Marinated Mozzarella And Tomatoes

Mozzarella is an Italian curd cheese made from water buffalo milk, not to be confused with North American buffalo or bison. The Italian Mediterranean buffalo breed was believed to have been introduced to Italy during the Roman times. Because Italian water buffalo are herded in just a few countries (mainly Italy and Bulgaria), most mozzarella you eat is made using cow’s milk. If you’re looking, and you can find it, the good stuff is under the label “mozzarella di bufala.”

Water buffalo milk is high in fat and casein, making it less digestible in its raw form. Because of this, buffalo milk is not consumed like cows milk, but it is actually ideal for cheese making. Considered more nutritious than cows milk, water buffalo milk has higher concentrations of calcium, protein, and iron, plus it’s low in cholesterol. But because this specialty milk is three times the cost of regular cows milk, imported buffalo mozzarella comes with a hefty price tag. But it’s well worth it if you ask me.

Despite the type of milk used to make mozzarella, the method is the same, but it always tastes the best when eaten right away. If you want to try your hand at making homemade mozzarella cheese (a process called pasta filata) surprisingly, it’s not as hard as you think. All you need to make it is fresh curd, rennet, citric acid, milk, and water. But these days, with all the high quality fresh mozzarella readily available, making the homemade kind is simply not that necessary.

Any good-quality, store-bought fresh mozzarella will work for this simple, marinated mozzarella recipe. This effortless dish is a great prep-ahead appetizer (or side dish) to serve at any gathering, or even simple weeknight meals like I do at my house. This lovely marinated cheese goes perfectly with all those beautiful end-of-summer farmers tomatoes you still see, but a great, rustic french bread works just as well.

Marinated Mozzarella And Tomatoes

September 27, 2019

Servings: 4

Prep: 15 min

Cook:

Total: 45 min

Difficulty: easy

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By: simmerandsauce

Ingredients

• One (8-ounce) container Boconcini mozzarella cheese
• 1 teaspoon whole coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 garlic clove, grated
• 2 tablespoons Extra Virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh oregano, roughly chopped
• 2 teaspoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt
• 8 small ripe plum tomatoes, quartered

Directions

• Step 1 Lightly crush the coriander. In a small saucepan add the coriander, lemon zest, garlic and olive oil and place over low heat and cook for about 1 minute till fragrant. Remove from the heat, add the oregano and parsley and allow to cool.
• Step 2 While the marinade is cooling, Using your hands, lightly smash the mozzarella and place a serving patter. Place the quartered tomatoes next to the cheese.
• Step 3 Once the marinade has cooled, pour over 2/3’s over the cheese and the remaining 1/3 over the tomatoes. Allow to marinate unrefrigerated for 30 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with the flaky salt prior to serving.