me immensely!
Nasturtium Caprese Salad
Equipment
- Colander
- Saucepan
Ingredients
- 3 medium heirloom tomatoes, washed, sliced, salted, & drained
- Some sea salt
- ~ 12 nasturtium leaves, gently washed
- Some nasturtium flowers, gently washed
- Some basil leaves, gently washed
- Some Violife feta, if you prefer it to the Miyoko's Mozarella
- Some Miyoko's Mozarella, if you prefer it to the Violife feta
For the Balsamic Glaze
- ½ cup black balsamic vinegar
- ¼ cup water
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- Some of the drained heirloom tomato juice, see instructions for more details
- Pinch of sea salt
- Pinch of ground black pepper
Instructions
- Begin by washing the heirloom tomatoes well, and then de-core them (cutting out the stem), and slice the tomatoes into 2 – 3 inch steaks. Set the slices of tomato in a colander placed atop a medium bowl, and salt all the sliced tomatoes moderately with sea salt. Allow the tomatoes to drain for about 5 – 10 minutes, until you have about a tablespoon or so of juice in the bowl below.
- Now, in a saucepan over medium heat, combine together the balsamic vinegar, water, sugar, the juice from the draining heirloom tomatoes, sea salt and black pepper. Let this reduce for about 10 – 15 minutes, whisking intently throughout. You don't need it to be super thick – just thick enough to where it doesn't run down a spoon as quickly as regular vinegar would. Allow the glaze to cool for about 5 minutes – it will thicken as it cools, and so be easier to drizzle.
- Next, after washing all the nasturtium leaves and flowers and basil (and gently drying them), lay the slices of heirloom tomato down atop a nasturtium leaf, followed by some basil and nasturtium flowers tucked in around the sides. Garnish with chunks of Violife feta or Mikoyo's mozarella, and lastly with a steady drizzle of the balsamic glaze.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
May you have good food in good company,
That Vegan Nephew
My sister and I once had the perfect caprese salad at a little Italian Restaurant in downtown Vancouver, Washington. Delectably memorable. But once again Cameron of That Vegan Nephew fame has raised the bar by adding nasturtium leaves and flowers – both peppery and delicious – paired with the other traditional caprese ingredients, and a balsamic glaze that brings it all together. YUM!