Caprese Salad – many variations on a theme

A composed Caprese salad is the classic no-cook summer meal. It just involves some slicing and drizzling and it is ready to eat. The traditional Caprese is sliced tomatoes and mozzarella with fresh basil leaves topped with olive oil, sometimes balsamic or red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. A summer lunch or dinner doesn’t get much simpler.

But there are many variations on the classic. You can substitute peaches, nectarines or an orange fleshed melon – like cantaloupe or musk – for the tomatoes or use cherry tomatoes and bocconcini (the little mozzarella balls you eat in one bite) on a skewer with a basil leaf – the perfect summer hors d’oeuvre. Or cut tomatoes and mozzarella in chunks and toss with torn basil leaves and vinaigrette.

If you want a heavier meal, you could add pasta, quinoa or fresh corn and some extra vinaigrette. If you don’t eat cheese, just leave out the mozzarella or add avocado – it is satisfying and substantial and you will get a similar flavor from the fresh basil, olive oil and vinegar. If you have bush basil (the tiny leaf variety), you can use it in place of the traditional Genovese basil. Just sprinkle it over the whole salad instead of using the usual whole leaves. Fresh oregano or arugula can substitute for basil, if you like them better, or add a bit of oregano to the dressing for complexity. (In winter, you might use oil-soaked dried tomatoes and dried basil and oregano for an out-of-season version). A cousin of the caprese is the watermelon/feta salad – a little lime or lemon juice, olive oil, red onion and mint – an easy no-cook and refreshing meal.

How you design your salad is up to you. Once you have chosen your fruit (tomato, peach, etc.), the fun is in laying out the overlapping slices in a pleasing pattern, straight, circular or otherwise, and punctuating with the fresh basil. The whole thing may be layered directly on a plate or platter or on a bed or lettuce or arugula, for extra greens. Then drizzle with a good, preferably aged, balsamic vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper and you are ready to eat.

Fresh mozzarella is available widely now. Even Costco sells a tasty variety made with milk untreated with hormones. Or try a simpler version without cheese – the solo tomato/basil combination is a pretty good runner up, especially when seasonal tomatoes are as delicious as they are just starting to be. Just tomatoes and cucumbers (you could also add green and/or red peppers) are delicious with fresh basil and balsamic and olive oil. Any leftovers, if there are any, can go right into tomorrow’s gazpacho. If you are a bread eater, make sure to have a crusty loaf handy to mop up all of the flavorful juices!