Today I return to the elegant simplicity of an Italian classic: the Caprese salad. Born from hot summer months when tomatoes reach their peak, this salad pairs ripe fruit with thick wedges of traditional Mozzarella di Bufala Campana. It needs only the best ingredients to shine. Alongside its sibling, the Tricolore salad, Caprese occupies a special place among simple, beautiful dishes — and when made well, nothing else is required.
Italian recipes often rely on just a few components, which both makes them accessible and demands that each ingredient be outstanding. Too often people add unnecessary extras or use poor-quality produce, and the result is a pale imitation of what it should be. The true Caprese requires restraint and respect for the ingredients.
A while back I visited a family-run, English-Italian restaurant that felt stuck in the past: the kind of place with a generic dessert cabinet and a menu that aimed for broad, safe appeal. When we sat down, a relative referenced my rant about Italian food and asked, “I wonder what you’ll think of the food here…”. I ordered the simplest starter on the menu: Caprese. After all, it’s a dish of a handful of slices — how badly could they get it wrong?
When the plate arrived I was disappointed. The tomatoes were bland and watery, the mozzarella appeared to be a mass-produced cow’s-milk version sliced into uniform, lifeless rounds, and the olive oil offered little character. Visually and on the palate it failed to deliver. The basil was acceptable, but that alone couldn’t rescue the dish.
This experience reminded me of the point of keeping things simple. A poor Caprese often leads people to add pesto, balsamic glazes, extra herbs or other embellishments to mask weak ingredients. Those additions may help a weak salad become passable, but they do not make it authentic. The real solution is to start with excellent tomatoes, true mozzarella di bufala, fresh basil and a fine extra virgin olive oil. When those elements are at their best, nothing else is needed.
My advice: don’t make Caprese unless the ingredients deserve it. Resist putting it on the shopping list during off-season or assembling it for a buffet where inferior produce will only disappoint. Instead, wait until tomato season — when you find perfectly ripe, fragrant fruit at a farmers’ market — and buy a ball of genuine Mozzarella di Bufala Campana, some fresh basil and a bottle of good extra virgin olive oil. When the tomatoes call out “now,” answer them.
Addendum
Many people add pesto, balsamic vinegar or other strong flavours to mask mediocre ingredients. Those fixes are understandable: cheap winter tomatoes and rubbery mozzarella need help. But a Caprese made with outstanding tomatoes is the real answer. Let the tomatoes lead; they will make the salad sing.
Caprese Salad
By Gavin Wren
Serves 2 as a side
Uses a knife, chopping board and plate.
Ingredients
1 large ripe tomato
1 ball of Mozzarella di Bufala Campana
A small bunch of fresh basil
A drizzle of high-quality extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground salt and pepper
Directions
Slice the tomato about 3mm thick, eating the small end pieces as you go and reserving the best middle slices for the plate. Slice the mozzarella to a similar thickness.
Arrange tomato slices, mozzarella and whole basil leaves alternately on a plate. Drizzle sparingly with extra virgin olive oil and finish with freshly ground salt and pepper.
Serve immediately and enjoy the bright, simple flavours.