My mom was cleaning out her recipe shelf and going through her cookbooks when she stumbled upon Michael Chiarello’s Easy Entertaining Deck. A happy surprise. Fifty Italian-inspired recipe cards in a small portable box, 5.8 by 4.1 inches, Chronicle Books, 2007.
I bought it for her at a little shop he’d opened down the hall from Crate and Barrel in Costa Mesa’s Crystal Court wing of the mall. I loved watching him on TV and YouTube. So when I heard his Napa Style store was coming, I was there on opening day. I made sure to be there when he was. I’d planned to buy his newest cookbook for my sister’s birthday. He signed it. My sister still has it somewhere.
I was lucky to have been there then. The shop didn’t last long. It closed in 2012. That side of the mall was quieter. Not a lot of traffic, except for Crate & Barrel. Michael passed away in 2023. I still think about the shop. My mom has the box. We'll keep it for the next generation.
Michael was known for Italian-influenced California cuisine, which immediately made me think of a caprese salad. His was made in Napa. Mine was made in the California desert. Neither was traditional, but both were delicious and original.
The caprese salad is named for the island of Capri, in the southern Italian region of Campania, in the Bay of Naples. Warm weather called for a light dish, and Italy’s flag features its four ingredients. Heirloom vine-ripened tomatoes for acid. Fresh buffalo mozzarella for creaminess. Basil leaves for fragrance. Olive oil to bring it all together. The colors of the Italian flag. Red, white, green. That’s it. Simple. Traditional. Patriotic. No balsamic.
Years ago, at my sister’s graduation, her roommate Jen’s family joined ours to celebrate. Parents, with Italian heritage, made a caprese salad. I waited for the balsamic. It never came. They explained that balsamic is from Modena or Reggio Emilia in the north. Caprese is a southern dish. The two don’t belong together on a traditional plate. It’s surprising, once you know, how often you see balsamic on a caprese salad. Everywhere, in fact. But not in Campania. Local purists stick strictly to no balsamic tradition.
Today’s caprese is everywhere. Balsamic glaze, grilled peaches, burrata, pesto, strawberries, pears, prosciutto. Michael Chiarello’s version uses heirloom tomatoes, burrata, basil oil, gray salt, and balsamic caviar. Made by squeezing hundreds of drops of balsamic into a bowl for an hour, then mixing in a drizzle of olive oil. An hour of dropping balsamic into a bowl. That’s either dedication or meditation. Probably both. His recipe is from his restaurant, Bottega, in Napa Valley, and he demonstrated it on YouTube with Laura McIntosh.
I made the traditional version first. It deserved the respect. Four ingredients: buffalo mozzarella, if you can find it. In the desert it’s seasonal. The Italian deli carries it when they can. Cow’s milk mozzarella is the alternative. And basil added at the last possible moment. Not a make-ahead salad. Thirty minutes maximum. Fifteen is better.
Then I made my own. Heirloom tomatoes, grilled peaches, burrata, prosciutto rolled and placed in the bowl, peach glaze, balsamic glaze, olive oil, basil, salt and pepper. Dinner for two. Tossed together for the summer. It was delicious. Non-traditional.
If you want to keep going. Nectarines and Ciliegine mozzarella balls work beautifully. So does a skewer of tomato, Ciliegine, and basil for a party. The variations are endless once you accept that you’ve left tradition behind and are now just making something good.
The traditional recipe is below. Mine follows. Michael’s is on YouTube.
The Recipe
Campania Traditional Caprese Salad
Serve 4
Ingredients
4 fresh from the garden tomatoes, heirloom or on the vine
8-10 cherry tomatoes
8 ounces Buffalo mozzarella
High-quality extra virgin olive oil
Coarse sea salt, like Maldon or fleur de sel
8-12 basil leaves
Directions
Slice garden tomatoes. Cut cherry tomatoes in half. Spread across a long oblong or round plate. Sprinkle with salt.
Tear mozzarella into bite-sized pieces, sprinkle with salt, then tuck among the tomatoes.
Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and add more salt if needed. Top with basil leaves, as is, or torn into pieces.
Michael Chiarello’s Burrata Caprese Salad
Serves 6 and uses heirloom tomatoes, burrata, basil oil, gray salt, freshly ground black pepper, and his balsamic “Caviar”—made by squeezing hundreds of drops of balsamic into a bowl for an hour, then mixing in a drizzle of olive oil, stirring, then adding to the salad.
Make Your Own Caprese Salad
Roma tomatoes, burrata, basil, butter-lettuce, sea salt, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic glaze, and Pignoli.
Campari tomatoes on the vine, cherry tomatoes on the vine, Ciliegine mozzarella balls, basil, sea salt, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic.
Orange and red heirloom tomatoes, burrata, basil, prosciutto, grilled peaches, salt, extra virgin olive oil, peach balsamic glaze.
Roma tomatoes, Ciliegine mozzarella balls, basil, arugula, salt, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic glaze.
Orange and red heirloom tomatoes, cherry tomatoes on the vine, cow’s milk mozzarella, basil, salt, basil oil.
Campari tomatoes on the vine, cherry tomatoes on the vine, Ciliegine mozzarella balls, basil, red leaf lettuce, sea salt, extra virgin olive oil, peach glaze.
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I’m Jennifer Ann Blair. I write about food, wine, memory, and place, following stories that deserve a closer look. I hold WSET Level 3 with Merit and write from the California desert, usually with Archie, my German Shepherd, somewhere nearby.
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And now I want mozzarella di bufala and caprese so bad! :)