Cucumber Caprese Salad

The seedlings came out of the kitchen and onto the porch full-time this week — past the last hard frost in our valley, or close enough that Mom made the call and moved them. The porch looked like a greenhouse for three days before she got them properly staked and settled in the raised beds. I helped with the tomatoes, which she planted deeper than most people do — buried up to the first set of leaves to develop a stronger root system along the stem. I learned this from watching her and I do it the same way now. There are things I know about gardening that I don't know I know until someone tells me they do it differently.

Picked up a new account this week — the Yamamoto family outside Clyde Park, two paint horses and a mule. The mule's name is Tuesday and she's the most opinionated animal I've shod in years. She has opinions about the positioning of my foot, the tempo of my rasping, the specific grip I use on her left rear. She communicates these opinions clearly and without apology. I respect it. You know where you stand with a mule.

Made gazpacho for the first time in my life this week, which sounds wrong for Montana in May but the temperature hit seventy-five on Thursday and the refrigerator had tomatoes from the canned supply and it was either gazpacho or nothing. Blended tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, onion, garlic, olive oil, sherry vinegar, salt. Chilled for three hours. Served very cold with a drizzle of good olive oil on top. Light, sharp, acidic in the right way. A surprise for a cold-weather cook. I'll make it again in August when the tomatoes are actually in season.

The gazpacho that Thursday surprised me enough that I started thinking differently about cold food in general — about what happens when you stop fighting the temperature and just lean into it. This Cucumber Caprese Salad follows the exact same logic: no heat, no fuss, just good produce treated with a little olive oil and acid and given time to settle. It’s the kind of thing I’d have dismissed a year ago as too simple, and I would have been wrong, which seems to be a theme lately.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 0 min | Total Time: 15 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

2 large cucumbers, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
8 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced or torn into pieces
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
3 tablespoons good olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic glaze
1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Instructions

Slice and arrange. Layer cucumber rounds across a large plate or shallow bowl. Tuck mozzarella pieces and halved cherry tomatoes in and around the cucumber slices so everything is roughly distributed.
Add the basil. Scatter torn basil leaves evenly over the top. Don’t chop it — torn leaves hold up better and look better here.
Dress it. Drizzle olive oil over the entire salad, followed by the balsamic glaze in a slow back-and-forth motion. Season with sea salt and cracked black pepper.
Chill briefly. Let the salad rest in the refrigerator for 10—15 minutes before serving. It improves with a little cold time. Serve directly from the plate with a spoon to catch the pooled dressing at the bottom.

Nutrition (per serving)

Cucumber Caprese Salad — Cold, Fresh, and Better Than Expected