Springtime Caprese Salad

The Inspiration behind our Caprese Salad: A Perfect Sringtime Starter,

One day this week, at our restaurant, we received the best fresh mozzarella I have ever tasted. With a deep rich flavor and creamy texture, it was like no other mozzarella I had ever tasted. We received just a small sample and wanted the customers to be able to enjoy what a true, fresh mozzarella should taste like.

The chef and I decided with only five orders available we should make a simple dish to showcase the mozzarella and minimize the emphasis put on the other components of the dish. We looked around the kitchen for ingredients and found we had some beautiful heirloom tomatoes (a true heirloom is a cultivar that has been nurtured, selected, and handed down from one family member to another for many generations) that had just started to be harvested.

Our dish was starting to come together, Caprese salad. I love this salad because of its simplicity. A Caprese salad is a very classic dish from the Campania region of Italy. It usually consists of fresh mozzarella, plum tomatoes and fresh basil.

For our rendition of the Caprese salad, we used ingredients that are commonly found in Memphis. Believe it or not, Memphis has a culturally diverse population which offers a wide variety of ingredients. I frequently shop at our Vietnamese market which offers an incredible selection of Asian ingredients. We typically buy Thai Basil, kaffir lime leaves and many other varieties of herbs and vegetables to use at the restaurant.

The ingredients of our Caprese Salad consisted of the following: fresh mozzarella, heirloom tomatoes, baby arugula, Thai basil, Hawaiian Pink Sea Salt, Balsamic vinegar and fresh cracked black pepper.

This recipe is great to use as a platter for parties or an outdoor seated dinner for your family and friends. Enjoy the recipe and as always feel free to post comments.

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INGREDIENTS (Yields 4 portions)

3 each Heirloom Tomatoes (Roma Tomatoes will work just as well)
1 pound Fresh Mozzarella (Italian if possible)
3 ounces Thai or Fresh Basil (tear or leave whole)
12 ounces Baby Arugula
2 Cups Balsamic vinegar
1 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 Tbs. Hawaiian Pink Sea Salt or Fleur de Sel
1 Tbs. Black pepper

Method;

The first thing you want to do is reduce 1.5 cups of balsamic vinegar. You want to reduce to a syrup consistency. Be very careful not to burn the vinegar. Once the vinegar is reduced place in the refrigerator and hold until service.

Wash the arugula to remove any sand and place in a colander to drain.

Next you will want to make the vinaigrette for the arugula salad. Place the .5 cup of balsamic vinegar in a mixing bowl and season with salt and pepper. Slowly whisk the olive oil with the vinegar and hold for service.

The best way to slice the mozzarella is to place the knife under really hot water to warm the blade. This will allow the knife to easily slice the cheese without tearing it. I would slice the mozzarella right before you want to plate up the dish. This will prevent the mozzarella from drying out. Slice the tomatoes and you are pretty much ready to plate.

Place a tomato on the plate then layer the mozzarella. Do this until you have 3 tomatoes and 2 pieces of mozzarella. Tear some of the basil and sprinkle on top of the tomatoes and cheese. In a bowl place the arugula and lightly toss with the vinaigrette. Place a small handful of the arugula in front of the Caprese. Take a spoon and drizzle the balsamic reduction onto the plate and sprinkle the sea salt and black pepper.

Bon Appetite!