Caprese Salad

Today we’re making one of my favorite warm-weather treats: insalata caprese, or a caprese salad made with heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, and just a couple extra things to make some true magic happen. Let’s get started.

This salad is beyond easy, but the one thing I need to tell you is the ingredients have to be fresh. For this salad I’m using some beautiful heirloom tomatoes—they’re my favorite warm-weather treat. The flavor is out of control, but there are two trade-offs: one, they’re not always the prettiest (sometimes they look a little jacked), and the other thing is the stem is pretty woody, so you will have to cut around it.

Let’s take a look inside. I’m gonna cut in maybe half-inch slices, and when you get to that stem just cut around it and remove it. This one’s actually not so bad; sometimes you get giant spider veins of little woody bits radiating out from that stem. Continue slicing and then cut up the tomatoes. You can scale this up for a giant party and make a mega tray, or have a beautiful salad for one—a little light dinner. It’s totally up to you. I love these yellow and green tomatoes; they make my heart sing as much as a tomato can. Just remember to cut out the woody part.

Once your tomatoes are sliced up, set them aside. Now for the fresh mozzarella: this is the kind that comes in a little water bath, and it is amazing—super high water content, a lot of fat too, and it just tastes delicious. Use a very sharp knife to slice it without manhandling it; you want slices approximately the same thickness as your tomatoes.

Now I have my fresh basil plant. All we’re gonna do now is assemble the salad on a presentation board, dress it, and we’ll be done. This is so simple and such a treat when there are fresh ingredients hanging around.

As we arrange the salad, try to keep track of the colors. If you use different-colored tomatoes, alternate things out. You don’t have to have one giant leaf in between—you could have a scattering of leaves as well. You can do one plated individual salad, or make a huge board and have people help themselves buffet-style.

It’s tomato, cheese, basil, tomato, cheese, basil, cheese, basil, tomato, cheese, basil—get that order straight.

Once you’ve arranged your salad, drizzle with some extra-virgin olive oil. Choose a beautiful olive oil you really love, not the bargain-basement one, because there are so few flavors in the salad that you want each one to come through nice and clean. A nice little drizzle—you don’t need a lot because the cheese has a good amount of fat.

Finally, the most important ingredient aside from the tomatoes and maybe the mozzarella is the balsamic vinegar. Choose a really nice, high-quality balsamic vinegar—nice and thick, no artificial ingredients. Drizzle a little bit on; this is the last step right before people come over.

Finish it off with a little cracked pepper and, if desired, a tiny sprinkle of salt—maybe twelve grains. Some people have a salt tooth, but the mozzarella already has salt, so it won’t be bland.

Once the salad’s done, you’re ready to serve. Portion out however much you’d like onto a plate and enjoy—it’s that easy.

I really hope you get a chance to make this salad. If you haven’t tried fresh basil, fresh mozzarella, and delicious tomatoes, I think you will love the combination.

I’ve arranged a little bite; the basil is my favorite part. That fresh mozzarella is so creamy—once you go fresh mozzarella, you can never go back. Those tomatoes are everything; you cannot make this with sad tomatoes.