Don’t call this salad “tomato mozzarella” if you don’t want to make Denny Imbrosi cry. “This isn’t a kebab shop!” Like any self-respecting Italian, the restaurant’s chef Idain Paris, prefers to call it by its real name, “salad caprese”, from the island of Capri, in the Bay of Naples, hence this tomato-mozza draws its origin. Capricious, the caprese requires the best products, which as is often the case in Italian cuisine, are not very expensive. Oh no! Capri is not over yet…
Two euros per person, three at the most
What does it take to make this salad a success, which we enjoy in the summer as soon as the thermometer hits above 25°C? When we need, as Denny says, to “line our stomach with fiber without fear of eating cheese and bread afterwards.” Fiber is one tomato for two, the best possible. The chef chooses it “when ripe, that is to say juicy as can be.” But also firm, to successfully cut it into slices. Denny Imbroisi is categorical: he prefers “beef heart” which he only buys in season, that is to say in summer, and at the market, for the guarantee of taste. Expect less than a euro per person.
You also need mozzarella of course, and again, the best possible: “buffalo mozzarella”. 125 to 140 g for two people. Allow another euro. Any remaining cents are for the small bunch of basil, pepper, salt, and a few spoons of extra virgin olive oil for seasoning, the best possible once again…
Preparation, it doesn’t get any easier than this
Wash the tomato (or tomatoes) and slice it. Season them with salt, pepper and olive oil. Slice the mozzarella ball (or balls) into 1 cm thick slices and season to taste. Arrange the tomato and mozzarella slices harmoniously, then garnish with basil leaves. Green, white, red, it’s all of Italy that you are about to taste.
The little extra something
Denny’s extra tip is cauliflower, which he chose purple for contrast and grates raw, at the last minute, over the preparation.
This gives the plate a vegetable parmesan effect for extra freshness. Otherwise, to enjoy the mozzarella in the best conditions, Denny Imbroisi advises “taking it out of the refrigerator 2 or 3 hours before serving.” The chef is also categorical about tomatoes. “Don’t keep them in the refrigerator if you didn’t buy them in the fresh section. Unless you want to keep them for more than a week.” For the Italian chef, this advice applies to all fruits and vegetables. For cauliflower too.