Caprese Salad, or Insalata Caprese in Italian, is a summer salad made with tomatoes, basil and mozzarella. It is the perfect salad in summertime, with freshly harvested homegrown basil and tomatoes.
The recipe is from the island of Capri. It was invented in the 1950s at the Trattoria da Vincenzo. Regulars would order a just-picked tomato and some fresh fior di latte, or cow's-milk mozzarella.
Traditionally, the dressing for Caprese salad was just a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. Vinegar was believed to destroy the delicate flavor of the cheese and was never used. That said, you will find Caprese salads dressed with olive oil and Balsmaic vinegar in many American restaurants. I think it’s good both ways. If you’re a purist, just use olive oil.
Caprese Salad
Ingredients
- Tomatoes, ideally heirloom and/or homegrown, organic, large (4 or 2 lbs)
- Mozzarella, fresh, ideally from grass-fed cows (1 lb)
- Basil, fresh, ideally organic (1/4 cup packed)
- Olive oil, extra-virgin, organic (3-4 TBS)
- Sea salt
- Black pepper, freshly ground
Instructions
1. Slice tomatoes into 1/2-inch slices.
2. Slice mozzarella into 1/2-inch slices.
3. On a large platter, arrange tomato, mozzarella slices and basil leaves, alternating them.
4. Drizzle with the olive oil.
5. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Notes
It is essential to use the very best ingredients. Flavorless grocery store tomatoes and rubbery processed mozzarella are unacceptable. Use fresh basil and tomatoes and the best quality mozzarella you can find.
Ideally, use homegrown tomatoes and basil from your garden. It's so fun to just head outdoors, gather some fresh produce and make a salad.
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mmmmmmmmmmmmmm…. looks good!!!
Love the presentation here…will definitely use the next time I need a fancy appetizer. :)
Looks beautiful and just screams Italian.
I’m with the purists… vinegar just messes with a perfect thing.
This is one of my favorite mid-late summer treats. Unfortunately, tomato growth in my area this year wasn’t anything to sing about, so it’s off to the farmer’s market to buy from someone else. The up side is, the basil grew big n’ sexy, so we’ll have lots a pesto into the winter. Yea!
Yummy! That looks delicious. So simple, but it looks perfect. My tomatoes have yet to come in, but I have a beautiful heirloom tomato on the counter. Thanks for the idea. I’m really enjoying your blog! :-)
We love this using buffalo mozzarella.
I just recently tried this and it was yummy! It was part of our meal at a wedding reception.
One of my favorite lunches!! I was just lamenting today over the sad tomato situation in my garden… I *did* finally get one and it was delicious BUT it made me realize just what a bummer it is that I won’t be making many of these salads with my own tomatoes this year :-(
What do you suggest eating it with? I’ve never had this before.