Italian · Free recipe
Summer Caprese Salad
This is a three-ingredient salad that lives or dies by August tomatoes: thick red slices shingled with soft fresh mozzarella and whole basil leaves. Salt goes on the tomatoes first so they weep a little, then a thread of olive oil ties it together.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 0 min
- Total
- 10 min
- Serves
- 4
- Level
- Easy
Method
-
Lay the tomato slices on a cutting board, sprinkle lightly with some of the flaky salt, and let them sit for 5 minutes until beads of juice appear on the surface.
-
Pat the mozzarella slices with a paper towel to remove excess whey so it does not water down the plate.
-
Alternate tomato and mozzarella slices in overlapping rows on a platter, tucking a basil leaf between each pair.
-
Drizzle the olive oil over everything, add a few drops of balsamic if using, and finish with the remaining salt and a generous crack of pepper just before serving.
Zest note from the test kitchen
Leave the mozzarella out of the fridge for 30 minutes before slicing; room-temperature cheese is creamier and tastes noticeably milkier.
