Caprese Salad from Italy

I feel hungry as I write this post but food can wait until I finish writing. One of my favorite dishes from Italy is the Caprese Salad. Known as Insalata caprese or Insalata tricolore in Italian, the salad originated in the island of Capri, situated in the Campania region. For those who are not familiar with Capri, it is the same place where the hit Bollywood song "Khuda Jaane" was shot. 

Caprese Salad is a very simple and rich alternative to the "junk food" we are used to eating. It is fresh, vibrant and healthy. The most interesting part of this salad is that it consists of only 3 main ingredients- tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and fresh basil leaves. These ingredients are noteworthy because of their colors which incidentally highlight the colors of the Italian flag.

Caprese salad is simple to make. In Italy it is very popular mostly because of the abundance of basil and buffalo cheese. Also, I think it is a great idea to take along on a picnic!

The recipe below serves 2. Hope you enjoy! :-)

Ingredients:

- 3-4 tomatoes, sliced

- Sliced Mozzarella Cheese

- Fresh Basil leaves

- Extra Virgin Olive Oil

- Balsamic Vinegar or Aceto Balsamico

- Salt/Pepper/Oregano to taste

Procedure:

Slice the mozzarella cheese and tomatoes into thin rounds.  Layer each mozzarella layer on top of a tomato and alternate it with a touch of basil leaves. Once this is done. drizzle a little olive oil along with some salt and pepper on top. You can even add oregano to your taste and Balsamic vinegar.

Insalata Caprese is ready! Thank you Italy!

PS- If you don't like tomato you can try the Caprese salad with beetroot or Red Bell pepper!