Variation on Caprese Salad

Serves 4

Good recipes are made with good ingredients. We use fresh, seasonal, locally sourced ingredients to create balanced and exceptionally high-quality flavour combinations. This version of the dish is vegetarian, but it would be very easy to incorporate protein such as sumac shrimp from Gaspésie or beautifully sliced homemade smoked fish.

Ingredients 

• 200 g of fresh Quebec Maciocia mozzarella

• Approx. 160 g of assorted seasonal tomatoes

• 40 g of homemade avocado puree or store-bought guacamole

• 20 g of mayonnaise

• 20 g of lightly toasted pine nuts

• Fleur de sel

• Freshly ground black pepper

• A few fresh basil leaves

• 12 homemade dehydrated tomato chips

• High-quality olive oil

Dehydrated tomatoes

• Preheat the oven to 230°F (110°C).

• Slice the tomatoes into 2 mm thick rounds.

• Place the tomato slices on parchment paper for baking.

• Dehydrate in the oven for approximately 3 hours or until the tomato slices are crispy, like chips.

• Store them in an airtight container with a lid and place some salt at the bottom of the container to absorb moisture, keeping them dry.

Finishing and Plating

• Mix the mayonnaise with the avocado puree. Season and set aside.

• Choose a beautiful variety of differently coloured tomatoes, cut them in half or in wedges for a colourful touch.

• On a beautiful plate, create a streak of avocado mousse from top to bottom.

• Arrange the multicoloured tomatoes and scatter mozzarella wedges on top of the avocado mousse in a deconstructed manner.

• Sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and season with fleur de sel and freshly ground black pepper.

• To finish the dish, place a few crispy tomato chips upright between the tomatoes and cheese, add some fresh basil leaves and drizzle a generous amount of high-quality olive oil.