Caprese salad
Tomato, mozzarella, basil and raw extra virgin olive oil: four ingredients, and you taste the oil in every bite. The tricks to make it well.
- Preparation
- 10 min
- Yield
- Serves 4
- Course
- Starter
23 October 2026
Caprese salad is named after the island of Capri and is a classic of Campanian cooking. Nothing is cooked: it all depends on the quality of the ingredients, and the oil, poured raw at the end, is the dressing that brings tomato and mozzarella together.
Ingredients for 4
- 4 ripe, firm salad tomatoes, about 600 g
- 400 g mozzarella, cow’s milk (fior di latte) or buffalo
- A bunch of fresh basil
- 4 tablespoons IL CONTE Raggia single variety
- Salt
- Oregano (optional)
Method
- Take the mozzarella out of the fridge half an hour ahead: at room temperature it is softer and tastier. Drain it and cut it into slices about one centimetre thick.
- Wash the tomatoes and slice them to the same thickness.
- Arrange the slices on a serving plate, alternating tomato and mozzarella, with a few basil leaves.
- Salt and, if you like, add a pinch of oregano.
- Dress with the oil only when serving, so it stays fragrant, and bring it to the table at once.
The right oil
In a caprese the oil is eaten just as it is: this is the place for the Raggia single variety, whose grassy notes and peppery finish go well with the sweetness of tomato and mozzarella.
Photo: Rainer Zenz, Wikimedia Commons, licence CC BY-SA 3.0.
