CAPRESE SALAD...FRESH, AROMATIC, SATISFYING
For a quick and reallygood dish for your lunch or dinner table, or a party for that matter, Italy gives us this gift called
L'INSALATA CAPRESE. Caprese Salad..for those of who have enjoyed this your senses are probably all
stimulated from imagining the aromatic basil and/or oregano with the juicy vine ripened deep flavored
tomatoes, the milky slightly sour creaminess of the fresh mozzarella topped with a fruity rich extra
virgin olive oil, a grinding of black pepper. Sublime. You can construct it, de-construct it, skewer it,
plate it, appetizer is, and it's always awesome.
Apologies for not putting up a new blogpost in the last three weeks...i've been busy with family stuff, and
a job change. Now it's back to blogging. This past weekend we were in Upstate NY, the Adirondack area
which is about 4.5 hours from my home. On Sunday we stopped at a (overpriced) farm stand, but since
it's Fall, it was just incredible with pumpkins, flowers, local produce. The tomatoes were sick, meaning
really beautiful and I brought some home. The KEY to a Caprese Salad are the ingredients, not one, but
all of them. A salad made with commercial (out of the water) mozzarella, hot house tomatoes, and
ordinary olive oil will not do it. Nope. Make a tossed salad instead, really. This dish must have the ripest
and reddest tomatoes you can find...look for the fresh mozzarella. If you live near a good Italian deli
you can call to see if they make their own Mozzarella. Times have changed (thankfully) and you don't
need to live in an area with a historic Italian-American population to find even a store made or even a
commercially made soft mozzarella. These will always be found in the "gourmet" cheese sections of
a supermarket, as opposed to the other mozzarella (not good for caprese) which is found in the dairy
section. The better cheeses, French, Irish, American artisinal, Swiss, Italian, Greek, etc. are ALWAYS
in and around the deli sections...don't look for them in the dairy section..rule of thumb for supermarket
shopping. If they are a Wegman's or Whole Foods type of store, there will be it's own cheese section.
Why is this salad called "Caprese"?
Caprese means it comes from CAPRI (pronounced CA-pri), a warm sunny island off the coast of
Italy a short ferry ride from the Amalfi Coast and Naples. Lemons, olives, milky cheeses,
tomatoes, basil, oregano...these are all very popular ingredients on the island. Since it's a hot
place, many of the dishes are quick and room temperature and somewhat light. Lots of fish
and shellfish, pastas...crisp wines and sparkling waters..sunlight, salt air...rocky beaches..
it's a perennial vacation spot.
E cosi', questa ricetta e' troppa semplice...ok, Italian for So then, this is a very simple recipe. For a
"Caprese" for 4-5..a 1 1/2 lb. piece of fresh Mozzarella, di Bufala if you can get it..i'm starting at the
top here...or, as is more commonly used, Fior di Latte, meaning a Cow's milk mozzarella. The
fresh are usually sold in balls with some of their whey or water still in there...delicious. If not, look
for the "as close as you can get to the real one" types that are to be found in your deli, or gourmet
cheese section of the supermarket. BEST at room temperature for serving...I know, you're saying
isn't this going to spoil??. Fear not, I am not trying to give you Salmonella. Clearly if it's 90 degrees
out this is not a good idea to leave it to come to room temp, but ice cold mozzarella taste like, hmmm,
cold. It looses all of it's flavor. And the texture is way off. So, in a perfect world, you will have bought
a previously unrefrigerated piece of mozzarella. Slice it into 1/4 slices. Slice 3 large garden or vine
ripened tomatoes about the same thickness. Arrange any way you like on a platter topping it off with
a handful of fresh basil leaves , or with a sprinkling of dried oregano, or with a chopped mix of fresh
basil and fresh oregano. Drizzle with about 2 tbs. of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, a good grinding of black
pepper and you are done. Seriously, you are done. And you will make this over and over again.
Now let's discuss a great regional Italian product which has been overused in the U.S. and around the
world, Balsamic vinegar. True to form, Caprese Salad is served and was originally made as I've de-
scribed above. When a chef or food buyer introduced that regional Balsamic, made in Central Italy to
the world it suddenly was drizzled and poured over everything Italian (and some non Italian) foods.
It certainly is a phenomenal product, when it's the real aged version..and one of the many classic
Italian food rules is never to add mozzarella to a dish with vinegar since the acidity of the vinegar will
alter the taste and texture of the cheese...AND, to be Caprese (ie: from Capri) you would not have
found a bottle of Balsamic anywhere since it was from a region far far away. Did you know that a
typical Central Italian way to enjoy a frittata is to spritz a little balsamic on it? it's amazing. So I leave it
up to you...since I know many many many people have only had Caprese with balsamic on it and
that's what your taste buds have learned to know as Caprese. Ok, it's not...now if you called it
Fior di Latte con Pomodoro, Olio, Basilico e Balsamico, i might let you slide on it...or not...lol.
Tomatoes from the farm are running out of season..get them while you can still find some.
Posted by peter battaglia at 10/8/2011 3:06 PM 
Categories: ITALIAN, ITALIAN FOOD, MOZZARELLA, CAPRESE SALAD, TOMATOES, salad
Tags: SALAD ITALIAN capri caprese salad TOMATOES MOZZARELLA basil
Categories: ITALIAN, ITALIAN FOOD, MOZZARELLA, CAPRESE SALAD, TOMATOES, salad
Tags: SALAD ITALIAN capri caprese salad TOMATOES MOZZARELLA basil
Great post - a sort of last hurrah of summer. Out here in California we can still call it summer. In fact, we're expecting 100 degree temperatures Monday. The tomatoes are still on the vine, and while not as magnificent as in August and September, they will make a terrific Caprese for lunch. Thanks for the idea.
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