Insalata Caprese (Tomato and Mozzarella Salad)

Some things just go perfectly together - bacon and eggs, ham and cheese, peanut butter and jam (!). Tomato and mozzarella is another match made in heaven; whether it be on pizza, as the topping for lasagna al forno, in a panino, or here, in a simple yet delicious salad.



Insalata Caprese originates from Capri, an island in southern Italy, in the Gulf of Naples. As you would expect from this Mediterranean location, Capri gets a lot of sun, which means that the tomatoes are large and full of flavour. Authentic Insalata Caprese uses fresh Basil leaves as one of its main ingredients, but if fresh Basil is hard to get in your region, or, in my children's case, you don't like the taste of Basil, it can be replaced with another green leaf, or as I do here, with cucumber slices. While this isn't strictly an authentic insalata Caprese, it does mean that my kids will eat it without complaining, and it keeps the red, white and green aspects of the dish.

Ingredients

2 packs fresh mozzarella

2 large ripe tomatoes

1/2 cucumber

a drizzle of (extra virgin) olive oil

1 pinch of sea salt

1/2 tsp basil (optional)

Method

With so few ingredients, you really have no excuse for getting this dish wrong!

Open the packs of mozzarella and drain the water. Cut each ball of mozzarella vertically into thin slices of about 1/2 cm each. Cut each tomato in a similar fashion, and lastly cut the cucumber into thin slices.

You can arrange the ingredients any way you wish, but as with many Italian dishes, presentation is important, so you want it to look good. You can arrange the ingredients alternately and overlapping around a plate, or keep the ingredients separate, giving the red, white and green of the Italian flag. Or make your own original pattern. The choice is yours.

Whichever presentation you decide to go for, once you have arranged your ingredients, you are pretty much done. Drizzle some (extra virgin) olive oil over the salad and a pinch of fresh sea salt. If you have some dried basil leaves or oregano you can sprinkle this over as well, but its not required.

That's it. It really is that simple. No cooking, no washing up of pots and pans. Just a sharp knife and some fresh ingredients.

Enjoy!

DID YOU KNOW?

Authentic Insalata Caprese is made using mozzarella from water buffaloes. This can be hard to find and expensive outside of Italy. It can be substituted with cow's milk mozzarella.

DID YOU KNOW?

Insalata Caprese is served in Italian meals as an "Antipasto", so as an appetiser or starter, rather than as a side dish (Contorno) alongside or even after the meat course (Secondo), as other salads sometimes are.