Make A Quick And Easy Caprese Salad


Simple Is Beautiful and Delicious!

Caprese salad
Images: Pixabay&personal

As the name implies, the fresh, delicious and effortless Caprese salad originates from Capri – Mediterranean’s most fascinating island, just a short boat ride from Naples.

It might seem a humble dish, but it is one of Italy’s favourites. And we love it too!

The Italians take pride in considering it a homage to their flag: green, white and red served on a plate.

Caprese is ready in minutes and brings the unforgettable taste of a holiday in the sun. It is perfect as a main or side dish served with garlic bread or pita.

Just think of that insane blue sea, the elegant hotels, the cypress trees. Feel the fragrance of the island. Hear the cicadas chirping all day. Yep, it’s time for a traditional Italian dish!

If you decide to go all Italian, find that lemon tablecloth you bought years ago and spread it on the table.

Before you start preparing your salad, grab that bottle of Italian white or rosé from the wine rack and chill it for a few minutes. A prosecco will do as well, especially if you choose to add olives. Or a Martini, since we mentioned olives!

Here’s your dinner sorted!

Caprese salad

Ingredients for Caprese Salad

Buffalo Mozzarella

Tomatoes

Fresh basil

Extra virgin olive oil

Balsamic vinegar

Sea salt

Ground pepper

Olives (optional)

Oregano (optional)

caprese sald

Method

Wash the tomatoes. Cut them in 5-7 mm slices. Spread the slices on the chopping board. Dry them with a paper towel to absorb the excess water. Sprinkle salt on all the slices.

Cut the buffalo mozzarella in 5-7 mm slices. Pat dry them with a paper towel.

Wash and dry the basil. Chop half of it and keep the leaves of the other half whole.

On each plate, mix the way you want the slices of tomato and mozzarella. Be creative; you will enjoy the end product more!

Sprinkle the chopped basil evenly. Additionally, you can use chopped oregano and pepper. I do, sometimes, if I feel like changing the taste a little.

Caprese is perfect in its simplicity. I shouldn’t overdo it. Once in a while, though, I feel cheeky and add a handful of olives. If you choose to be naughty, I recommend using Nocellara olives, a crunchy, crispy and mouth-watering Sicilian variety.

Nocellara olives

Divine in taste and having health benefits, the buttery green olives help absorb vitamins A, D and K, essential for healthy skin, good eyesight and strong bones.

Later, after you’ve had your dinner, if you’re still feeling naughty and have any olives left, why not pour a Martini and extend the benefits of well-being!

Martini glass with olive

Back to our effortless Caprese salad, sprinkle the olive oil and balsamic vinegar in a winding movement over the entire ensemble.

Presto! Your dinner is ready. Buon appetite!

Caprese Salad

Originating from the amazing Capri Island, Caprese is a classic Italian light and cool dinner/lunch/side, perfect for hot summer days!
5 from 26 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Course Salad
Cuisine Italian
Servings 2 people

Equipment

  • Serving plates
  • Knife&fork
  • Chopping boards

Ingredients
  

  • 500 g buffalo mozzarella or 4 packets
  • 4-5 pcs tomatoes organic, large
  • 4-6 sprigs basil fresh
  • 4 tbsp olive oil organic, extra virgin
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 pinch salt sea/rock
  • 1 dash grated pepper green/black
  • 3-4 sprigs fresh oregano optionally
  • 1 handful Nocellara olives optional

Instructions
 

  • Wash and slice the tomatoes (5-7 mm). Paper towel pat to absorb excess humidity. Salt the slices.
  • Drain the brine from the mozzarella bags. Use a different chopping board to slice the cheese. Pat dry with a paper towel.
  • Wash and dry the basil. Keep a few whole leaves for decoration and chop the rest.
  • Arrange the slices of mozzarella and tomato the way you wish on two plates. When you are happy with your design, sprinkle the chopped basil (and oregano, if chosen).
    mozzarella slices
  • Add salt and pepper, a dash of balsamic vinegar and olive oil.
  • Add the olives (optional).

Notes

Use different chopping boards to slice the ingredients. Food hygiene standards recommend different colour plastic chopping boards. I am not a great fan of plastic and use glass boards for dairy products or meats (never mixing, though!) and wooden boards for bakery and fruits.
Caprese is nice to eat right away and enjoy its freshness. Honestly, I don’t know how to store it since I have never done it – no leftovers!
Caprese salad is best served with garlic bread slightly grilled, or pita bread and olive oil.
Optionally, you could make a pesto sauce by blending the oil, vinegar, basil, pepper and salt for a minute. 
Keyword Caprese salad, classic Italian dish, Italian summer salad, mozzarella and tomato salad

Would you mind sharing this recipe? Thank you!

Simple Is Beautiful and Delicious!


The World Is An Oyster

Working as a journalist during university was pretty exciting. But landing a cruise ship job barely a year in my new graduate career was something else! Overnight, I moved from an already exhilarating job to an even better one. One that would allow me to wake up every morning in a different country. What more can a twenty-something wish for? The fact that I was fluent in a few languages helped. It made it easier to obtain the position I was seeking at the Shore Excursions department. Apart from dispatching tours in the morning and selling tickets in the evening, I would spend nearly every day on different trips. I did this a few years, spending half a year onboard and about two months at home. I enjoyed it immensely. I met fascinating people from all over the Globe and collected memories to last me a lifetime. Not to mention that I received a salary for seeing all those magnificent places the Earth has to offer! In an ideal world, everybody should live as they want. For me, that would translate into travel, then travel some more and keep travelling!

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36 Responses

  1. Amy says:

    5 stars
    Se delicious and fresh! Perfect for the summer.

  2. Toni says:

    5 stars
    This salad has been a favorite at my house!

  3. Pam Greer says:

    5 stars
    A favorite!

  4. Chef Dennis says:

    5 stars
    The Caprese salad was a great addition to dinner last night, every one loved it!

  5. 5 stars
    A classic for a reason!

  6. Lizet Bowen says:

    5 stars
    Those Nocellara olives make this salad the best I’ve eaten!

  7. Susan says:

    5 stars
    This was so fresh and vibrant, amazingly delicious! I can’t wait to make it again!

  8. Jerika says:

    5 stars
    So delish! this quick and easy Caprese salad recipe is so awesome! Thanks.:)

  9. Toni says:

    5 stars
    Love this salad! Really flavorful!

  10. Toni says:

    5 stars
    Such a perfect salad!! Everyone loved it!! Thanks!

  11. Chef Dennis says:

    5 stars
    My wife keeps asking for more!

  12. Melinda says:

    5 stars
    Fresh, bright and delicious. This is going to be my go-to salad!

  13. 5 stars
    My favorite type of salad, thank you!

  14. AISilva says:

    5 stars
    Capri and a Caprese salad, you can’t get any better than that. Your caprese salad looks so delicious, I can’t wait to make it for my family. Thank you!

  15. Sue says:

    5 stars
    Perfection on a plate!

  16. 5 stars
    Caprese salad is one of my favorites and I have so much basil growing in my garden right now so I whipped this up and it turned out amazing and full of flavor!

  17. Leslie says:

    5 stars
    Great Caprese Salad recipe!

  18. Pamela S. Greer says:

    5 stars
    One of my favorite salads!

  19. Liz says:

    5 stars
    I could eat this every day!

  20. Jeri says:

    5 stars
    What a beautiful-looking salad! It will be perfect for my BBQ this weekend!

  21. This salad looks delicious and so easy! I’ve got tomatoes and basil in my garden right now…just need to grab the cheese. Thanks for the inspiration!

  22. Stacy says:

    My favorite salad! You have made it look so simple.

  23. amanda says:

    5 stars
    Nothing better than caprese salad!

  24. Elise Ho says:

    5 stars
    Caprese is a delicious combo. It is not even very hard but somehow we often do not think of it.

  25. Aditi Jain says:

    5 stars
    This is just so perfect for the lazy and helathy me!

  26. Nora says:

    5 stars
    This caprese salad looks delicious! Just the thing for the summer! Yum!

  27. 5 stars
    This salad looks so good. I would totally have this for lunch.

  28. Natalie says:

    5 stars
    Summer classic. Looks fantastic. I will give your recipe a try!

  29. Jeannie says:

    This salad is so refreshing! I need more easy meals for being so busy now.

  30. This was my favourite way to use our abundance of tomatoes from our garden last summer. So tasty!!!

  31. Jess says:

    This looks amazing! I love mozzarella so much! Will definitely be trying!

  32. Kris says:

    Never heard of this type of salad before. But being someone who likes to explore new things. I will be trying these tasty looking salad

  33. Sandra Ans says:

    I can really confirm that Caprese salad is one of the best salads I have ever tried! I am making it pretty often and enjoying it together with white wine! What a simple but delicious recipe!
    P.S. I didn’t know how officially is called this salad, so thank you for this information! 😉

  1. March 15, 2022

    […] Caprese Salad by The World is an […]

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