There are certain rituals I perform to keep me sane: Brushing my teeth, rubbing lavender or rose essential oil on my chest before I sleep, picking flowers from the neighborhood, making lists, writing, reading, and on my birthday, getting in the ocean. The sweet inundation of water on skin on breath, salt drawing out impurities, tide pulling out everything that is old—it’s all magic to me.
The ocean demands total aliveness. Awareness of every push and pull, every ripple, every hiss and drawback and curl-over. Without immediate presence, the ocean will pull you under. I learned this young, tumbling in the washing machine rumbles of shorebreak on Maui. I know that the ocean is master and I am one of its many students.
This week, on my birthday, I went again to the ocean. It was cloudy, the sky mottled with trouble and dampness until finally it rained and then, hours later, cleared. We went in the water as the first raindrops began to fall, and waited to jump in til we found an inner steel of tolerance to the chill.
Then we went headfirst, insistent on receiving the murky wash of salt and seaweed and watery newness. This is how I make myself ready for another year of life.
And then I ate the juiciest everything I could find: Heirloom tomatoes bursting with seeds and sex and firmness, nectarines dripping with golden light, and burrata exploding from its casing. The whole thing splashed with a basil vinaigrette made from olive oil infused with fried basil leaves. Those crispy basil leaves are then used to finish the salad.
And these basil leaves. Just a few seconds in sizzling olive oil yields what my friend Janson called “moth wing realness.” He’s exactly right—the transparency and crispness of these fried basil leaves is perfection.
It’s a caprese gone wild. It’s a summer celebration. It’s sex on a plate. It’s the most heavenly combination of sweet and savory and herbaceous you’ll find this season.
Get the recipe on this week’s Intuitive Eating with Kale & Caramel on Sonima.
Heirloom Tomato & Nectarine Caprese with Crispy Basil
Ingredients
- 2 medium-large heirloom tomatoes or any variety
- 1 large nectarine
- 4 ounces fresh burrata mozzarella, ricotta, or cheese of choice
- 15-20 leaves small-medium fresh basil
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Slice tomatoes and nectarines as desired.
- Heat olive oil for 30 seconds over high heat. When you flick a droplet of water in the oil and it sizzles, drop basil leaves in and swirl for a count of three. Remove from heat and drain oil into a bowl for the dressing. Set leaves aside.
- Whisk olive oil with red wine vinegar and sea salt.
- On a large plate, layer tomatoes, nectarines, and chunks of burrata or mozzarella. Drizzle with vinaigrette and top with crispy basil leaves.
- Serve as is, or with a nice crusty bread.
