Caprese salad: tomatoes, mozzarella, basil and olive oil, nothing else
Three ingredients and five minutes, on one condition: the tomatoes must be ripe, August ones, at room temperature, never from the fridge. Cold kills their aroma, and caprese is a salad with nowhere to hide. Add mozzarella drained so it doesn't water down the oil, basil torn by hand and good olive oil. Salt and pepper at the very end.
Your own work in that: 10 min.
- Slicing 5 min
- Arranging 5 min
Step by step
0 / 4 doneSlice the tomatoes
Wash the room-temperature tomatoes, remove the stalks and cut with a serrated knife into slices 1 cm thick. Thick slices hold their juice; thin ones turn the plate into a puddle. Discard the ends.
Ingredients: 4 pcs tomatoes · 2 pcs fresh mozzarella · 1 bunch fresh basil · 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil · ½ tsp salt · ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
TipA tomato from the fridge turns mealy and loses its scent: cold suppresses its aroma compounds, and after a few days of chilling they do not come back. Keep tomatoes on the counter, and if they have been chilled, take them out an hour ahead.
Warm from the sun, a centimetre thickDrain and slice the mozzarella
Take the mozzarella out of its brine and set on paper towel for 5 minutes, turning once. Slice 8 mm thick. Drained, it won't release whey that would water down the oil.
On a towel, then into slicesArrange alternately
On a platter lay the tomato and mozzarella slices alternately, overlapping, in a row or a circle. Tuck basil leaves between them, whole or torn by hand. Don't chop the basil: under the knife the leaves bruise and quickly blacken.
Tomato, cheese, basil, tomatoOil, salt, pepper last
Just before serving drizzle with the olive oil, sprinkle with flaky salt and freshly ground pepper. Salt only now: a tomato salted earlier releases juice and the salad swims. Serve at once, with bread for mopping up the oil.
TipBalsamic isn't in the original, but a few drops of thick balsamic glaze do no harm if you like it. Never thin bottled vinegar: it waters everything down.
Oil, salt flakes, pepper, at once
Before you start
With burrata
One burrata torn open in the middle of the platter instead of two mozzarella balls: the creamy centre runs over the tomatoes. The version for guests.
With cherry tomatoes
Halved cherry tomatoes and mini mozzarella in a bowl, tossed with oil and basil: caprese by the fork, for a picnic or a jar.
Out of season
Don't. A January tomato has no flavour and no olive oil can fix that. Caprese is a salad for July to September.
