Italian Caprese Salad is a summer classic! Make it extra special with heirloom tomatoes, fresh basil and fresh mozzarella. This is the BEST way to enjoy summer tomatoes.
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Summer is tomato and basil season, and nothing is easier to prepare than a fresh Caprese salad.
Caprese salad is made with just three basic ingredients:Tomatoes, fresh basil and fresh mozzarella. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and possibly a dash of balsamic vinegar to bring all the flavors together.
That’s it! Simply.
Because there are so few ingredients, it’s important that they’re of the highest quality you can find. Use tomatoes that are grown and picked in season, such as heirloom (summer to late summer), fresh mozzarella (buffalo mozzarella if you can find it), and a high quality, robust extra virgin olive oil.
What are old tomatoes?
Heirloom tomatoes used to be tomatoes before all the variety and flavor were grown out of them so they could be more easily transported in trucks to supermarkets.
You can find them at farmers markets, Whole Foods, and many supermarkets these days, or you can grow your own. They come in many shades of red, yellow, orange, and green, and have a slightly odd shape compared to everyday beefsteak tomatoes.
How to check if your olive oil is good
All oil will go rancid if left sitting around. So taste your olive oil! If it tastes like old peanuts or crayons, it’s rancid—throw it out. When it tastes like nothing and feels greasy in your mouth? It has lost all quality attributes that allowed it to be called “extra”.
A fresh quality olive oil should taste fresh and often peppery or grassy.
What to serve with Caprese salad?
Caprese salad is the quintessential summer salad, perfect for a light lunch, al fresco weeknight dinner or backyard gathering. It can be served as an appetizer or side dish and goes well with anything that comes off the grill, such as grilled chicken, grilled steak or grilled fish.
How Far Can You Make Caprese Salad?
Make caprese salad just before you’re about to serve it. Tomatoes can become floury and lose their flavor if refrigerated for too long.
Shortly after you salt the tomatoes, they will start releasing their juices. So if you must go ahead, wait until serving to sprinkle them with salt.
Do you have tomatoes? Here are 5 ways to use them:
- Fattoush Salad
- Tomato, onion and avocado salad
- Panzanella bread salad
- BLT Salad with Buttermilk Dressing
- Tomato salad with soy sauce
Caprese salad with tomatoes, basil and mozzarella
A medium-sized tomato (1/3 pound) makes enough for one person’s salad, a large tomato (3/4 to 1 pound) makes enough for two. So scale the recipe up or down accordingly. If you are serving 4 people you will need about 4 medium tomatoes or 2 large tomatoes. (These proportions make a generously portioned salad.)
For a completely different taste, you can replace the mozzarella with thin slices of parmesan.
You can also omit the balsamic vinegar if you want to bring out the flavor of the tomatoes more.
ingredients
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1 1/2 to 2 pounds of aged tomatoes, seeded and sliced into 1/4 to 1/3 inch thick (a serrated knife works best for slicing tomatoes)
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Coarse salt such as kosher salt or sea salt
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1 bunch fresh basil, leaves carefully chopped or torn to avoid bruising
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8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
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1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
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Dash of balsamic vinegar (optional)
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Freshly ground black pepper
method
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Salt tomatoes:
Sprinkle salt lightly over the tomato slices.
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Assemble the salad:
Assemble the salad by alternating tomato slices, basil leaves, and mozzarella slices.
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Serve the salad:
Drizzle extra virgin olive oil over the salad. Add a dash of balsamic vinegar if needed. Sprinkle lightly with pepper.
