Fresh

Yeah, yeah, I know, it’s Drew and Justin dinning out with friends but can you make out what’s on everybody’s plate? Grrrr! No, of course not and you can trust me, I have checked every image I could find. So, once again I’m left to wonder. Did Drew and Justin started with this?

Thanks to What’s Cooking in America for this recipe and image

Insalata Caprese, it’s one of the simplest and most delicious of salads. It requires only the right ingredients and the right season. The season first: This is basically a summer dish from which follow the ingredients: it should be made only with local vine-ripened tomatoes that are red, juicy and flavorful but not overly soft, and preferably un- refrigerated. (Yeah, okay, just get the freshest tomatoes you can ’cause it sure isn’t summer yet.)

The next ingredient should be truly fragrant, flavorful young basil: green basil grown in the earth and sun, not the hydroponically grown giant leaf variety which has little flavor.

The next essential ingredient is good quality fresh, moist mozzarella. Good fresh cow’s milk mozzarella (called Fior di latte) does just as well. Never use the yellow plastic-sheathed supermarket variety! Finally, you need genuine extra-virgin olive oil and only olive oil, the best you can afford.

With good quality fresh bread and a glass of cool or slightly chilled white wine, or sparkling water with a twist of lemon, this makes an excellent lunch or, in a small portion, an ideal first course for a meal.

Then maybe:

Ravioli with Pesto

You can buy the Ravioli already made, check the deli department of your grocery store for those fresh, packaged little pockets of goodness.

Then make your pesto:

How to Make Pesto like an Italian Grandmother

Thanks to 101 Cookbooks for this image and the recipe

One key to perfect pesto is chopping all the ingredients by hand, preferably with a sharp mezzaluna or knife. I gave my double-bladed mezzaluna to a friend last year because it was collecting dust (I also didn’t like how ingredients would get stuck between the blades), but I do have a large half-moon shaped pizza cutter that works like a dream. This pesto will keep a bit in the refrigerator, but it really hits its peak when served soon after it is made.

The technique here is: chop a bit, add some ingredients, chop some more. I think part of the reason it’s done this way (instead of chopping everything all at once) is because some things get chopped into oblivion, while some not as much - it encourages spectrum of cut sizes throughout the pesto contributing to the overall texture. All told, the chopping can take a leisurely twenty to thirty minutes; if you aren’t in any particular rush.

You’ll notice this recipe doesn’t have any added salt (just the saltiness from the cheese), make sure your pasta water is well salted if you are going to use this pesto on pasta or the overall flavor profile will fall flat. Also, be sure to adjust for seasoning before serving. With food this simple, you need to get the seasoning right.

1 large bunch of basil, leaves only, washed and dried
3 medium cloves of garlic
one small handful of raw pine nuts
roughly 3/4 cup Parmesan, loosely packed and FRESHLY GRATED
A few tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

Special equipment: large mezzaluna for chopping

Start chopping the garlic along with about 1/3 of the basil leaves. Once this is loosely chopped add more basil, chop some more, add the rest of the basil, chop some more. I scrape and chop, gather and chop. At this point the basil and garlic should be a very fine mince. Add about half the pine nuts, chop. Add the rest of the pine nuts, chop. Add half of the Parmesan, chop. Add the rest of the Parmesan, and chop. In the end you want a chop so fine that you can press all the ingredients into a basil “cake” - see the photo up above. Transfer the pesto “cake” to a small bowl (not much bigger than the cake). Cover with a bit of olive oil, it doesn’t take much, just a few tablespoons.

You can set this aside or place it in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. Just before serving give the pesto a quick stir to incorporate some of the oil into the basil. Occasionally thin the pesto with a splash of pasta water for more coverage if necessary.

Makes about 1 cup.

Posted on March 25th, 2008 by Ruth
Filed under: Beverages, Pasta, Salad, Vegetables