Caprese Panini

Insalata Caprese — the simple salad of tomato, fresh mozzarella and basil — is said to have originated on the island of Capri, off the coast of Naples, in the early 20th century. Some accounts trace it to a patriotic stonemason who created a salad in the colours of the Italian flag for a post-WWI banquet. Others simply credit the abundance of fresh tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella and basil on the island. What is certain is that the combination — red, white and green, sweet, creamy and herbal — became one of the most iconic dishes in Italian cuisine.

Smoked mozzarella (mozzarella affumicata) adds a dimension absent from the fresh version. Made by smoking fresh mozzarella over straw, wood chips or other organic material, the process creates a golden or brown skin and infuses the cheese with smoky complexity while leaving the interior creamy and mild. In Campania and Basilicata, smoked mozzarella has been made this way for generations.

Our Caprese Panini translates the salad into a pressed sandwich: ricotta pesto for creaminess, ripe tomato, smoked mozzarella for depth, dried oregano for herbal warmth, and olive oil drizzled through Turkish bread before pressing. The heat of the panini grill softens the mozzarella to a melt and toasts the bread to a crisp.