With our tomato vines bursting with colorful ripe fruit, and local peaches filling the farmers market stands with their sweet scent, we were excited to come across a recipe featuring both of these summer delights!

We’re always on the lookout for new ways to pair and prepare our cherry tomatoes, so this Peach and Tomato salad from The Last Ingredient immediately caught our eye! The savory basil pesto vinaigrette balances the sweetness of the fruits nicely, confidently steering it away from “fruit salad” territory. Topped with peppery arugula (try swapping out for nasturtium leaves or flowers if you have them!), a scattering of chives, and a little bit of mozzarella cheese this dish comes together beautifully and is a perfect compliment to summer grilling and picnics.

I used yellow peaches paired with our Hungry Hollow Sungolds, and the combination looked like summer sunshine on a plate: it was both beautiful and delicious. 

You can use store-bought or homemade pesto (see note below for our go-to pesto recipe) for this, and I’d even encourage you to try playing around with other types of pesto! I think a cilantro or mixed herb pesto would be really nice here.

While you can marinate the peaches and tomatoes up to a day ahead of time, I found that if you’re using really ripe peaches or a variety with softer flesh, it’s better to just toss them together before serving, as they will soften and break down a bit the longer they sit in the vinaigrette in the fridge (alternatively, if your peaches are a little on the firm side, they may benefit from the marinating – beware, though, a white peach will brown a bit as it sits in the basil vinaigrette). If you’re making this salad for a group, and want to do some preparation ahead of time, I’d suggest just making the vinaigrette and cutting the fruit, storing each separately in the fridge (let come to room temp before serving). It comes together pretty quickly, and you can let the peaches and tomatoes marinate (before topping with greens) while you prepare the rest of your meal.

Cherry Tomato and Peach Salad with Pesto Vinaigrette

Adapted from The Last Ingredient’s Tomato Peach Burrata Salad. I slightly adjusted the vinaigrette ratio to give it a little more brightness. Burrata is excellent, but I chose to use mozzarella balls as they are a little easier to find (and friendlier on the budget!). I also found I preferred a higher tomato to peach ratio, so I lowered the quantity of peaches called for (if you LOVE peaches, add more!). If you’re making this for a crowd, assemble on a platter or large plate; alternatively you can put out all the elements and then assemble right onto your dinner plates.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons basil pesto*

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 ½ tablespoons white balsamic vinegar

• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

• ½ teaspoon black pepper

• 2 peaches (depending on size — use 3-4 if small — and preference), sliced and/or cubed (the mix of shapes adds a little something)

• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

• ½ cup arugula

• 1 tablespoon minced chives

• ½ cup pearl mozzarella balls, or 1 burrata cheese ball (torn)

Method:

In a bowl large enough to hold the peaches and tomatoes, whisk together the pesto, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.

Add tomatoes and peaches to the bowl and toss everything together to fully coat the fruit in the vinaigrette. Let sit at room temperature up to 30 minutes (this helps all the flavors meld together).

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the peaches and tomatoes onto a serving dish (reserve any liquid in the bowl). Top with arugula, chives, and cheese.

Drizzle the salad with any remaining liquid reserved in the bowl.

Enjoy!

*Note: You can use store-bought or home-made pesto. If you’ve never made pesto, give it a try! If you make a whole batch, you will have leftovers which you can use in so many ways! Namely, tossing with pasta or cooked vegetables, drizzling on meats, spreading on toast or pizzas…more vinaigrettes…it stores well in the fridge for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container (to help it maintain it’s color, put a piece of saran wrap directly over the sauce before putting the container lid on).

A quick Google search will return many recipes for how to make basil pesto, but my go-to is from Alice Waters’ The Art of Simple Food. While she uses a mortar and pestle (tradition!) to make her pesto, I find the food processor to be a good friend in this process. Once you’ve got the basic technique down, you can play around and come up with all sorts of variations (like leafy green pesto, or vegetable pesto) So, for those wondering, here’s how to make pesto a la Alice Waters (sort of):

Basil Pesto

• 1 bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked from stem (1 cup lightly packed)

• 1 garlic clove, peeled (or more if you love garlic)

• 1 pinch of salt (about 1 teaspoon) + more to taste

• ¼ cup walnuts (pine nuts are the traditional nut, but walnuts are much more accessible, and have a similar taste — they’re slightly more astringent, and will also darken the pesto)

• ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan

• ½ cup olive oil

Place garlic, salt, and nuts in the food processor and pulse until a paste begins to form. Add parmesan and pulse to combine. Add basil leaves and pulse until incorporated into the garlic/nut/cheese “paste.”

Slowly add in olive oil (if you have a processor that lets you pour in while the motor is running, that is ideal — otherwise, just add in increments) until you have a smooth, sauce-like consistency. Taste and add more salt if needed.

Use immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator (you could also freeze, if you must).