Insalata Caprese

Ingredients

• 4 San Marzano or cuore di bue (ox-heart) tomatoes, peak-summer ripe, at room temperature
• 400 g mozzarella di bufala campana DOP, torn or sliced thickly, at room temperature
• 1 small bunch fresh basil, small-leafed Genovese variety, whole leaves only
• 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, Campanian or Southern Italian pressing, grassy and peppery
• 1 tsp flaky sea salt, flicked from the fingers; not fine table salt

Method

1. 1
   Remove the mozzarella from its whey and set it at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving. It is ready when the surface is no longer cold to the touch and the interior has lost any refrigerator chill.
2. 2
   Slice the tomatoes thickly — or tear them into large chunks — and arrange them on a serving plate, alternating with thick slices or torn pieces of mozzarella. This is where the dish lives or dies: if the tomatoes are not at peak summer ripeness — warm, heavy with juice, their flesh sweet and acidic in equal measure — no further effort will rescue the salad.
3. 3
   Lay the whole basil leaves over the arrangement. Do not shred or chiffonade them.
4. 4
   Drizzle the olive oil evenly over the plate. Flick the flaky sea salt from the fingers across the surface. Add no further seasoning: no vinegar, no pepper, no dried herbs.
5. 5
   Allow the assembled salad to rest for 5 minutes before serving. The tomato juices, mozzarella whey, and olive oil will mingle into a natural dressing. The plate should show a faintly opaque, lightly emulsified pool of liquid at the base.