Originally published on September 16, 2014
Caprese salad is the ultimate dish to show how you can make something beautiful and delicious using only a few ingredients, and just letting them shine. It’s also a dish perfect for those who like to keep things classic and traditional, and also those that like to put a spin on things. I’ve kept it classic here, but you can do so much with this salad. Just a few ideas are to use cherry tomatoes and bocconcini, put the ingredients on skewers, or dress it up with a balsamic reduction. The only thing I suggest is that you always use fresh mozzarella (you know the kind, it’s in a ball in the cheese section and will cost a couple more dollars than the blocks of cheese you’ll find in the dairy section.) Don’t stray from this. It makes a huge difference, trust me.
Ingredients:
2 tomatoes, sliced 1/4″ thick (these should be slightly thick, giving you 4 or 5 slices from each tomato)
1 8 – 10 ounce ball of mozzarella cheese, sliced to the same thickness of the tomatoes
10 – 14 leaves fresh basil
1 teaspoon good quality extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Directions:
1.) Place a row of tomatoes on the end of a plate. I only used two here in a row, but you can use as many as you need.For us this was a side dish for pasta, so we didn’t need too many. Place some slices of the fresh mozzarella about halfway up the tomatoes, then layer another row of tomatoes over the cheese. Continue until you have used up all your tomatoes and cheese. Then, stuff basil leaves behind the cheese, so that you can still see them.
2.) Drizzle the entire plate with some olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. When seasoning, sprinkle the salt and pepper from a height so that everything gets seasoned evenly.
3.) Serve and enjoy!