Salad Caprese - the most Italian dish
Vladimir Mayakovsky was mistaken when he stressedhis attention is only on the plumbing that we inherited from ancient Rome. Italian cuisine can also be considered the founder of a food culture that has become characteristic of the whole of European civilization, whose adherents we can quite deservedly consider ourselves. And even French cuisine, traditionally perceived as the most refined in the Old World, originates from the inheritance of the traditions of the empire, the center of which was the Apennine peninsula. Having trusted the first impression of a gourmet who has touched canonical Italian dishes, he risks making the wrong impression of the entire Mediterranean cuisine for himself, as being too simple and unpretentious. It seems that only four food elements prevail in all the variety of foods offered: tomatoes, pasta, olive oil and garlic. But this is just the case when the first impression is deceptive. Simplicity of Italian cuisine is rather its dignity, confirming the well-known axiom that everything great is simple.
A convincing example of thisserve Italian salad Caprese, has already become popular with Russian connoisseurs of this original cuisine. It is just as simple in its ingredients as it is harmonious in the taste palette. Let's start with its name, which is often misunderstood, as leading its origin from the sound of the word "whim". In fact, this salad was named after the place of birth on the island of Capri. It is rumored that Alexei Peshkov (Maxim Gorky) was very fond of this dish during his stay on this island. Although without such legendary recommendations, Caprese's salad will not lose in its attractiveness. It has embodied a harmonious combination of the bright appearance of the original food with its unique taste.
Salad Caprese, whose recipe reallysimple, in fact is not a salad in our traditional sense, but can be attributed to light snacks, so beloved by the Italians. Outwardly it looks very appetizing - on the circles the sliced tomato is laid in a similar size slice of mozzarella cheese, reminiscent of the appearance of the usual cheese, which is decorated on top with a rich green leaf of the basil and flavored with olive oil for salads and snacks. All this splendor is placed in a concentric circle on a plate and looks like Italian national flags of red-white-green color, which are simply blasphemous for a true patriot, without having performed before it the hymn of the Italian anthem. But as seen in practice, most Italians are not so patriotic and consume this appetizer with an enviable appetite, praising the creator for their favorite Caprese salad.
But we only told about the classicalCaprice, which is not so often found in restaurants and simple taverns in Italy. In reality, Caprese salad often becomes just the basis for a wide variety of dishes. This is the essence of Italian cuisine, which is based on the centuries created the fundamental foundations of its cuisine, managed to diversify it with so many dishes that it's time to get lost from the proposed choice. In any tavern you will be offered Caprese with rucola, or with prawns, or with specially cooked meat of exotic fish and shellfish, or else God knows with what, but is just as tasty and beautifully decorated. Apparently, thanks to its remarkable simplicity and variety, Italian cuisine is so popular all over the world. Is this not the best recognition of merit in the measure of modest Italian chefs.
