Pasta Caprese Salad

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This authentic Pasta Caprese Salad is a quick, fresh, light and delicious lunch you can make in minutes and this is how it is made in Capri. Look for the gigantic mozzarella called Zizzona, an amazing dish to feed a crowd.

Jump to:

• Why Caprese
• No Balsamic on Caprese
• What mozzarella to use in Caprese
• What Zizzona means
• Which Tomatoes
• More tips
• How to serve it
• 20 rules to properly cook pasta
• Recipes you might also like
• 📋Pasta Caprese Salad
• Tips for making the original Caprese

Why Caprese

The name already reveals the ingredients: fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and basil all season with an Italian extra virgin olive oil.

Capri is an island off the coast of Naples, and this recipe was created after the war to reflect the colour of the Italian flag.

• Red the tomato
• White the mozzarella
• Green the basil

So why some people add balsamic vinegar? I don’t know!

If you have the classic mozzarella and tomatoes from Naples, you don’t need to add anything else.

No Balsamic on Caprese

You can add balsamic vinegar at your peril, but if you do, don’t call it Caprese because Balsamic Vinegar is not an ingredient from Capri. In fact, balsamic vinegar is an ingredient originated from Modena in the North of Italy.

Italian cuisine is traditional very regional and uses only local ingredients. If you want to know more about the Italian cuisine historic background, you can read the article: Italian Ingredients

Tomatoes in the South of Italy already have a sweet flavor built naturally from the sun and the fertile volcanic soil. Adding a sweet dressing just doesn’t make sense for me … and many others.

Balsamic Vinegar and Peaches on Caprese

For the majority of the Italian population, mozzarella and balsamic vinegar do not belong together, and neither do peaches.

Like pineapple on pizza, same concept!

So please if you do add these ingredients, don’t call it Caprese. Caprese is the representation of our National Flag, and there is no purple in it!

What mozzarella to use in Caprese

If you go to an Italian Pizzicagnolo (cheesemonger) you will be amazed to find such a vast variety of Mozzarella.

There are 4 main types of fresh mozzarella:

• Regular mozzarella also called Fior di Latte
• Buffalo mozzarella made with Italian buffalo’s milk
• Burrata which has a buttery creamy hearth
• Smoked mozzarella

The classic Caprese is made with Fior di Latte, but you can also use the Buffalo mozzarella. There are also solid mozzarellas not stored in water, which are used for cooking, they cannot be used for Caprese.

Fresh mozzarella has also different shapes:

• Regular
• Bocconcini: small
• Treccia: braid shape
• Zizzona: gigantic shape

What Zizzona means

Yes, you see it right. It looks like a big breast and in Neapolitan dialect, Zizzona means big breast. Even if you may think it is a sexual reference, I see it more as a maternal allusion.

More than Sofia Loren, those mozzarella remind me about the big ladies you find at the markets with such a prominent breast that if they need to put their hands on their chest (typical Italian hand movement to indicate themselves), their hand will have to be horizontally over the breast as there is no vertical space left on the cleavage.

..but then again, men might have other ideas!

Which Tomatoes

You can either use Bull Heart tomato or Fiascone tomatoes originally from Capri. You can also use Cherry tomatoes or Pachino, but if you do that you need to use the bocconcini mozzarella. In fact, a simple rule is that the tomatoes should be of the same size as the mozzarella.

Whatever you choose, the tomatoes should be fresh, firm, crunchy and not watery. If you are in Italy, I would recommend you look for the Melinda or Zerbini tomatoes.  They are as crunchy as an apple and sweet. Perfect for a nice Caprese.

More tips

Few more things about Caprese salad:

1. The mozzarella should be at room temperature
2. The water from the mozzarella should be drained completely
3. Use the best Extra virgin olive oil you can find
4. The size of the mozzarella slices should match the size of the tomatoes.

How to serve it

You can serve the Caprese in a salad bowl with fresh bread.

or mixed with a short pasta (not spaghetti) and follow this recipe.

…and the gigantic Zizzona? Well, you will not find tomatoes of the same size, so you serve it in a large plate surrounded by tomatoes and basil.

What a feast!

20 rules to properly cook pasta

If you are a novice cook, here are some important points you need to know to properly cook pasta:

1. Pasta should be boiled in salted water, adding salt after doesn’t work
2. Add the salt as soon as you put the pan with water on the heat, so you don’t forget
3. If you don’t remember if you added salt to the water, taste the water
4. Use 1 tbsp of salt per 4 quarts – 4 liters of water which should be enough for 1lb – 500 gr of pasta
5. Make sure the pot is large enough so the water doesn’t overflow once you put in the pasta
6. If you put the lid on the pan, the water will get to the boiling point faster
7. Do not add oil to the water
8. The water should be boiling hot before you put the pasta in
9. Use a good pasta brand. My favorites are (in this order): Rummo, Garofalo, De Cecco. Barilla is my least favorite one but better than any other unknown brands
10. When you add the pasta, the water may stop boiling as the pasta lowers the water temperature. Put the lid on the pan until the water starts boiling again
11. Once the water boils remove the lid otherwise the foam will overflow from the pan
12. Stir the pasta from time to time
13. Keep the heat high so the water boils all the time
14. Always cook the pasta 1 minute less than what is written on the pasta box
15. Taste the pasta and drain immediately when “Al Dente” meaning still firm and chunky
16. Never leave the pasta floating in the water once it is cooked!!!!!
17. As soon as the pasta is drained, season immediately and stir.
18. If for whatever reason the seasoning is not ready, season the pasta with some extra virgin olive oil and stir
19. Once the pasta is ready and seasoned, it has to be served and eaten immediately
20. No parmesan in pasta with seafood, you can sprinkle toasted grated breadcrumbs or almonds

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Recipes you might also like

If you are looking for more pasta with vegetable recipes, you can check the category: Pasta

Also check the recipes below:

• Red Pesto Pasta Sauce
• The Classic Pesto Recipe Pasta Trofie
• Simple Tomato Sauce Recipe
• Zucchini Recipe Pasta And Ricotta
• Pasta a Frittata: Italian Fried Pasta
• Black Truffle Recipe Pasta

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