This week, I am going to teach you how to make a very pretty, darn delicious and, believe it or not, healthy little dish, for I have not been able to convince many of my guests that mozzarella (ordinarily the principal ingredient of this assembly) is not in itself fattening.
As with everything else, it all comes down to how much and how often one eats cheese, but since most people refuse to accept that fact, I have had no choice but to start working on dishes that are more accessible to those who happen to be neurotic about their waistlines.
That said, hung yoghurt does offer some tangible benefits other than being low-cal, since the process of hanging and removing the whey in fact reduces the lactose content of the yoghurt and is thereby far more easily digested. Moreover, once set in olive oil, the firm exterior and meltingly soft interior is an absolute joy to eat, especially when combined with different textures of tomato and toasted pine-nuts…
…and so, on to the recipe and method I go.
First and foremost, is the yoghurt, which needs to hang overnight, so one must begin preparation a day earlier. All you will need is store bought, unskimmed, nestle yoghurt, a tall jug that fits in your fridge, a wooden spoon and some very thin, preferably worn, cotton cloth (IMAGE 1); this will yield 3 starter portions.
Yield: 15 bocconcini – 3 starter portions
- 1 box nestle yoghurt
- ¾ teaspoon salt
STEP 1 is to simply empty the yoghurt into a bowl, then add ¾ teaspoon salt and whisk. (STEP 2)
Then line another bowl with the cloth, (STEP 3) pour in the whisked yoghurt, (STEP 4) gather up the cloth (STEP 5) and gently lower it half way into the jug (STEP 6); then tie it tightly around the wooden spoon (STEPS 7 & 8) and place the spoon across the rim. Do make sure there is an open gap in the cloth, since this too helps the yoghurt to release moisture. (STEP 9). Refrigerate overnight.
The next day, you will see all the whey gathered at the bottom of the jug (IMAGE 10); remove the yoghurt from the cloth, place it in a bowl, oil the palms of your hands lightly with olive oil, (STEP 1) and taking 1 teaspoon at a time, place between your palms and roll gently into balls. (STEPS 2, 3, 4 & 5). Place each one in olive oil, (STEP 6) & flavor with herbs, garlic or anything else to your liking, and refrigerate. The oil will solidify, so when you are going to serve your yoghurt bocconcini, you will have to bring the container to room temperature to liquefy the oil and then lift out the bocconcini.
And now onto the confit cherry tomato….
Yield: 3 starter portions of 5 tomatoes per portion
- 125g red cherry tomatoes
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- ½ teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 garlic clove
- Leaves from 3 sprigs of thyme
Simply mix all the ingredients (except the tomatoes) together in a small pot, (STEPS 1, 2 & 3) then add the tomatoes, place over low heat (STEP 4) (or alternatively on the center rack of an oven preheated to 120c, bottom heating – convection setting), until the tomatoes have wrinkled and softened. (STEP 5). This will take approximately 15 minutes on the stove top, so long as you keep removing from the pot the heat to bring down the temperature and prevent the oil from coming to a boil. In the oven, it will take anywhere up to an hour, or even more. Either way, you will have to keep vigil. Remove, let cool, pour into a container and refrigerate until use. (STEP 6) Once again the oil will solidify, so you will have to bring it to room temperature to liquefy.
Now you are going to make a vinaigrette and toss some yellow cherry tomatoes with it.
VINAIGRETTE (300 ml yield)
- 4 teaspoons mustard
- 4 teaspoons vinegar (apple cider or white wine)
- 3 to 4 finely chopped garlic cloves
- 130ml vegetable oil (sunflower will do)
- 130ml olive oil (no need for extra virgin in this case)
- ½ teaspoon caster sugar
Simply whisk together the mustard, vinegar (refer to Image below for my preferred brands) & garlic; then gradually add the oils, one by one, whisking constantly, and once emulsified, whisk in the sugar.
Then take your yellow cherry tomatoes, (2 tomatoes i.e. 4 halves per portion) which you will have washed and dried, (STEP 1) slice each one in half (STEP 2) and then toss in a few teaspoons of vinaigrette (STEP 3); refrigerate until use.
Next, pick and wash your basil leaves (pick the smallest leaves possible and reserve them in cold water in the fridge, (STEPS 1 & 2) you will need 4 per portion), and prepare the sundried tomatoes; I use brand Sacla, for they have just the right texture and sweetness, and simply roughly chop them up. You will need approximately half a sundried tomato per portion. (STEPS 3 & 4)
Now pan toast your pine-nuts, which simply involves spreading them out on a non-stick pan, placing it over low heat and every so often tossing with a wooden spoon until they are browned. Then place them in a bowl to cool down.
And now finally, you are ready to assemble the dish…
Gather all of your bits and pieces, (STEP 1) and take an open ring mold, of approximately 4inch diameter and 1inch height, and place it in the center of your plate. (STEP 2) Then as shown below, start with a bocconcini against the rim, followed by a confit cherry tomato, a yellow tomato on the opposite corner of the bocconcini, and a sundried tomato on top of the intersection (STEP 3) … let the residue of oil spill, forming natural pool. Then drizzle with more vinaigrette, (STEP 4) sprinkle with pine-nuts, (STEP 5) and dot with the basil leaves, which you will pat dry on kitchen towels right before using. (FINAL)
Above: Final Image