Caprese Sliders

For 20 Servings:

1 block of mozzarella cheese

1 box of fresh basil

2 tomatoes

1-1.5 rolls french baguettes (or any firm bread will work really)

balsamic vinegar (Although glaze also works well)

Directions:

Cut bread into inch-long partitions. Apply a conservative amount of balsamic vinegar to the bread pieces, or, you can have guests apply vinegar themselves. Then cut appropriately sized pieces of tomato to lay flat over the bread. Then cut mozzarella to an appropriate size according to size of bread. Top with basil.

Although my family tree lacks the certain depth of the usual family, one constant around summertime at our gatherings was always the caprese/bruschetta hybrid that has become a staple in Marra hors’ d’oeuvres. The dish has Italian roots, as do I, as my father was dropped off in the Bronx as a baby from a Sicilian family we know nothing about aside from his father was a doctor. He was then adopted by my family, the Marras, and the Italian pride flowed through them like you read about. Aside from meatballs and lasagna, one of the more compelling parts of the Italian appetite is the lighter-fare type snack of Caprese that I see every year. There is something special about the ingredients of a caprese. The freshness of the ingredients speak for themselves. In a world dominated by chemically-engineered flavor boosters, something is nice about a food that tastes fresh. Not only fresh, but good.

Too often we sacrifice the taste of a burger for the taste of a sauce, and too often do Americans throw in fresh vegetables as a sort of complimentary ideal for a lack of freshness that isn’t really there. My dad will flip out if a pizza is made with cheddar cheese, and therefore it is in my blood to appreciate mozzarella cheese in all of its glory. Mozzarella is from Southern Italy, around where I originate and it most likely holds the top spot for “best all around cheese” in my heart, because Swiss isn’t really that great when enjoyed by itself. The tomato wasn’t brought to Italy until around the Spanish conquistador’s time, which is almost shocking, considering that it’s tough to name an Italian dish without a tomato incorporated in it. Vito Corleone died in a tomato garden, and in Goodfellas you learn that “real Italians” cut the garlic so thin for the sauce they use a razor blade. I guess if you had to name an Italian staple for their cuisine, it would have to start and end with the tomato. This is what makes the caprese sliders, (for lack of a better name) so integral and kind of a flagship for Italian appetizers in our eyes. I also think it’s definitely worth noting that the dish itself looks like the Italian flag. I mean, quite literally, with tomato on the bottom, then the mozzarella cheese, and finally the fresh basil on top.

I think Michael Pollan would agree this dish tastes genuine, and whilst Kingsolver may have a problem with something about it, they would both most likely eat this. It may be a little early for tomato season, but the idea of a spring-to-summer transition dish might make the most insatiable author of all time at least crack a teeny little smile. In terms of Ruth Ozeki, I’m sure she would eat this dish. It does not fight capitalism, nor rethink the finer points of democratic socialism in the United States, but I believe if this dish was paired next to some chicken tenders or something, Ozeki might have a cheat day.

Again, I mean I personally believe that the best point to take from this dish is the fact that it is fresh, and challenges all that we perceive as an American food. For me, this is American food. I have never been to Italy, and most likely will not make it there ever. Also, my family is American now, and we have little connection back to Italy if even at all. For me, this is something I was raised on, and I made it for class every single time I had to bring in something to share with the class. It kind of became habit for me, as this dish requires no cooking whatsoever. That is one of the other more beautiful elements of it. It’s a 100% raw dish. This doesn’t occur to us as Americans very often without having a salad or sushi. The lack of raw, or fresh dishes like this in the U.S is rather rare. Everything we eat generally is prepared in some sort of way. This meal is more assembled that prepared, which is why I get a certain kick out of making it. The reason I didn’t want to do Bruschetta is because I read it is generally toasted garlic bread underneath a mix of chopped tomato and basil. This could be scary when trying to make a dish for around 20 people, so it’s safer and easier to keep it raw, and preserve the fresh taste. Quite honestly, it hadn’t really even occurred to me that this dish was fully vegetarian. This is another health benefit of the foreign meal that has been adopted by my family. One of my health nut roommates wouldn’t eat anything I made all year, but when I busted out these last week of school, I had to go back to the grocery store twice since Monday to ensure everyone in the class could get one. The environmental impact of not consuming meat is pretty astronomical. Although I really do enjoy meat in dishes, this one is beautiful because it requires none. I don’t live off these things, but they taste better and cleaner than say, Tyson chicken nuggets.

Overall, I have a really difficult time synthesizing what characterizes the term “American Food”. It seems so restricted, as in hot dogs, or hamburgers, or apple pie. However, when I look into things a bit more, these Americanized versions of foreign foods have become our own certain cultural identity. The orange chicken, and General Tso’s chicken have boomed as America’s favorite takes on Chinese food. People go nuts over this stuff, and in China, they really don’t eat like this. It’s when these folks came over here and adapted to American markets to make a living that these foods emerged. This is sort of the route the Caprese sliders took. They have an Italian background, but aren’t 100% authentic either. This is where American desire and cravings for this food kicks in, and where we get our sense of our local food identity.