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As much a still life as a side dish, Caprese Salad is a summer staple in our house. Pronounced “ka-pray-zay” (“from Capri,” literally) this colorful salad comes with a Raichlen twist—you guessed it—you smoke the mozzarella and tomatoes. It’s one of the more than 100 recipes in my latest book, Project Smoke, which will be released May 10 and is available now for presale.
Simple? You need only four main ingredients: mozzarella affumicata (smoked mozzarella); lightly smoked ripe tomatoes; fresh basil; and extra virgin olive oil. (Balsamic vinegar, reduced or straight from the bottle, is optional.)
But simple doesn’t mean simple minded: this not-so-classic twist on the famous salad from Capri lives or dies by the quality of the ingredients. That means fresh mozzarella (still dripping with whey)—preferably fresh buffalo mozzarella when you can find it, as well as vine-ripened tomatoes that have never seen the inside of a refrigerator. And this is paramount: Use only the very best extra virgin olive oil.
My personal source for great extra virgin olive oil, on which I have relied for years, is the Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club. Every three months, they send me custom-selected oils of astonishing freshness and flavor—simply the best olive oils you’ll taste on six continents.
Read more about the club here, including an exclusive time-sensitive offer to send subscribers of my newsletter a free full-size bottle of extra virgin olive oil with a trial subscription. You’ll never use anything else.
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