Figgy Caprese

There’s nothing particularly special about a Caprese salad. The recipe is so straightforward – typical of an Italian dish. Sliced mozzarella and beef tomatoes with basil – red, white and green to reflect the Italian flag. Then olive oil and balsamic vinegar (and some pepper). The difference between a good Caprese and a bad one is in the quality of the ingredients.

In the land of franchises and mass markets, it’s always a pleasure to find the little independent places to shop for delicacies and we’ve been fortunate in the last two years to find a few niche places out in the Western Chicagoland Suburbs.

This Caprese comprises fresh ingredients from our local “French Market” in Wheaton (a charming town about five miles north of our home). Americans will know what a French Market is…for the benefit of Brits and others, a French Market is, well….a market ! Outdoors, with stalls, arranged in rows. Wheaton French Market happens in the summer months every Saturday morning, and is a delightful reminder of European simplicity.

All bar one of the ingredients for this salad were sourced in this market. There’s a great cheese stand by The Cheese People. We usually spend a lot here, and in this case…that’s where the mozzarella came from. There are always a few great “Fruit ‘n’ Veg” stands…a great place for the tomatoes and basil in this case.

The piece de resistance for this dish came from a Naperville Store called Vom Fass. I am reliably informed that Vom Fass is German for “From the Tap” (or “On Tap”). Sadly, following the 2020 Coronavirus Quarantining, the Naperville location has had to close. Let’s hope for a reversal of that decision, or a return to the town some time. Vom Fass is a specialist in connoisseur liquids – oil, vinegar, small-barrel spirits and so on…and everything is dispensed from big containers and barrels into small bottles !

The Fig Chili balsamic vinegar went so well as a finish to this simple dish. A kind of “subtle sweet and sour” to the salad. The simplicity of a Caprese can, at the end of the day, and maybe to the chagrin of the Italians, benefit from something “a little different” once in a while.