L ifestyle /C ulture
A Twist on Caprese
F OO D
KERI WHITE | JE FOOD COLUMNIST
CAPRESE SALAD is the
quintessential summer dish —
ripe tomatoes, fragrant basil,
a drizzle of the best olive oil,
fresh mozzarella — really, it’s
the season in a colorful bowl.

I had fun this week riffing
on this dish, taking it out
of the salad bowl and into a
soufflé. I also experimented
with it as a potato salad, which
was dee-lish. Because it is still
a tad early in the season for
tomatoes, I ended up roasting
them before using, which, as my
husband and most honest food
critic commented, is not very
summery. But it is a good back-
pocket trick for these glorious
orbs if they are less than perfect,
or under/over ripe.

As the harvest arrives in the
coming weeks and we enjoy
this glorious bounty, skip
the roasting step and use the
tomatoes in all their splendor.

CAPRESE SOUFFLÉ
Serves 2
Regular readers may recognize
this simplified soufflé technique
from a previous column. It is
a slightly less-fluffy version,
rather more-custardy, but it is
significantly easier, as it does
not involve separating the eggs
and whipping the whites.

I used the caprese ingre-
dients and a blend of grated
mozzarella and
ground Parmesan, but you could adjust
this according to preference,
or skip the cheese and have a
pareve dish, if desired. It will
be lighter and less salty without
the cheese, so you may wish to
add a pinch more salt to it if
you go that route.

A note on the tomatoes:
If they are at their peak, you
can just chop them and save
the juice to include in the
mixture, skipping the roasting
step altogether. Roasting
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM concentrates the flavor, delivers
a bit more complexity and depth
to the dish and brings a jammier
texture to the tomatoes, but for
a summer meal, you can skip
this if you want.

1 cup roasted tomatoes,
with juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
A handful of basil leaves
(scant ¾ cup), rinsed and
sliced into ribbons
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
4 eggs
Salt and pepper
¾ cup grated mozzarella
cheese ¼ cup ground Parmesan
cheese Roast the tomatoes: Heat
your oven to 400 degrees F.

Line a baking dish with parch-
ment and spread the rinsed
tomatoes in a single layer.

Drizzle them with olive oil
and toss to coat. Sprinkle them
lightly with salt and pepper.

Roast them in your oven for
about 25 minutes until the
tomatoes are slightly charred,
bursting and a bit jammy.

If you have more than 1 cup
of less-than-perfect tomatoes
lying around, double or triple
this; these are delightful
tossed over pasta, smeared on
a sandwich or mixed into a
salad. Remove the tomatoes from
the oven and lower the heat to
350 degrees F. Spray a 2-quart
baking dish with oil; set aside.

In a small saucepan, melt
the butter and add the flour.

Mix with a whisk to form a
smooth paste. When thick-
ened, add milk and continue
whisking until a uniform and
creamy texture is achieved,
about 2 minutes.

In a separate bowl, whisk the
eggs with the cheese, tomatoes,
basil, salt and pepper. Add the
milk mixture, and whisk until
blended. Pour the mixture
into the prepared baking dish
and bake for 25-30 minutes
until done — the soufflé will
be puffed up, the center will
be solid and the edges will
be slightly browned, pulling
away from the pan. Serve
immediately. CAPRESE POTATO SALAD
Serves 4
If you read my column
regularly, you are familiar with
my love affair with potatoes.

I am forever seeking ways to
integrate these beloved roots
into my daily meals. Since I
had leftover roasted tomatoes
and a basil plant in my garden
just bursting with leaves, this
seemed like a good experi-
ment to try. And it worked! We
served it with grilled chicken
and a green salad, and it was a
perfect summer meal.

I used red bliss potatoes
because they were on sale at the
supermarket, but any potato
can be used here. Peel if you
wish; I don’t.

8 medium-sized red bliss
potatoes (a little smaller
than your fist)
1½ cups roasted tomatoes
with juice (see recipe
above for technique)
½ cup fresh basil leaves
chopped in ribbons
¼- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Generous grinding of fresh
pepper 1-2 tablespoons of best-
quality olive oil
Caprese soufflé
Rinse the potatoes well,
and cut them into bite-sized
pieces. Place them in a large
pot of water with a pinch of
salt. Bring the water to a boil
Caprese potato salad
and cook for about 25 minutes
until the potatoes are soft when
pierced with a fork. Drain and or the basil will “cook.”
cool. Do not add remaining
Add the tomatoes, basil, salt
ingredients to potatoes until and pepper. Stir. If the salad
they cool to room temperature seems too dry, add a tablespoon
JEWISH EXPONENT
or two of olive oil. Mix again.

Taste for seasoning; add salt
and pepper, if needed. Serve at
room temperature or chilled. l
JULY 15, 2021
17