Caprese Salad

What’s so difficult about making caprese salad? On the other hand, if it’s so easy, why do so many restaurants not deliver? This summer salad of tomato, basil and mozzarella is quintessential Italian cuisine: excellent ingredients simply presented. But it takes technique to get the flavors to blend just so on the plate – otherwise it’s just mozzarella and tomato that happen to be in the same vicinity.

We experimented with several methods to arrive at one luscious whole. As expected, it depends a lot on sourcing top notch tomatoes in season, but there are a few more tricks that can elevate the dish from good to great.

Caprese Salad

1 lb. ball fresh, excellent-quality mozzarella
2 local, ripe beefsteak or large heirloom tomatoes in peak season
1 small handful basil leaves, plus more for garnish
best-quality extra-virgin olive oil
fleur de sel or sea salt
best-quality balsamic vinegar (optional)

Take the mozzarella out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter for an hour, until it is completely and perfectly at room temperature.

Using a serrated knife, slice the tomatoes in 1/2-inch slices and arrange on 2 plates. Take an end slice of tomato and set it aside, finishing it with the rest of the ingredients just as you do with the plated tomatoes. Sprinkle the tomatoes generously with fleur de sel, crushing it between your fingers as you go. Tear the basil into small shreds and sprinkle over the tomatoes. Drizzle olive oil over the tomatoes so that it pools on the basil and overflows a little onto the plate.

Slice the mozzarella into 1/2 inch slices and cover each tomato slice with mozzarella. Drizzle olive oil over the mozzarella and sprinkle it with salt, again crushing the fleur de sel between your fingers. Optional: finish with a few drops of balsamic vinegar.

Let the caprese salad sit for 5 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Eat the tomato, basil mozzarella placed to the side to test the seasoning and adjust the seasoning on the rest of the tomatoes, adding more salt, olive oil or basil as necessary. Garnish with with a few fresh basil leaves.

Serves 2.