Photo and text by KARA
DiCAMILLO/ecoRI.org News contributor
One of the things that
I love is cheese and, for me, there’s nothing like fresh mozzarella. I’ve
wanted to learn how to make it for quite some time now, so I decided
to attend a cooking class at Trio Restaurant in Narragansett. While chef Kevin
Gaudreau made it look incredibly easy, what I learned is that it actually is,
and not as time consuming as I had thought.
Using local curd from
Narragansett Creamery, Gaudreau explained that there are just a few simple
ingredients to mozzarella: milk, acidity (such as lemon juice, vinegar or
rennet), water and salt. The technique of forming the mozzarella is really
what’s key to it, because, as I learned, if it’s overworked it becomes too
dense.
When we finished
making the mozzarella, we were able to try it and, let me tell you, eating
fresh mozzarella cheese while still slightly warm is a definite treat. Gaudreau
kept it simple by slicing a few local tomatoes, drizzling olive oil and then
finishing our appetizer with a little salt and pepper. As he said, keeping it
simple is really the most delicious way to prepare and eat.
This week I used the
fresh mozzarella that we were given from the cooking class and created an easy
appetizer with my cherry tomatoes and rosemary that I still have growing in my
garden. Simple really is the best.
Fresh Mozzarella with
Roasted Tomatoes
(Serves 6-8)
(Serves 6-8)
20-25 small tomatoes,
such as cherry or grape
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 large ball of fresh mozzarella, about 8 ounces, cubed
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of fresh basil
Salt
Freshly cracked pepper
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 large ball of fresh mozzarella, about 8 ounces, cubed
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of fresh basil
Salt
Freshly cracked pepper
Heat your oven to 400
degrees. Marinate the mozzarella by combining it with garlic and basil, and add
salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
Similar to my roasted tomato butter recipe, on a small
baking sheet spread the tomatoes evenly and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive
oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast the tomatoes in the oven, about 10
minutes, turning halfway through. You want the tomatoes to still be a bit firm
to hold the toothpick, yet slightly tender at the same time. Using rosemary
sprigs (toothpicks will work as well) stack the mozzarella and tomatoes and
then place them on a serving dish. Enjoy.