[Photographs: Cameron Mattis]

Unless you are the world's most prescient shopper you're likely to end up with leftover produce after making pizza at home. After staying up until 2 a.m. baking pizzas a few nights ago, I collapsed into a flour-addled coma and awoke hours later to find fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, and the juices strained from a 28-ounce can of San Marzano tomatoes regarding me reproachfully from the depths of the refrigerator. I knew there was only one course of action: salad.

As a play on insalata Caprese, I reduced the tomato juice to a thick syrup and used it as the base for a tomato vinaigrette, which I then tossed with the mozzarella and basil and some pine nuts, radicchio, and roasted peppers I had on hand.

The resulting salad was so good that I might be persuaded to make less pizza just to accumulate the ingredients.

Well... almost.

Here's the recipe »