Caprese Salad (Printable)

Juicy tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic for a vibrant Mediterranean starter.

# What You'll Need:

01 - 3 large ripe tomatoes, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds

02 - 8.8 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds

03 - 1 small bunch fresh basil leaves

04 - 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

05 - 1 tbsp balsamic glaze

06 - Sea salt, to taste

07 - Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

01 - Place alternating slices of tomato and mozzarella on a large serving platter, overlapping them slightly in a decorative pattern.

02 - Tuck whole basil leaves between the overlapping tomato and mozzarella slices, distributing them evenly across the platter.

03 - Drizzle the extra-virgin olive oil evenly over the arranged slices, followed by a steady stream of balsamic glaze.

04 - Finish with a generous sprinkle of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately to preserve freshness and optimal texture.

01 -

It takes exactly ten minutes from cutting board to table and looks like a painting you want to photograph before eating.
When tomatoes are truly in season, this salad will ruin you for every other appetizer because nothing else comes close to this kind of freshness.

02 -

Slicing the tomatoes and mozzarella and letting them sit together for more than thirty minutes before dressing means the cheese weeps and the tomatoes turn mushy, so dress at the very last second.
Refrigerating the balsamic glaze briefly before drizzling makes it thicker and easier to control into those neat decorative lines.

03 -

A sharp knife is honestly the most important tool here because ragged tomato slices and torn mozzarella make the whole platter look careless no matter how beautiful your ingredients are.
Drizzle the balsamic glaze in a squeeze bottle or a small plastic bag with the corner snipped off for clean, controlled lines that look intentional rather than messy.