Cucumber Caprese Salad (or Pasta Salad)

(from castro15’s recipe box)

Categories: Salad

Ingredients

  • 1 English cucumber, quartered and thinly-sliced (and peeled, if you prefer)
  • 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
  • 8 ounces mozzarella (baby mozzarella balls or diced mozzarella)
  • 1/2 cup firmly-packed fresh basil leaves, julienned
  • 1-2 tablespoons balsamic glaze, store-bought or homemade*
  • sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
  • optional: 8 ounces uncooked pasta of your choice (I used orecchiette)

Directions

  1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cucumber, tomatoes, mozzarella and fresh basil. Drizzle evenly with 1 tablespoon balsamic glaze. Then toss to combine.
  2. Taste and season with salt and black pepper as needed (I used a generous pinch of each) and add more balsamic glaze if you would like.
  3. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day.
  4. Optional: If you would like to add in pasta, cook the pasta according to package instructions in a generously-salted pot of boiling water until it is al dente. Drain and rinse the pasta with cold water in a colander until chilled. Then stir the pasta into your cucumber salad, adding an extra tablespoon or two of the balsamic glaze plus salt and pepper to taste.

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