[Welcome to Stacie, who will be writing for us once a week from the west coast, bringing local tips and news from her LA kitchen.]
It’s summer which means heirloom season is here, and I try to celebrate this seasonal blessing every day. This year I planted my own modest garden of the brandy vine and husky red variety that I bought at the Culver City farmer’s market.
The bounty of my modest home garden makes me happy. One of my favorite ways to prepare these odd shaped gems is to keep them raw and keep it simple. They’re juicy and sweet and colorful and have a genuine tomato taste that seems to have disappeared from our palettes the rest of year.
The favorite solution: ride my bike to my local wine and gourmet shop Mel and Rose, pick up some fresh, melt-in-your-mouth buffalo mozzarella and slice the cheese and the tomato. Add some basil ribbons, olive oil and a little salt.
You’ll be smiling too, I promise.
This is basically my favorite dish ever. I'm totally addicted to mozzarella and I love it with tomatoes, basil, olive oil and a crack of black pepper. I also tend to like the slightly more generic stuff that comes in a brick that is used for pizza/lasagna's. It's a bit saltier and less creamy. mmmm I'm totally going to buy a brick of mozzarella now on the way home from work!
oh - the best thing ever. I could eat this everyday!
I just prepared a different version myself last night, stealing a special dish idea from Lupa, where they had cubed (in not so small chunks) the fresh mozzerella with colorful heirlooms, added some pickled red onions and of course basil leaves - served fresh up with extra virgin olive oil and a touch of lemon juice. Yum.
And some sliced garlic, too. (Don't get too close.)
Try this with Burrata for an extra special treat. Since Buratta must be eaten within a day or two of when it's made, you're lucky you live in LA, where Gioia cheese company makes a really good version.
Burrata is a fresh cream filled mozzarella. Milky, rich, sweet and incredibly wonderful.
http://www.leitesculinaria.com/food_history/burrata.html
Love Buratta! Unf. Leites Culinaria is not in my neighborhood -- about an hour away but sounds like a place worth checking-out. Do you know who they supply in town? Thanks.
I love to take a nice salad like that and layer it on warm garlic bread when the weather turns a little cooler. It makes a more substantial meal, and the warm bread makes the cheese melt just slightly. Delicious!
Stacie, the Leites Culinaria link was just for info about Buratta in case people hadn't tried it.
There's a cheese company, Gioia, in Southern Cal that makes a wonderful Buratta. All the rustic Cal/Ital restaurants here in SF fly it up daily and sometimes we get it in our shops. I don't know LA well, but I bet if you checked out your best cheese shops they'd have it.
the tomato & mozarella salad is delicious, and if you add just a little bit of balsamic vinegar: mmmm! it just brings out the flavor and tastes GREAT!
enjoy!
Funny, I'm eating some Gioia Buratta right now. The cheese shop is located in el Monte, in So Cal, and it's worth the drive. The owners are uber friendly, and a 1 pound ball is just $5. Yeah, that's right, FIVE dollars. If you don't feel like driving out here, they will ship it, but I believe requires a minimum order of 6, so find some Buratta loving friends and go in on an order. Great stuff. I am enjoying the very last of the sasons best tomatoes and Buratta. Nothing else. Heaven on a plate.