I Did It — Yum!
Better Late than Never? The Solitary Cook’s Insalata Caprese alla Nicole Rossi
I was sad to miss Eat the Rainbow, so I knew I had to get in on this community cooking adventure. Insalata Caprese is already near godliness at our house, and then add potatoes? How can one go wrong?! Of course life got in the way so we’re running a little late. And we ended up going out to eat instead, so I’m counting on The Solitary Cook’s input that the caprese is great on Day 2.
I began by assembling some of the best ingredients I know:
The mozzarella wasn’t exactly as recommended, but still excellent nonetheless. Everything was fresh and ripe, with the basil from just outside my back door. The olive oil was hand delivered by our Spanish daughter’s bio mother from Madrid with just a hint of spiciness.
I started with the potatoes, cooked al dente (is that a thing with potatoes?) and cooled just slightly as per instructions:
While those bubbled merrily away, I cut up the red onion curly cues (that was one strong motha’!) and sliced the tomatoes. Okay, a few of the slices somehow disappeared; we do our best!
From there, the pièce de résistance — fresh, soft, juicy mozzarella. I couldn’t find the Cook’s type, but this is a very tasty, imported ball of cheese:
All that remained was building the masterpiece. My Italian pasta bowl seemed perfect for containing the abundant drizzle of olive oil. I had a tiny bit more potato and mozzarella than tomato (darn those missing slices!) so I chopped them up in the middle. My tomato-hating Portuguese daughter may thank me for that (although the only time I’ve seen her actually eat tomatoes was the last time I made caprese). I’m not sure if I arranged this anything like our dear Cook suggested, but it’s pretty and looks scrumptious!
I peered at it again this morning, and it’s just as lovely. I will be so happy to have it ready and waiting after work tonight. Add a pan of lasagna and those vaunted baguettes, and voila — our meal is perfecto! Okay, perhaps with a bit more fresh basil. Because what isn’t better with a bit more basil? Oh, and dear reader, your astute eyes may have caught that bottle of balsamic lingering in the background…yes, I’m one of those caprese chefs. In fact, I’m rather surprised that The Solitary Cook only knows one person who adds it; it’s commonplace here in the Southeast, and our Italian daughter thought it pretty normal, too. But I will serve it on the side this time and let everyone inject their own amount to give the original recipe its due.
Thank you for this adventure, Solitary Cook!
