Italian Recipe: Caprese Salad

For a wonderful, fresh appetizer, look no further than a simple caprese salad. The salad consists of only a few ingredients including tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil. Because this recipe is so simple, you are going to want to choose the freshest ingredients possible. To enhance the flavor of the salad, we marinated the mozzarella in a combination of oil, basil, salt and pepper before finally assembling the salad. Keep reading below for this great, simple recipe.

Caprese Salad

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup freshly chopped basil
• 1lb fresh mozzarella sliced thick
• kosher salt and black pepper to taste
• 3 whole ripe tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• Fresh whole basil leaves

Directions

1. Combine the oil and chopped basil in a bowl. Add the mozzarella and season to taste with salt an pepper. Cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
2. Slice the tomatoes into thick slices and add the tomatoes  to the mozarella. Toss to combine. Transfer the tomatoes and mozzarella to the serving plates. Add whole basil leaves. Drizzle with the balsamic vinegar. Top with additional salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
3. Enjoy!