Could I improve on classic Caprese combo? Yes

I have something heretical to get off my chest. Heretical to the locavore, food-obsessed, Italophile crowd, that is.

I don’t like Caprese sandwiches.

Do you know them? They’re the between-bread-slices version of a Caprese salad, sold by too many sandwich shops as their lone — and often pathetic — vegetarian offering.

The salad, of course, is one of summer’s great pleasures, born on the island of Capri and made up of layers of perfectly ripe tomatoes, fragrant basil and fresh buffalo-milk mozzarella, drizzled with fabulous extra-virgin olive oil and a little sea salt. In some circles, a drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar is considered essential; in others, it’s proibito.

The salad sets a high bar: If everything in it is of the highest quality, it’s a revelation. If one element falls short, the whole thing disappoints. If the tomatoes are pallid and/or mealy, the mozzarella too firm, the olive oil bland, the basil less than pungent — well, you might as well have a Caesar.

All that is also true for the sandwich, which raises the bar even higher with another risky element: the bread. When it’s too crusty or thick or chewy, even the best filling is ruined (along with, possibly, the roof of your mouth). Frankly, even when the ingredients are top-notch, there’s something about eating this combination in sandwich form that doesn’t work for me: When I can’t cut things up with a knife and fork, rarely can I get that perfect bite in which all the elements harmonize. More often than not, that sandwich is dry and boring.

Still, I love the combination — at least in theory — of creamy pale cheese, tart tomatoes and basil, so I decided to remake the sandwich into something that hews close to the spirit of the salad but with fewer pitfalls.

For the bread, I chose a thin-crusted, soft-interior sub roll, the kind that doesn’t resist your teeth when you bite it. I replaced the basil leaves, which end up falling out or being consumed whole, with a quick pesto that stops short of a puree, so it has a little texture. The mozzarella became ricotta, which I whir in a food processor to make it super creamy and easy to spread; it adds that pure dairy flavor plus the right amount of moisture. (In essence, I turned the cheese and the basil into condiments.)

The tomato? Well, that’s the centerpiece of the sandwich, and I can’t argue with it — except to demand that it be local, in season and perfectly ripe. In the winter, I’d make something else.

Tomato, Pesto and Ricotta Sandwiches

4 servings

MAKE AHEAD: The pesto and whipped ricotta can each be refrigerated for up to 3 days. From Washington Post Food and Dining editor Joe Yonan.

1 cup lightly packed basil leaves, plus a few more for optional garnish

1/4 cup walnuts

1 clove garlic

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup whole-milk ricotta (see NOTE)

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more as needed

4 kaiser rolls or other thin-crusted, small sub rolls or buns, halved

1 pound ripe, in-season tomatoes (2 large or 3 to 4 smaller, or a combination), cored if needed and cut into 1/2-inch slices

Combine the cup of basil, the walnuts, garlic, cheese and oil in the bowl of a mini food processor; process in long pulses until combined but still chunky, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Scrape the pesto into a small bowl; clean and dry the food processor bowl.

Combine the ricotta and 1/4 teaspoon of salt in the food processor; puree until smooth. (Or you can whisk them together by hand.) Taste and add salt as needed.

Spread about 1/4 cup of the whipped ricotta on the cut side of each of the bottom roll sections. Layer on a few tomato slices and a torn basil leaf or two, if desired. Spread about 2 tablespoons of pesto on the cut side of each of the top roll sections, then invert to complete the sandwiches. Cut in half, if desired.

NOTE: If you cannot find whole-milk ricotta, part-skim can be substituted, but add 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil when you puree it.

Per serving: 500 calories, 21 g protein, 45 g carbohydrates, 27 g fat, 9 g saturated fat, 35 mg cholesterol, 630 mg sodium, 2 g dietary fiber, 7 g sugar