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Mozzarella with celery, olives and pine nuts



This recipe is from Skye McAlpine’s very user friendly book ‘ A table with friends’ 

It’s so easy that it almost seems a bit of a liberty calling it a recipe but therein lies its genius. It’s a brilliantly simple combination that anyone could come up with … but you didn’t and Skye did!

This recipe is for six people but just change the number of mozzarellas you use to suit your requirements.

In the book Skye says’ You can pair mozzarella successfully with most things, though I find that celery, with its distinctive mineral flavour, works particularly well with the salty black olives here, while the pine nuts add an unexpectedly creamy note.McAlpine notes, adding that the success of the dish hinges on the quality of the cheese.’

‘Buffalo mozzarella, if you can get your hands on it, is my favourite; it’s lighter and a little tangier than mozzarella made from cow’s milk.’

Ingredients

12 black olives, pitted 6–8 anchovies
25g pine nuts
2 tbsp extra virgin
olive oil
1–2 celery sticks
6 mozzarella cheeses, ideally buffalo


Method

Finely chop the olives, anchovies and pine nuts together. Spoon them into a bowl, pour over the olive oil, give everything a good stir and set aside. Thickly slice the celery.

Thickly slice the celery.

Slice the mozzarella thickly, roughly 1cm thick, and arrange on a serving dish. Sprinkle the chopped celery over, then spoon over the olive mixture with all of its flavoured oil. 

Set aside – ideally in the fridge, or if fridge space is at a premium, somewhere cool – for 20–30 minutes before serving, so the cheese becomes imbued with the flavour of the oil.

Bring the dish to room temperature before serving.


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