Caprese is a dish of Italian cuisine, namely a salad. The main ingredients of this "culinary masterpiece" are mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, olive oil and herbs in the form of basil. Now it is difficult to imagine any feast without such a type of appetizer as a salad. There are a huge number of types of salads with different ingredients and dressings. There are salads: vegetable, fruit, with seafood, with meat and others.
Brief history of Caprese
The very concept of salad is associated with the ancient Romans, who liked to cook dishes from herbs and greens, seasoned with salt. At Roman banquets, it was customary to serve snacks made of herbs and vegetables. As a rule, they were seasoned with various sauces - honey, salt and vinegar. The word "salato" translates as "dish with dressing". Salads became especially popular during the Renaissance, when food became more refined and diverse, and it was during this period that new products and varieties of wine began to appear.
Therefore, salad becomes a mandatory addition to the festive table. Not only Italians liked the simple Caprese recipe, this salad is loved in many countries of the world. In 1699, the cookbook "Acetaria: A Discourse of Sallets" by the Englishman D. Evelyn appeared. It is in this book that tells how to properly prepare salads and even how to grow greens for them.
In the following millennia, such wonderful salad recipes were created as: Caesar, Caprese, Olivier and many others. The classic Caprese recipe is considered one of Italy's national dishes. It is believed that Caprese first appeared on the island of Capri (Napolitan Bay), because the name of the salad can literally be translated as "salad from the island of Capri". In addition to its geographical location in Italy, the salad is truly Italian due to its color similarity to the national flag: red tomatoes, green basil and white mozzarella cheese. Pesto sauce is used as a dressing.
It is said that the three delicious ingredients were first collected by a builder who was particularly proud of his homeland. He wanted to pay tribute to the colors of the Italian flag by filling his lunch panino with products that resembled the red, green and white colors of the Italian Republic. According to other witnesses, the birth of this salad was a tribute to the artistic movement of futurism. In the early 1920s, Hotel Quisisana introduced a new, fresh and delicious dish to its menu, a tribute to the ideas of Filippo Tommaso Marinetti. "Everything is brilliantly simple" in order to please yourself with delicious food, it is not necessary to stand at the stove for a long time. You can create a culinary miracle such as Caprese salad in just a few minutes.
How to cook Caprese from simple products
Caprese salad is a light classic Italian salad. The combination of ripe tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese and basil is ideal as a light lunch.
Caprese recipe and ingredients:
Ripe tomatoes;
Mozzarella cheese;
Fresh basil;
Olive oil;
Balsamic sauce;
Salt;
Black pepper.
The cooking process
Serving tip: Caprese salad is very beautiful when served on a platter.
Adding salt too early will cause the tomatoes to release extra juice.
How to make Caprese: prepare and dress the salad immediately before serving, so that the tomatoes do not have time to release juice.
Choose tomatoes and mozzarella of approximately the same size. The classic "Caprese" serving can be simplified by simply combining diced tomatoes and crumbled mozzarella.
