Caprese Salad

With only 5 simple ingredients, this classic caprese salad recipe is authentic – and delicious – how to get!

“Caprese” (pronounced “Kah-Pray-Zay”) literally translates into “da Capri”. The Caprese salad was named for the small island just off the southern coast of Italy near Naples, where the juicy summer tomatoes, the perfumed basil and the lactiginous mozzarella need little more than a drizzle of good olive oil and a pinch of shaky salt.

In a perfect world, we all enjoy a Caprese salad On a balcony in Capri overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, perhaps sipping a spritz limoncello in the bites. Fortunately, you don’t have to travel far to enjoy a simple but exquisite caprese salad (or its variants, such as the Caprese chicken). Using only a few easy source ingredients, you can prepare an authentic Italian caprese salad at home in less than 30 minutes!

The success of this easy recipe for salad is in the quality of the ingredients, so do justice, use the best ingredients you can find. Spring for perfectly ripe summer tomatoes, good Italian extra virgin olive oilAnd the cooler mozzarella available. The rest is easy!

What’s in Caprese salad?

Caprese salad is a simple arrangement of fresh tomato and mozzarella sprinkled with fresh basil, olive oil and sea salt. These are colors of color and fresh and seasonal. The best time to do it is in the upper summer when the tomatoes are to their maturity and tastiest. Here’s what you will need:

• Mature tomatoes: Caprese salads are traditionally prepared heart of ox (“Heart of bull”), which are heavy and tasty. To combine, choose a good memorabilia, Beweak, Red Brandywine, Cherokee Purple or other juicy rich tomatoes.
• Mozzarella Cheese: Fresh cow’s milk mozzarella, known as milk cream In Italian, it is traditional. Search full mozzarella in brine rather than empty spheres, which are dry and sometimes rubbery.
• Fresh basil: Small and small leaves are the best, since they are tender and have a sweet scent and taste. Make sure to correctly keep the basil so that it remains bright and fragrant.
• Olive oil: Invest in a high quality extra virgo oil, like ours Nocellara Italiana.
• Sea salt: Fine or shaky sea salt will do so. Sometimes I use a little bit of both: salt for tomatoes and a splash of sandwich salt as a side dish to add consistency.
• Black pepper (optional): This is optional but rather common in southern Italy. He only grins a little at the top of the salad at the time of the service so that the spicy aroma shines.

How to prepare the Caprese salad

It is difficult to call it a caprese salad recipe when you practically have excellent ingredients on a dish. But with so few ingredients, the small details make a big difference. Follow these steps to do it well! To serve 4-6 people:

• Drain and cut the cheese. Set 2 (8 ounces) Mozzarella balls on a clean kitchen napkin or paper towels for about 15 minutes, then cut 1/4 thick thick. They must not be completely dry: you want that soft and lactiginous consistency without a puddle of brine on the serving plate.
• Slice the tomatoes. Use a serrated knife to first cut the 2-3 medium mature tomatoes to large. Make transversely about 3/8 inches thick. You want them slightly thicker than mozzarella. Lie on a cutting board and sprinkle with salt.
• Arrange the tomatoes and mozzarella a serving dish. Alternating between the two, superimposed. For an oval or rectangular plate, align the slices along the center of the plate. For a round plate, arrange the slices in a circle and place a slice of tomato in the center, seasoned with a slice of mozzarella.
• Add the basil. Tuck small whole basil leaves between the slices, ensuring that most of the leaves are visible to add bright lights of green.
• Finish, season and serve. Ivaluta your best extra-virgin olive oil above the salad. Add enough oil so that the flavor is evident, about 3-4 tablespoons. Optionally, it only grinds a touch of black pepper above and let the salad rest for 5-10 minutes, no longer long – to allow juices to socialize. If you wish, sprinkle only a pinch of shaky salt above the salad as a final touch right before putting it on the table. Serve immediately.

Tips for Caprese salad recipes

The classic caprese salad is easy to prepare, but there are some ways to strengthen the best flavor. Here are my tips to create the best caprese salad:

• Create this caprese recipe just before serving. Caprese salad is not a make -up dish. Prepare in advance and refrigeration will translate into petty tomatoes and a puddle of tomato juice and mozzarella milk in the lower part of the serving dish. Fortunately, he meets in a few minutes!
• All the ingredients for Caprese salad should be at room temperature. Ideally, remove the mozzarella from the refrigerator 1 hour before planning the salad to allow it to become at room temperature. (Tomatoes should never be chilled, as this can ruin their consistency and mitigate their flavor.)

Variations of Recipes of Caprese Salad

The popularity of Caprese’s salad has generated many variants, including the versions seasoned with balsamic nail polish or with spoon pesto at the top, often from the dismay of the locals! I live half of each year in Italy and the traditional Italian caprese is all about simplicity, leaving some perfect ingredients shine. Having said that, I like to play with variations that remain faithful to the heart of Italian Caprese:

• Use a variety of tomatoes: Green, yellow, red and purple to add color or halve the cherry tomatoes and arrange here and there on the plate for interest.
• Exchange with buffalo mozzarella: Southern Italy hosts the farms of water buffaloes, where the best buffalo mozzarella in the world is produced. This cousin and spongy cousin of cow’s milk mozzarella is a large substitute for milk cream. Make sure to drain it well before cutting.
• USA BurrataA luxurious combination of mozzarella and cream. Place the entire burrata in the center of the plate and arrange the tomato slices and the basil around it. Meeting in a small spoon in the burrata for the shot. Or, collect the creamy center and detach it over the slices of tomato. It is not traditional, but it is delicious.
• Add summer fruit: The ripe summer fruits, in particular stone fruits such as peaches and nectarines, are perfectly at home in a sausage. Slice the fruit to thin wedges and alternate it with slices of tomato and mozzarella. Or, arrange the wedges in a pretty spiral in the center of the plate.

What to serve with Caprese salad

In warm summer nights, sometimes I don’t want to be nothing but a salad caprese and a good crunchy bread or focaccia on the side. But this caprese salad recipe is also an excellent appetizer, contour or light appetizer.

If you are acting on the side or appetizer, prawns, such as easy scamms of prawns or easy kebobs of Mediterranean prawns would correspond to the summer light of the hut and fresh. Or, choose a classic Italian pasta, such as linguine with clams or cheese and pepper for a more friendly meal.

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*This post has recently been updated with new information for the advantage of readers.