insalata caprese i. e. simply caprese

What to eat? I wasn’t up for any elaborate cooked meal, but longed for some freshness on my table.

Well … tomatoes are definitely best in summer, however, tomatoes are available all year round in my trusted food store. So w/ spring in the air let’s try the ultimate summer treat: insalata caprese. (We call it just caprese.)

There are red tomatoes, white cheese & green basil leaves. As long as you can organize fresh, ripe tomatoes & have some pot w/ fresh basil on your window sill you can do caprese. I like to do caprese as a light weeknight dinner accompanied by some Italian bread (or French bread…).

We need only few basic ingredients, but these should be excellent …

• ripe tomatoes
• creamy buffalo mozzarella or burrata
• fresh basil leaves
• a very good olive oil
• a very good balsamic vinegar
• (… of course … salt & pepper).

Concerning the tomatoes:

• If working w/ big tomatoes, i. e. what you usually call tomatoes, you’ll need about 1-2 per person.
• If working w/ cherry tomatoes or plum tomatoes, which I usually prefer, let’s take about 5-6 per person.
• If working w/ any tomatoes in between (from size) just adjust.

We start with preparing a plate by adding olive oil & balsamic vinegar. Next step: salt & pepper. You need not mix it or shake it vigorously like a vinaigrette … just pour it on the plate!

Small tomatoes will be cut into halves. I you work w/ big tomatoes cut them in slices. (Usually, when preparing caprese for more than 2 people like arranging a big plate for a buffet, it’s always better to have tomato slices which will be nicely arranged w/ mozzarella slices alternatingly. I think that burrata is far too soft for such an arrangement.)

Take half of a tomato (or a slice!) & put it face down in the oil-vinegar mess & rub in the mess. Then put it face up & let it rest on the plate.

After having processed all tomatoes cut the mozzarella in pieces resp. tear apart the burrata. Just distribute the pieces all over the tomatoes. Finally pluck basil leaves & arrange on top.

caprese is best served together w/ some fresh & crispy Italian or French bread. You’ll need the bread especially for soaking up the delicious mix of olive oil & balsamic vinegar!

Enjoy!