Memories of Italy!

Now that our local tomatoes are ripening on the vine, it is time to celebrate by creating one of our favourite summer salads: Insalata Caprese. During our recent trip to Italy, we savoured this salad during our travels through Tuscany, Rome and the Amalfi Coast and even on the Isle of Capri where it supposedly originated.
It is considered Italy's national salad as its colours represent the Italian flag. It is simply made from vine ripe tomatoes, fresh buffalo mozzarella and basil drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. With only 3 key ingredients, it is important that they be the best. Although ripe tomatoes and fresh basil give the colour and flavour to the salad, it is really the fresh mozzeralla that is the star. In Italy, this cheese is easily accessible coming from their indigenous cow, the buffalo. Nothing like our bison, it looks more like an African water buffalo.
Unfortunately, our supermarket variety tends to be bland and rubbery. Fresh mozzarella from Italy can be purchased from specialty cheese shops through the Toronto area and it is well worth it for flavour and its creamy texture.