Issue #166: Tomatoes!
With Vine-Ripened, Local Tomatoes, Less Can Be More
Between our CSA share and the pots growing on our deck, we have a lot of tomatoes to enjoy at the moment. Eventually, I’ll cook what we can’t consume. But until then, I rise to the challenge of finding what to do with as many as I can in their fresh-picked state.
I tend to think when the “golden apple” (pomodoro in Italian) is at its prime, the less you do with it the better. There’s nothing more satisfying than a simple tomato and mayonnaise sandwich on fresh baguette or sourdough toast (see Mayo Issue #6) or the essential Spanish pan con tomate (see Issue #65).
One rung up in complexity might be the classic Caprese salad—slices of tomato layered with fresh mozzarella and basil or other herbs that is said to have originated in the 1950s at a trattoria on the island of Capri. These days, you’ll find it on menus all over Italy and around the world no matter the season. But right now is the time to make a Caprese salad in the northeast, when big, juicy tomatoes are at their peak.
A full-fledged recipe for insalata caprese isn’t necessary, but a few tips will make yours stand out from the crowd. Start by taking the fresh mozzarella (cow’s milk fior di latte is traditional) out of the fridge about an hour before you assemble the salad. Like tomatoes, mozzarella should be consumed at room temperature for the best flavor and texture. In Campania, the region of Italy where you find Capri and the best mozzarella, they never refrigerate it.
While I like my tomatoes sliced thick for a Caprese, I prefer my mozzarella slices on the thinner side. Use a variety of tomatoes for variation. Don’t overwhelm the salad with basil, a medium sized leaf per tomato and mozzarella sandwich is enough. Some say the OG Caprese was made with wild arugula, no basil at all. Drizzle with the finest olive oil, sprinkle with the flakiest salt, and if you like the sweetish tang of balsamic vinegar, use an excellent one sparingly. Basta.
Back in Issue #61, I proposed adding ripe sliced peaches or nectarines to your caprese for a little variation, something I would still advise.
Monday night I switched things up a little, making a tomato salad variation with fresh ricotta, crispy capers, and browned butter. There was a time that butter and cream were more common fats in salad dressings. And I think it’s time they came back. The flavor of browned butter is particularly well suited to tomatoes. Whether or not you need to add any additional acid depends on the acidity of your tomatoes. A squirt of fresh lemon juice or a splash of white wine vinegar can bring everything into balance.
RECIPE: Tomato Salad with Ricotta, Browned Butter, and Crispy Capers
Serves 3 or 4, but infinitely scalable
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 pounds assorted ripe tomatoes
6 ounces fresh ricotta
Juice of 1/2 lemon (optional)
Flaked salt, such as Maldon or Falk, and freshly ground black pepper
Handful flat-leaf parsley, leaves only, chopped
In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Once it begins to sizzle, add the drained capers and cook until both the milk solids in the butter and the capers begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Don’t let it burn.
Meanwhile, core the tomatoes and slice them crosswise into round slabs about 1/2-inch thick. Arrange the tomatoes on a serving plate. Spoon dollops of ricotta on some of the tomatoes and then spoon the browned butter and capers over the whole lot. Squeeze a little lemon juice, if desired. Sprinkle with flaked salt, freshly ground black pepper, and parsley.
BONUS RECIPE: Homemade Ricotta
The other day I needed some ricotta for a recipe and my neighborhood source for good, local ricotta was out. So I made it myself, just a cup, in about 30 minutes, total. It was so easy that a guest who was visiting at the time thought I should share the recipe.
I’ll note that you see recipes all over for ricotta like this made by heating milk and adding acid, usually lemon juice or vinegar. Let it be known that this is not technically ricotta at all, at least not the ricotta they’ve been making for centuries in Italy, which is made from the whey leftover from other types of cheesemaking. Instead, this type of ricotta is a fresh curd cheese, similar to Indian paneer. But it works very well in a pinch.
I choose to use pure citric acid as my coagulant because it has no flavor, it allows you to control the acidity, and I always have some around for canning. It is the same acid found in lemon juice, though in lemons the concentration can vary widely. Distilled white vinegar is more precise than juice.
Makes about 1 cup (roughly 6 ounces by weight)
1 quart (4 cups) whole milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
Pinch kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon citric acid crystals or 4 teaspoons distilled white vinegar
Combine the milk, cream and salt in a nonreactive saucepan. Set over medium heat and bring up to 190°F. Stir in the acid or vinegar, remove from the heat, and let sit for 10 minutes or so until it separates into curds and whey. If you are using vinegar and the curds haven’t formed, add a drop or two more and bring back up to 190°F. Line a large, fine mesh strainer with cheesecloth and set over a bowl. Pour the curdled mixture into the cheesecloth and let drain until only the soft ricotta remains. (I sometimes speed up the draining process by carefully picking up the four corners of the cheesecloth to force more whey to release.)
