Mozzarella and Celery Salad
- 7 oz buffalo-mozzarella cheese
- 7 oz celery , white
- 2 fennel , tender
- 4 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- lemon juice to taste
- salt to taste
Wash and trim the celery and fennel, removing any stringy parts.
Julienne both the celery and fennel and place in salad bowl: add buffalo’s milk mozzarella, cut into cubes.
Prepare the dressing in a separate bowl. Emulsify the oil, lemon juice and a pinch of salt.
Dress the salad and serve.
Food History
Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP is typically found in central and southern Italy and traditionally made in Campania, especially in the provinces of Caserta and Salerno, in southern Lazio and parts of Puglia and Molise.
To make the cheese, buffalo’s milk is heated to a low temperature, then liquid rennet is added. In half an hour, the milk will begin to coagulate. Then the curd broken into pieces as large as a nut and are left in the hot whey for about four hours so that the lactic acid develops. Next the cheese is pulled (which is done by using heat and the movement of the water). This process occurs in large tubs filled with equal parts 200 ° F water and cheese curd.
The pulled curd is then cut or “mozzata” (hence the name mozzarella) by hand or using special equipment. It is then shaped into various sizes and shapes: round, stranded in knots, or bite-sized pieces.
The cheese is place in water to cool for about twenty minutes, and then moved to salting tanks, in which are immersed for a variable time, depending on market demand and the different in taste from North to South
The cheese is kept in salted water and, according to law, it can only be packaged immersed in its serum.
Mozzarella should be eaten fresh and locally for its delicacy. In any case, should never be consumed at the temperature of the refrigerator, but left at room temperature for half an hour so that you can taste its flavor better.
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