Summer Caprese Salad

Oh my ... what a nice preview of the summer cooking season. Except no cooking is required ... just slices of fresh mozzarella and tomato arranged however you like on a plate, with torn or julienned basil scattered over the top and drizzled with the simplest of vinaigrettes -- a 1/3 ratio of champagne vinegar to EVOO. Then the whole is sprinkled with a nice sea salt like Maldon.

The kicker is that Batali suggests that both the juices from the sliced tomatoes and some of the liquid in which the fresh mozzarella is kept be added to the vinaigrette ... which I did. The result was a genuinely excellent vinaigrette. Perfect for caprese.

More than almost any other dish I can think of, the end result here depends on the quality of the starting ingredients ... really fresh mozzarella, perfectly ripe and juicy tomatoes (thank you Costco), and beautiful, fragrant basil.

Note: earlier this week I took a 90 minute class on making fresh mozzarella and used my work product from that class for the salad. All I can say is -- I was surprised and pleased to discover how quick (about 30 minutes) and easy (if you can knead bread you can make a mozzarella ball) it is to make mozzarella at home. Although I will have to order the curd through the mail, the end result is certainly worth it.