Tart, juicy tomato and creamy fresh mozzarella pair with herbs and a vinegar drizzle for a delicious dairy classic Caprese salad platter.

When it comes to cultural or regional dishes, people tend to get kind of overprotective over their recipes. If you alter or change a dish even the tiniest bit, they (whoever “they” are) can get highly offended. Have you ever tried adding maple syrup to an Asian dish? Yeah, don’t do that! Or putting chickpeas in an Israeli salad? That’s a real sin!

So I’m always kind of hesitant to call anything by a culturally specific name, since I tend to take a little more creative license than the die-hard traditionalists and I don’t want to upset anyone. That said, this Caprese salad is (mostly) true to form. I say “mostly” because I don’t want any purist coming after me if perhaps I did something slightly wrong! (I did use dried basil instead of fresh basil leaves to make things easier, but otherwise it’s the real deal). However, though the version posted here is pretty accurate, I will occasionally out other things in this salad (gasp!!). I’ve been making it often and I like to add sliced cucumber and sliced radish, and both add a lot to it.. You can also substitute another kind of vinegar for the balsamic vinegar, if you don’t like the flavor.

Caprese salad is not your typical salad that’s made of cut-up veggies in a big bowl. This is a classic Caprese salad platter that’s basically big slices of tomato and fresh mozzarella arranged on a platter and you take a couple of pieces and cut it up on your plate. I like to serve it for shalosh seudos or as a side with fish. I’ll also sometimes just make it for lunch served with crackers or a crusty bread..

If you want a salad with similar flavors that’s a bit more filling, try this Caprese-style pasta salad. It’s a delicious pasta salad that’s great for shalosh seudos or as a light dairy meal.

Classic Caprese Salad Platter

Tart, juicy tomato and creamy fresh mozzarella pair with herbs and a vinegar drizzle for a delicious dairy platter.

Print Recipe

Ingredients

1 package fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
1 beefsteak tomato, thinly sliced
1 tsp dried basil
½ tsp coarse sea salt
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp Lieber’s balsamic vinegar*

Instructions

Arrange sliced mozzarella cheese and tomato on a platter or dish in an overlapping circle.
Sprinkle with basil and salt. Drizzle with oil and vinegar and serve. It's that easy!