Planet Green
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This recipe is a simple Caprese Salad made with Homemade Fresh Mozzarella, local organic Tomatoes Stellar Greens mix, Micro Basil, Artichokes, CA Bison Pastrami that I smoked and a Santa Barbara Pistachio-Gouda Crisp.
For the Salad Stack:
- Heirloom Tomatoes, (Tutti Frutti Farms, Lompoc) – Dip into boiling water, shock in ice water, peel and slice.
- Potato Rosemary Bread Croutons (Home made – any artisan bread will do) – cube bread, dip in olive oil, and grill.
- Fresh Mozzarella, (Curds from Gioia Cheese Co, El Monte) – place the curds in a bowl and cover with salted water at 160 degrees. Work together into balls, cut into thick slices and reserve.
For the Garnish:
- Stellar Salad Mix - basil, tarragon, licorice and more (Maggie's farms, Reseda).
- Spring Red Onions, (Tehachapi) – roll in olive oil, garlic and herbs. Sprinkle with Kosher salt and grill until tender.
- Smoked Bison Pastrami – Lindner Bison (Heritage Ranch, Northern California) – marinate 1 pound of Bison in equal parts soy sauce and brown sugar and let sit overnight. Rub with course black pepper and wrap in cheesecloth tightly. Smoke at 200 degrees for 1.5 hours.
- Gouda-Pistachio Cheese Crisp – Winchester Cheese Co., Winchester, CA & Santa Barbara Pistachio Co.) – shred the aged Gouda and mix with ground pistachios and a pinch of flour. Using a silt pad place a small ring on the sheet pan and sprinkle cheese mixture. Bake @ 325 degrees until very light brown (will continue to brown).
- Baby Artichokes – Cooked & Marinated (Tutti Frutti Farms-Lompoc, CA) – boil the baby artichokes until a knife goes through them with no resistance and shock in ice water. Peel down to tender leaves, trim the bottom and top, cut in half and marinate in champagne vinaigrette. Grill right before plating.
For the Sauces:
- Quality balsamic vinegar
- Basil-Cilantro oil – blanche some basil and cilantro for 10 seconds. Squeeze dry and put in blender with enough olive oil to cover halfway up the amount of herbs. Drizzle olive oil while running until twice the amount of the herb is obtained. Strain through fine mesh sieve.
To Assemble:
- Place a bed of greens on a plate with spring red onions, Cut slices of Crouton, Tomato and Mozzarella into rounds with ring cutters. Stack and cut in half placing cut side down on plate next to greens. Arrange pastrami, cheese crisps and baby artichokes around the plate. Drizzle a touch of balsamic and tablespoon or so of basil-cilantro oil on the plate's perimeter.
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