Caprese Salad With Olives
A classic Italian Caprese salad enhanced with briny black olives. This simple dish features alternating slices of ripe tomatoes and fresh buffalo mozzarella, layered with fragrant basil leaves and pitted olives. It's finished with a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and seasoned with salt and fresh black pepper, celebrating the freshness of its components.
Equipment
- 1 Chef's knife For slicing tomatoes and mozzarella
- 1 Cutting Board For preparing ingredients
- 1 Serving Platter For assembling the salad
- 1 Measuring Spoon For drizzling olive oil (optional, can eyeball)
- 1 Pepper Mill For fresh ground black pepper
Ingredients
Main
- 4 tomatoes sliced
- 4 buffalo mozzarella sliced
- a big handful of basil leaves roughly chopped (if liked)
- 20 pitted black olives
- 3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- freshly ground black pepper and sea salt
Instructions
- Slice the ripe tomatoes into evenly thick rounds.
- Slice the fresh buffalo mozzarella into rounds of similar thickness.
- Arrange the sliced tomatoes and mozzarella on a serving platter, slightly overlapping or alternating the slices.
- Roughly tear the basil leaves.
- Scatter the torn basil leaves and the pitted black olives over the arranged tomato and mozzarella.
- Generously drizzle 3-4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over the entire salad.
- Season the salad with freshly ground black pepper.
- Season the salad with sea salt just before serving.
Notes
The essence of this salad lies in the quality of the ingredients. Source the ripest tomatoes, fresh buffalo mozzarella, and a high-quality extra virgin olive oil. Serve the salad at room temperature, never chilled, to allow the flavors to fully blossom. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper right before serving to prevent the tomatoes from becoming watery. Tearing the basil leaves by hand instead of chopping helps preserve their delicate aroma and prevents bruising.