Heirloom Tomato Caprese Salad
Serves 4 people
3 lbs. Assorted Heirloom Tomatoes
8 oz. fresh Mozzarella
1 bunch of Basil
½ cup Heirloom Tomato Vinaigrette
4 T Balsamic Pearls
Black Garlic Crackers
Sea Salt to taste
To build the salad start by slicing the large tomatoes and wedging the small ones (Any scraps can used for the vinaigrette). Slice the mozzarella about ¼ thick and season it as well as the tomatoes with sea salt. Put 1 T of the vinaigrette on the bottom of the plate and arrange the tomatoes and cheese alternating each one in layers. Drizzle remaining vinaigrette over each salad and then sprinkle the pearls on each one. Tear the basil leaves and sprinkle them over top. Break the crackers into shards and artfully stick them on and around the salad for garnish.
Black Garlic Crackers
2 cup A.P. Flour
1 T Maldon Salt
5 Cloves Black Garlic cold
¼ lb. butter small diced cold
¼ cup water
¼ cup half and half
Egg whites and Maldon salt to brush before baking
In food processer pulse together flour, salt, butter, black garlic until the butter has consistency of oats and garlic is rough chopped. Then quickly add in water and ½ & ½ until just combined. The dough should have the appearance of wood grain. Wrap the ball in plastic and let it rest for at least an hour. Roll it out in the pasta machine starting at #6 and finishing at # 1.5 lay it out on parchment paper. Brush with egg white, sprinkle with salt and dock it. Bake at 350 with a fan for about 6 minutes until light brown.
Heirloom Tomato Vinaigrette
250 g (1¼ cup) Heirloom Tomato Scraps
25 g (1/8 cup) sliced Shallot
25 g (1/8 cup) Roasted Garlic
1/8 cup sherry vinegar.
1 cup Blended Oil
Combine all ingredients except oil into a blender and puree. Then slowly emulsify with oil and season with salt. Strain through a fine mesh sieve.
Balsamic Pearls
½ cup Balsamic Vinegar
1 T Sugar
5 Bloomed Gelatin Sheets
2 Qts. Extra Virgin Olive Oil Chilled
Combine Balsamic vinegar and sugar in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Add in the gelatin sheet and stir until they are dissolved and remove from the heat. Place the Extra Virgin Olive Oil in deep container and then place the container in an ice bath. Using a syringe or flavor injector. Make drops of the balsamic into the cold olive oil. When done with the solution strain out your pearls through a sieve and you have your pearls.