Caprese Salad with California Olive Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Mario Batali believes that olive oil is precious as gold…

With that said, I wanted to find a dish that would highlight California Olive Ranch’s latest product, Everday California Fresh Extra Virgin Olive Oil. This olive oil is made from a blend of Arbequina, Arbosana, and Koroneiki olives. Each of the three varieties of olives are 100% California grown.

So, what’s special about California Olive Ranch’s olive oil? Freshness is just one of the features that comes to mind. The California olives used in their olive oil are pressed within hours of their harvest which maximizes the freshness of their oil. The freshness and quality of their olive oils has earned them various industry awards, most notably, two gold medals from the California Olive Oil Council for their 2008 harvest.

So, when I was trying gather ideas for a dish to use the olive oil on, a Caprese salad struck me first. With a Caprese salad, I could combine a few simple ingredients that would still allow the buttery smooth olive oil to standout. So, just this past weekend I picked up a few Cherokee Purple heirloom tomatoes to use in the salad. Feel free to use any type of tomato for this recipe.

Ingredients
1-2 Large Tomatoes
8-10 Basil Leaves
1 Small Mozzarella Log
2-3 tbs. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

Steps
Take your tomatoes and slice them 1/4 inch thick. Take a plate and arrange the tomatoes. Sprinkle a dash of salt onto each tomato slice.

Next, cut your Mozzarella log into 1/4 inch slices. I went for a 1 to 1 ratio of tomato to cheese. Take the slices of Mozzarella and place them on top of the tomato slice. Take some freshly ground pepper and season the cheese.

Take your basil and place one leaf on top of each Mozzarella slice.

Finally, drizzle the extra virgin olive oil over the dish, making sure that everything is getting a generous coating from the oil.

A full selection of California Olive Ranch olive oils are available for purchase online and in various retail locations. For more about California Olive Ranch and their products, visit their website for more information.