Now that summer is winding down, caprese salad time is almost over. Your chances to indulge in the goodness of tomatoes–heirloom and otherwise–are steadily dwindling, but when you make your next fresh mozzarella-juicy tomato-vibrant basil concoction, take care to just add olive oil and sea salt. Don’t even think about think about drizzling a hint of vinegar over the goods, or else A16’s Nate Appleman might come and get you:
“You could put me on record as saying that (vinegar) is the most nontraditional thing, and I see it all the time and I cringe,” says Nate Appleman, chef of A16 in San Francisco.
Obviously, in traditional Italian caprese salads, the ingredients are assumed to be ultra-fresh, allowing their flavors to shine: the mozzarella provides the milky flavor, the basil should be pungent and the tomatoes give you the tartness of the vinegar. The caprese salad might be the ultimate (and original?) ingredient-driven dish.
Revisit the caprese [Rutland]
A16 [Official Site]
[Photo courtesy: What’s Cooking America]
