It's Natasha of Natasha's Kitchen,

and today I am gonna show you

how to make the ultimate Caprese salad.

This is so impressive and beautiful for parties

and it's ridiculously easy.

Plus, we're gonna make a homemade balsamic glaze

that just puts this over the top.

Let's get started.

(bell rings)

If you've never made a balsamic glaze, it is so easy.

Pour one cup of good balsamic vinegar into a saucepan

and add half a tablespoon of honey.

The honey is optional,

and the recipe will still work without it.

Bring that to a low boil.

Then reduce the heat and keep it at a simmer

for about 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally,

or until it's reduced by half

and lightly coats the back of a spoon.

Keep in mind it will thicken more as it cools.

When it's done, it will have reduced down

to about one-third cup of glaze.

It's easy to make this salad

as large or as small as you'd like.

We're gonna make a platter,

so you'll need three to four medium ripe tomatoes.

Slice those into about quarter-inch rings.

Arrange those on your serving platter, overlapping slightly.

Next, you'll need 12 to 16 ounces

of fresh mozzarella cheese.

Slice that the same thickness as the tomatoes.

Sometimes you can find this cheese in the grocery store

pre-sliced, so it's even easier.

Layer the cheese between each slice of tomato,

making sure you can see all of the layers.

You'll need a handful of fresh basil leaves.

And do not skip the basil.

I tuck them in whole between the layers,

but you can also chop and add it to the salad.

All right, all of the salad ingredients are in,

and that was so easy, and it looks gorgeous.

Now all that's left to do is to dress this up.

And with a Caprese salad, you just drizzle on the toppings.

So we've got some salt and pepper.

All right.

And I like to generously season this.

The salt really makes the tomatoes shine.

All right, and then some extra virgin olive oil

for rich flavor.

Drizzle that on every layer, every row.

So yummy.

Okay, and then last but not least, our balsamic glaze.

And it's cooled down to room temperature,

and you can see it's thickened.

Gorgeous. And it tastes even better.

So let's drizzle this salad.

Again, be generous.

Ho ho ho ho, yum.

Ha ha.

Oh my goodness.

And as soon as you have the dressing on,

it is best to serve right away.

So that's exactly what we're gonna do.

We're gonna go right into this taste test.

Oh ho.

And it looks just as pretty on the plate

as it does on the platter.

Woo!

Okay, cut right into this.

And a little bit of everything.

We've got every layer.

Mmm.

Mmm.

Mmm.

Mmm.

Mmm.

Every layer is so good together.

This is a perfect flavor combination.

You've got the fresh, sweet tomatoes,

and garden-grown is the best,

and then the creamy, fresh mozzarella is a nice touch,

and I absolutely love the fresh basil.

It adds sweet notes to this and pulls it all together.

And the dressing.

Oh, you guys are gonna love it.

It is ridiculously easy and just so delicious.

You're gonna want to eat it with your spoon.

Oh, this is an easy, excellent, crowd-pleasing salad.

Hey, before you go,

if you guys love fresh tomato recipes,

check out some of our all-time favorites right over there,

and make sure you try the one right down there.

It's really, really, really good.

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We'll see you in our next video.