Insalata Tricolore
The Italian flag on a plate: thick slices of ripe tomato, slabs of mozzarella di bufala, whole basil leaves and a slick of olive oil.
Overview
The dish is an assembly, not a recipe. The four ingredients (tomato, mozzarella, basil, olive oil) all need to be the best you can afford, that's the whole technique. Tomatoes at peak ripeness, sliced 1 cm thick; mozzarella di bufala torn or sliced fresh from the brine; large whole basil leaves; cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil. Layered on a plate alternating tomato slices with mozzarella, basil leaves tucked between, salt and pepper, finished with olive oil. Eaten with crusty bread.
Ingredients
- 4 ripe medium tomatoes (about 600 g, ideally a mix of colours - beef, plum, cherry on the vine - the best you can find)
- 250 g mozzarella di bufala (1 large ball, in its brine - NOT cooking mozzarella, NOT pre-grated)
- 1 large bunch fresh basil (about 30 g, leaves whole)
- 4 tablespoons first-cold-press extra-virgin olive oil (use the best in your cupboard - this is its showcase)
- 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt (Maldon or similar)
- ½ teaspoon coarsely cracked black pepper
- Crusty bread to serve
Optional
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano (the herb is not traditional in classic tricolore but common in southern variations)
- 1 tablespoon aged balsamic vinegar (drizzled at the end - not authentic to tricolore but widely tolerated; thick aged balsamic only, not balsamic-style)
Method
Stage 1 - Bring everything to room temperature
- Mozzarella from the fridge needs 30 minutes at room temperature to soften - cold mozzarella is rubbery and tasteless.
- Tomatoes also benefit from room-temperature serving; their volatile aromatics are dulled by refrigeration. (Ideally tomatoes shouldn't see the fridge at all.)
Stage 2 - Slice
- Tomatoes: slice into 1 cm thick rounds, discarding the very top and bottom slices. If using mixed sizes, halve cherry tomatoes.
- Mozzarella: lift from the brine; pat dry briefly with a tea towel; slice into 1 cm slabs (or tear by hand into rough chunks).
- Basil: pick the leaves whole - don't chop.
Stage 3 - Plate
- On a wide flat platter, arrange overlapping slices alternating tomato and mozzarella in a row, fan or circle pattern (the tricolore visual).
- Tuck a few basil leaves between each pairing.
- Scatter a couple more leaves on top for height.
Stage 4 - Dress
- Drizzle olive oil generously across - about 4 tablespoons total, in a thin even stream.
- Sprinkle flaky salt over the tomatoes (the salt draws out their juices, which mingle with the oil and become part of the dressing).
- Crack black pepper across.
- If using: scatter dried oregano, or drizzle balsamic in a final spiral.
Stage 5 - Serve immediately
- Eat within 10 minutes - the salt starts breaking down the tomato structure quickly, releasing more juice than you want sitting on the plate.
- Provide good bread to mop the tomato juices and olive oil pooled at the bottom of the platter.
Notes
- The four ingredients are the dish: Don't substitute fior di latte for buffalo mozzarella unless you must; the buffalo version has a creaminess and lactic tang that fior di latte lacks. Don't use dried basil - you'd skip it instead. Don't use olive oil from a plastic bottle; this is the moment for a good Italian or Spanish DOP.
- No vinegar, no balsamic-glaze: Traditional tricolore is olive oil only. Balsamic vinegar (especially the thick syrup-like commercial "balsamic glaze") obscures the flavours of the four good ingredients. If you must use balsamic, aged true balsamico tradizionale only, applied sparingly.
- Room temperature, not chilled: Refrigerator-cold tomatoes are flavourless. The dish is at its best at the temperature of a Mediterranean summer kitchen - about 22°C / 71°F.
Storage
- Tricolore doesn't store. Make it; eat it within 30 minutes.
- The components keep separately for a day in the fridge if you absolutely must.
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