Insalata caprese

Capri's flag on a plate: alternating slices of the ripest tomato and the freshest buffalo mozzarella, dressed only with the best olive oil, flaky salt and basil: the salad whose perfection is entirely dependent on the quality of three ingredients and the discipline to add nothing else

Origin: Capri & Campania, Italy

From the journey of Tomato.

The insalata caprese ('salad in the style of Capri') is one of the most famous and most copied Italian dishes in the world, and one of the most reliably mediocre when made badly. Its components are three: a great tomato, fresh mozzarella di bufala, and good olive oil. The arrangement (alternating slices of red and white, with basil leaves between) is said to represent the Italian flag. Its origin is attributed to the Hotel Quisisana in Capri in the early 20th century, where it was created as a light summer antipasto representing the colours of Italian patriotism. The dish spread from the island of Capri through Campania (already the heartland of Italian tomato and mozzarella culture) to the world. The mozzarella di bufala campana DOP (made from the milk of water buffaloes in the Campania and Lazio regions) is the only correct cheese for a caprese: it has a milky, slightly tangy flavour and a yielding, slightly elastic texture that is entirely different from the rubbery, flavourless blocks sold in supermarkets under the same name.

Ingredients

Salad

  • 4 large very ripe beefsteak or heirloom tomatoes (or a mixture, use whatever is ripest and most flavoursome)
  • 400 g mozzarella di bufala (buffalo mozzarella), drained, or 2 balls fior di latte for a milder version
  • 1 large handful fresh basil leaves, small, sweet, intensely fragrant if possible

Dressing

  • 4 tbsp best extra virgin olive oil, fruity, grassy, Campanian or Sicilian preferred
  • flaky sea salt (Maldon or fleur de sel)
  • black pepper freshly ground, only if desired (purists omit it)

Method

  1. Remove the mozzarella and tomatoes from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before serving. Both must be at room temperature: cold mozzarella has an unpleasant, rubbery texture; cold tomatoes have almost no flavour.
  2. Slice the tomatoes into 8mm rounds. Slice the mozzarella into similar 8mm rounds. Arrange alternating slices on a wide, flat serving plate (tomato, mozzarella, tomato, mozzarella) slightly overlapping, in a single layer.
  3. Tuck fresh basil leaves between and over the slices. The basil should be distributed throughout, not piled in one spot.
  4. Immediately before serving, drizzle generously with the best extra virgin olive oil you have. Finish with flaky sea salt over everything. Add black pepper if using.
  5. Do not add anything else. No balsamic vinegar. No pesto. No rocket. No sundried tomatoes. The caprese is a study in restraint: its perfection is entirely about the quality of three ingredients. Trust them.

Notes

The caprese is a dish of perfect simplicity that exposes every weakness in its ingredients. Great tomatoes and great mozzarella produce a great caprese. Mediocre tomatoes and mediocre mozzarella produce a mediocre caprese, regardless of how much olive oil, salt or effort you apply. Make it only when you have great tomatoes. Make it only when you have real buffalo mozzarella. Otherwise, make something else.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

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Ingredient originTrade or transit route
Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control
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