Joanna Gaines’ Peach Caprese Recipe is a Picture-Perfect Twist on This Light Dish
Joanna Gaines might have become a household name and a media mogul by making it big on Fixer Upper, alongside her husband Chip. But that doesn’t mean that redecorating a home with shiplap is Gaines’ only talent. As we’ve seen the couple expand from a small operation in Waco, Texas to building a home and media empire, we’ve also seen Joanna Gaines take on more projects that are dear to her.
She’s written a children’s book to celebrate her love for gardening, and written multiple cookbooks. In the past two years, she’s also filmed six seasons of Magnolia Table With Joanna Gaines, which is quickly becoming a fan favorite on the newly launched Magnolia Network. As Joanna Gaines shares more of her recipes with viewers, we can’t help but be a little jealous of the fare she’s cooking up in the Gaines family home. Whether it’s biscuits that took six months to perfect or a fresh twist on a classic Caprese salad, we’re here for it.
Joanna Gaines is making her mark in the kitchen with ‘Magnolia Table’
The Magnolia Network launched Magnolia Table With Joanna Gaines in 2021 on its app and discovery+, but it just made its cable debut at the beginning of January 2022. The show continues to endear Gaines to her fans, as many of them say she is warm and inviting as its host. Magnolia Table is now in its fifth season and often shows Gaines with other family members including her children, husband Chip, and more. Fans especially loved one episode where Gaines’ mother and other Korean relatives visit the show to cook dumplings with her.
Viewers also love that on the show, Gaines tends to showcase her goofier side a bit more than she did as Chip’s foil on Fixer Upper. Gaines recently celebrated wrapping up the filming for Season 6 of Magnolia Table by roller-skating around her home and gets up to other hijinks on camera as well.
It seems that as she gets a few more seasons of filming under her belt in the kitchen, Gaines is letting her passion for cooking take over. As Gaines explained in the Summer 2021 issue of Magnolia Journal, she’d pretended to have her own cooking show as a child. As she and Chip started their family years later, the kitchen became her “home base.” Now, viewers get to glimpse more of what that’s like in the Gaines family home.
Joanna Gaines’ Caprese salad substitutes tomatoes with peaches
The traditional Caprese salad features deep red, juicy tomatoes that are complemented by fresh mozzarella and torn basil to create a perfectly balanced bite. Caprese salad is best in late summer when tomatoes are sun-ripened and bursting with flavor. At its core, the dish uses the other ingredients to celebrate the fresh produce in season.
The dish is thought to have originated from the Italian of Capri, according to Taste Atlas, and the purest form only uses the tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, and a generous drizzle of high-quality olive oil over top. Salt and pepper are normally also included, to bring out the flavors of the other ingredients. That said, many versions today also include balsamic vinegar, which packs an acidic punch.
Gaines’ riff on this classic summer staple calls for swapping out tomatoes for peaches, another fruit that’s popular in late summer. Gaines uses both white and yellow peaches, which would swap out the more savory appeal of Caprese salad with a sweeter touch. The photo for the salad shows grill marks on the sliced stone fruit: Though the recipe on the Magnolia blog doesn’t call for grilling them, that would bring a new smoky flavor profile and highlight the sweet juices of the peaches even more. Plus, it makes for excellent visual contrast if you’re trying to improve your Instagram game.
Fans love the fresh salad update
Gaines’ recipe calls for a light dressing of white balsamic vinegar and olive oil, so those who want to recreate her recipe in their own kitchens will need to decide if they want to add the acidic touch.
Gaines highlighted the peach Caprese on a recent Magnolia Table episode. It rounded out a meal with curry chicken salad, cauliflower couscous, and lemon bars for a light lunch. Based on fan reactions online, Gaines’ followers loved her rendition and plan to make it as written.
“YUMMM bring us stone fruit season!!!” one Instagram commenter said, dropping a peach emoji along with it. Others commented that they were ready to recreate the entire meal for their own friends. Heart emojis and gifs of Joanna herself clapping for the spread abounded on Twitter.
There’s no official word for when Season 6 of Magnolia Table will air, but stay tuned via Magnolia Network.
