Caprese salad is simplicity: sliced tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese and basil, drizzled with a vinaigrette or sometimes nothing but olive oil and a sprinkling of salt.
As with any dish this spare and uncluttered, the quality of the ingredients is everything, starting with the tomatoes. Off-season, imported tomatoes are so disappointing and sour, I rarely use them at all much less in a dish like this one. Only when I can pick vine-ripened, sweet, juicy tomatoes sun-warmed from my own garden, or from a fragrant pile at a farm stand, only then is it time for caprese salad.
Fresh mozzarella is so mild it borders on bland; what it adds to this salad has less to do with flavor than with its creamy texture, a luxurious pairing with the juicy acidity of the tomatoes.
Once the salad is assembled, drizzle everything with dark ribbons of balsamic vinaigrette – making sure to use the best balsamic vinegar you can find, one that’s thick and syrupy. The final touches are kosher salt and a scattering of grassy green basil leaves.
I’ve turned this caprese salad into a main dish by adding grilled chicken. I marinate boneless chicken breasts or thighs in the same balsamic dressing I pour on the finished salad – but if I have leftover grilled or roasted chicken on hand, that’s a welcome and more than acceptable shortcut. Omit the chicken altogether if you want to serve this salad as a side or as a light vegetarian main.
When I want to turn up the veggie volume, I’ll serve a big bowl of baby spinach, lightly tossed with some of the same vinaigrette, alongside the platter of caprese. Serving is a build-your-own affair, with everyone scooping out piles of the baby spinach to make a bed for the slabs of tomato and mozzarella and slices of chicken. Pass the last of the dressing in a cruet for topping off.
Making this ahead and what to do with leftovers:
- The chicken can be made ahead by a day or two or three. And as long as you’re putting in the effort to marinate and grill the small amount of chicken called for in this recipe, why not make a little extra, for leftovers for other salads or sandwiches or topping a pizza later in the week.
- The salad should be assembled and dressed right before serving. Never refrigerate raw tomatoes – the fridge robs all their flavor and turns them to mush.
Other Salad Ideas
For a while I was keeping a numbered list of main dish salad recipes. I’m dropping the numbers – salad ideas are infinite and counting is getting tedious – but I’ll continue to keep them together as a series for now, for easy reference:
- Baby Greens with Chicken and Goat Cheese
- Not Quite Nicoise
- Chili Chicken Chopped Salad
- Spinach Salad with Bacon, Egg, and Maple Vinaigrette
- Italian Pasta Salad
- For more salad-building ideas, see my Salad Matrix.
Caprese Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- Double recipe of Basic Vinaigrette, balsamic variation
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, or 4 boneless thighs
- 1½ pounds of tomatoes, preferably different types and colors including heirloom varieties
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese
- Kosher salt
- Basil leaves
- Baby spinach for serving, optional
Directions
- Step 1 Make the vinaigrette.
- Step 2 Put the chicken breasts or thighs into a quart-sized zip-lock bag with ½ cup of the Balsamic vinaigrette and marinate them in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to two hours. (Don’t let them marinate longer than two hours, or else the acid in the vinaigrette will start to toughen the chicken.)
- Step 3 Heat a grill to medium-high heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade and grill it, turning once, until it’s seared on both sides and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Set the chicken aside to cool to room temperature. Once it’s cool, slice it across the grain into thick slices. The chicken can be made ahead and chilled until serving.
- Step 4 Core and thickly slice large tomatoes, and cut smaller tomatoes into halves or quarters. Thickly slice the mozzarella.
- Step 5 Arrange the tomatoes, mozzarella and chicken on a platter in whatever pattern you like. Sprinkle everything with kosher salt. Drizzle the salad with some of the vinaigrette and scatter the basil leaves on top.
- Step 6 Serve additional balsamic vinaigrette on the side. If desired, toss a large bowl of baby spinach with some of the dressing, then make a bed of the dressed spinach on each plate and top with some of the caprese salad.
