This delicious, authentic Caprese salad uses six simple, fresh ingredients and packs a burst of flavor. It's the perfect summer salad recipe to use all those garden tomatoes.
3tomatoesheirloom and vine (fresh, medium size) - cut into 8 tomato slices
8ozmozzarellafresh (substitute with burrata if preferred)
10basil leavessmall to medium size, rinsed
2tablespoonextra virgin olive oil
¼teaspoonflaky sea saltI use Maldon's and love it!
¼teaspoonfresh ground black pepper
Instructions
Slice the mozzarella into thin chunks - I typically get about 8 slices per mozzarella ball. Arrange this on a serving platter - this is the base for the Caprese salad.
Use a serrated knife to thinly slice tomatoes into even chunks (I like to chop them about ¼" thick) - arrange them on a serving platter on top of the mozzarella
Rinse the basil leaves and top the tomato and mozzarella with a few basil leaves
Drizzle olive oil evenly across the platter - I typically do this in a back and forth motion along the length of the platter. Then, add salt (adjust to taste) as well as ground black pepper.
Right before you serve, add some flaky sea salt crystals on top along with an extra teaspoon of olive oil, and enjoy away!
Notes
I like to use a mix of tomatoes since it provides a bit more variety and charm to the salad - but you can use whatever fresh and juice garden or vine tomato you can find (including green tomatoes!) I use a serrated knife to cut tomatoes (and will occasionally core them to remove the seeds).
Buy fresh mozzarella - if it has ingredients listed, check to make sure it doesn't include curd or citric acid. Often, that artificially speeds up the process and the mozzarella doesn't taste as fresh as a result. Also, don't put your mozzarella in the fridge! If you're using fresh mozzarella - buy them when you need to make this salad, and leave them out on the counter!
Sweet Genovese basil (the one with smaller leaves) is the best for this salad, but it works with other basil as well - better yet, you can easily grow basil in your garden!
I suggest not pouring straight from the packaged bottle and instead pouring out the quantity you need into a smaller ramekin, and then using a teaspoon to drizzle. Alternatively, if you a pour bottle like I do, you can just drizzle it straight!