Many traditional Italian recipes are easy. Take the Caprese salad, for instance, which incorporates tomato, mozzarella, basil, and olive oil, seasoned with salt and generally pepper. It does not get a lot easier than that. However with these economical substances comes a catch — if every aspect of the Caprese salad is not in prime kind, the entire dish can crumble.
That is why when cooking Italian delicacies, a chef should be sure that every ingredient is of the best high quality. For a Caprese, meaning ripe, in-season tomatoes, recent and fragrant basil, wealthy and authentically crafted buffalo mozzarella, and premium, intensely-flavored olive oil. When you’re utilizing mealy, out-of-season tomatoes, previous bruised basil leaves, or watery flavorless cheese, it does not matter how good the opposite substances are — each has to convey its greatest qualities to the plate.
This precept applies to any Italian recipe, irrespective of how easy or intricate. Whether or not it is the minimize of meat, the herbs and greens, the sprinkles of salt, or the drizzles of oil, ingredient high quality is essential to profitable Italian cooking.
