On Wednesday, I spent four hours with Luisa Arico in Oxford. Originally from Italy, Luisa will be the featured Cook of the Week on the Food & Dining cover next week.
I should mention that I would like to spend a whole week in the kitchen with this woman. If I could learn how to make even one or two of the dishes in her repertoire, I could die a happy woman.
Luisa gave me too many recipes to print in the paper next week, so I’m sharing a short one now for Insalata Caprese or Capri’s Salad. Luisa notes that you can buy the fresh mozzarella “eggs” in the specialty cheese case at Kroger. I’ve also seen them at Wal-Mart.
Insalata Caprese for 4
1 pound fresh Mozzarella, preserved in water
1 pound ripe tomatoes
1 large sprig of fresh basil leaves, cut in thin strips or torn into small pieces
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
Slice Mozzarella and tomatoes the same thickness. Alternate tomato slices and Mozzarella slices on a platter, sprinkle with salt and pepper, drizzle with EVOO and top with fresh basil. Serve at room temperature with crusty bread. Makes 4 servings.
6 Comments
May 16, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Wow, that sounds tasty. I’m adding it to my weekend menu.
May 16, 2008 at 7:16 pm
I tried another of her recipes last night, one that will be published next Wednesday, called Fettuccine Alla Boscaiola. The main ingredients were pasta, olive oil, garlic, white wine, portobello mushrooms, green peas, crushed tomatoes and heavy cream. (Of course, you know I used half ‘n half.) I halved the recipe, which was a mistake. Patrick ate three helpings and asked if there were any more in the kitchen. Everyone cleaned his/her plate and I mean licked it clean. Next time, I’ll make the full recipe. Charlie was still talking about this dish when he got up this morning.
May 19, 2008 at 5:22 pm
I made the Insalata Caprese this weekend, but ate it sandwich style instead of crostini style. I used honey wheat bread (forgot to buy French or Italian), and it was a nice light lunch.
I made the Fettuccine Alla Boscaiola for dinner. Of course, I added onions. And, I didn’t have enough EVOO so I had to use walnut oil. Canned mushrooms instead of portobello or crimini. Diced tomatoes instead of crushed. I made the full recipe for the sauce and had to play with the portions when adding the cream since I wasn’t eating the entire batch at once. Overall, it was really good. I normally don’t make cream sauce, so it was an easy intro. I’ll definitely make it again. In fact, I’m about to go eat the leftovers for lunch
May 19, 2008 at 7:28 pm
I’m glad the pasta dish was as good for you as ours was. I had intended to make another one of Luisa’s recipes this weekend (spaghetti with oil and garlic … see Wednesday’s paper for the recipe), but ran out of time in the kitchen. Spent too much time working in the yard! We’re going to make pizza for dinner tonight. I bought these balls of dough at Kroger (on the recommendation of another Cook of the Week) and we just love them. (I’ll get you the name later.) I’m going to top the pizza crust with tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella slices and fresh basil leaves. Tellini’s sells a similar pizza, I think.
May 21, 2008 at 10:28 pm
Mmm. Bet that was tasty. It sounds a lot like the amazingly delicious Tomato Basil Margherita pizza at Tellini’s.
May 22, 2008 at 8:52 pm
Well, it would have been a lot like the Tomato BAsil Margherita pizza at Tellini’s, only I caved at the end and added turkey pepperoni and just a small bit of grated Cheddar cheese. Guess I was craving protein.