Caprese Salad is from the isle of Capri; the literal translation means… the salad of Capri. Traditional Caprese Salad is made with regular size tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, fresh basil and a balsamic vinaigrette. It’s usually a summer salad, but if you can get Roma tomatoes in your market, you can enjoy this salad at other times of the year. Bring a little summer into the colder months!
Our salad today uses grape tomatoes because we grow them, and that’s what we had left over from our summer crop! When freezing temperatures are predicted, we gather all the tomatoes left on the vines, red, orange, even the green ones, and place them on a large tray in the house, so they are in one layer. They ripen quickly, but do not have that summer sunshine sweet taste. So they are perfect for a Caprese Salad, which is a family favorite.
Also traditionally Caprese Salad is made by layering tomatoes, then mozzarella, basil and repeating. It’s not as easy to do that with tiny grape tomatoes, so they are in more of a mixture.
Here’s the basic Caprese Salad recipe:
2 large red or yellow tomatoes, sliced
½ pound fresh mozzarella cheese, drained and sliced
1 bunch fresh basil leaves, washed and cut or torn
3 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons balsamic or red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
Layer cheese and tomatoes on platter
whisk oil & vinegar together and pour over salad.
(thx to http://www.allrecipes.com)
**Note: you can use Balsamic or Italian dressing in a bottle too.
As with anything else, you can be flexible and bend the rules. So here’s to Caprese Salad….with any kind of tomatoes!
The Maple Leaf bowl was made by Marsha LaTulip of LaTulip Pottery & Tile Works. http://www.latulippottery.com/
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Yum,yum…one of my favorite summer salads! A close cousin to the Margarita Sandwich which is a Caprese Salad served on freshly baked Italian bread. Another delicacy from the Isle of Capri!
Yes it is! Good sandwich. They are both cousins to the Margherita Pizza too!
Thanks for writing, Gail!