First in case
you don’t know let me explain what a caprese salad is. It is a layered salad from Italy, made of
sliced fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and basil, seasoned with salt, and olive oil;
very fresh and simple.
O.k., now that you know what
you’re coping you need to decide how. In order to recreate a dish you must
think of all the aspects not just the flavors. You want to match the feeling
and “image” of the original dish without being too weird. How does a Caprese
make you feel?
When asked what I would make I
thought fresh, light and airy. I thought ice cream with tomato chunks and
fluffy cream on top. Now doesn’t that sound good?
In order to recreate a dish all
you really need is a muse and your imagination. (and the internet)
So for all you recipe followers
here is what I put together in my search :
And remember your search may be different
Ingredients:
About 5oz. good
buffalo mozzarella
2 cups heavy
cream
1 cup whole milk
1/4 to 1/3 cup
sugar (you can add more sugar later, to taste)
4 egg yolks
A few basil
leaves
A dash of salt
and pepper, to taste
Instructions:
* Cut up the
mozzarella into small pieces. Put them in a blender with the cream and milk.
* Put the blended
mixture in a saucepan on medium heat.
* While the cream
mixture is heating, whisk together the eggs, sugar, salt and pepper.
* Once the
cheese/cream mixture is hot but not boiling, pour about 1/2 cup of the hot cream over the eggs and sugar to
temper the eggs.
* When the cream
mixture almost reaches boiling, stir in the eggs and sugar.
* Cook over
medium heat for another 3 minutes or so. After 3 minutes, taste the mixture to
see if you need to add any more
sugar. Just keep in mind that the final product (ice
cream) will not be quite as sweet as the
hot cream mixture.
* Take the cream
mixture off the heat and let it sit for about 15 minutes.
* When the
mixture has cooled a bit, throw it back in the blender with about 6 or 7 basil
leaves. Pulse the blender until
the basil is fully incorporated.
* If you have a
strainer or food mill you might want to strain the mixture before you put it in
the refrigerator. If you don’t have a
strainer, just pour the mixture directly into a bowl and refrigerate for a
couple of hours.
* When the ice cream base has fully cooled, follow the
instructions on the ice cream maker.
**Next on the list is a Tomato Marmalade
Ingredients:
Ripe tomatoes
500 gr
Granulated sugar
100 gr
Glucose 100 gr
Orange peel: 6
small pieces
1 clove
Lemon juice 60
gr (add after cooking)
Instructions:
*Peel tomatoes
and cut in small cubes using only the outer part, without
pulp or seeds.
*Put all
ingredients in a preheated hot pan and cook over a high flame for 15 minutes.
*After cooking
add the lemon juice.
**Third thing is the Basil Custard Sauce,
or as I
like to call it The Basil
Fluff
Ingredients:
2 cups whole milk
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup packed basil leaves
3 large egg yolks
Instructions:
* Bring milk,
sugar, and a pinch of salt just to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until
sugar has dissolved.
* Remove from heat and stir in basil. Let steep, covered,
30 minutes.
* Put yolks
in a small bowl.
* Strain
milk mixture through a sieve into another bowl, pressing hard on and then
discarding basil, and return
to saucepan.
* Whisk about
1/2 cup warm milk mixture into yolks, then whisk into remaining milk in
saucepan.
* Cook over
medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard coats
back of spoon and registers 170°F on an
instant-read thermometer.
* Transfer
custard sauce to a bowl and chill, stirring occasionally, until cold, about 2
hours.
***And finally top with a drizzle
of super premium olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt.
Recap:
Buffalo Mozzarella Ice Cream and a Tomato Marmalade, topped with Basil Custard
Sauce, a super
premium
olive oil drizzle and a sprinkle of sea slat
1 ½ cups of whole wheat flour
1:Vanilla - It’s
like the simple boring flavor. You know you’re taking the easy way out of you
pick vanilla. It’s probably the first flavor you ever had; before you had taste
or could talk. Most likely your cupcake at least won’t suck if it’s vanilla. If
you get vanilla wrong go back to school.
2:Pumpkin - It’s an automatic reminder of family
thanksgivings and cozy fall. It’s a little sweet and a little spice. It has
these exotic flavors that make me think of something special. Or maybe it’s
just because pumpkin is seasonal and you always want what you can’t always
have.
3:Banana - It’s
like banana bread but with icing. It makes me think of grandma’s kitchen. It’s
this old nostalgic thing that every once in a while our old souls are drawn to.
But it’s like the smell of old people; do you really want it around often?
4:Coffee - 
5:Chocolate! - My all-time favorite. My man in the moon or my
sunrise over the sea. Chocolate is the most beautiful things out there. You are
all fools for not making chocolate your number 1 on the list. All bow to
chocolate.
7:Peanut butter - personally I hate peanut butter. I get that it’s a thing that most children
suck down a few times a week, but yuck. I grew so sick of peanut butter that I
won’t even consider it a flavor on that chart. It would be cheaper if you just
made a p.b. and j sandwich.
8:Carrot cake - it’s like an old grandma trick on how to get you to eat more vegetables. I
think the icing but I want sugar and sweets with my cake. You can save those
carts for a brisket with potatoes. It is probably one of the oldest flavors,
move on people.
10:Chocolate and vanilla – the number 1, play it easy, please most cake
flavor of all time. It’s your all-time favorite flavors combined in to one
elegant looking thing. All shops have them and all make them good. You can’t
sell cake if you have a bad chocolate and vanilla combination. It may not be
your number 1 but it is always your fall back choice.
2 flavors of hot chocolate (a drinking chocolate base with cocoa and a little sugar, then frothed with the espresso steamer)
