[Caprese-Style Italian Pressed Sushi]

The island of Capri is located in the Gulf of Naples in southern Italy. Accessible only by boat, the island is famous for the mysterious "Blue Grotto" with its blue light emitted from the surface of the water, but in fact, there are countless caves with beautiful reflections of the sea surface, such as the "Green Grotto" and the "White Grotto." The bright sunlight of southern Italy makes the scenery spread out before your eyes even more colorful, and the "insalata caprese" salad is said to have originated on Capri. It means "salad from Capri."

Caprese is a simple salad of sliced fresh mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, and sweet basil, seasoned with salt and olive oil. It is a type of caprese dish that is sometimes served as a salad, caprese pizza, pasta, or sandwich, and is often eaten on bread, especially on the island of Capri. Originally, it was a dish prepared by the people of Capri using local ingredients, but it is said to have spread throughout Italy after it was served at a dinner party held at the Grand Hotel Quisisana, a hotel on Capri. The red of the tomatoes, the white of the mozzarella cheese, and the green of the basil are based on the same colors as the Italian flag, making this dish, like pizza margherita, one that is widely loved by the Italian people.

The other day, when I asked one of the staff members at our Ginza Showroom, who is an excellent cook, if she could help me make an Italian-style pressed sushi, she suggested using vinegared rice with wine vinegar, chopped olives, cured ham and mozzarella cheese as sushi ingredients, and topping it with tomatoes and basil. Tomatoes, basil and mozzarella cheese, then I decided to make it caprese-style, and here is the "caprese-style Italian pressed sushi" I made. The simple, flavorful taste of caprese is accented by the moderate saltiness of the prosciutto and olives, making it a great main dish for parties and entertaining. Why not try this gorgeous looking caprese-style pressed sushi and feel the Italian flavor?

Ingredients:
4-5 thinly sliced slices of prosciutto ham
Small tomatoes, washed and drained well with paper towels
Mozzarella cheese, to taste
Basil, to taste
25 g olives
A pinch of black pepper
Dash of olive oil
Balsamic vinegar to taste
A pinch of salt

*Slice tomatoes and mozzarella cheese to the same size.

(Sushi rice)
1.5 cups rice
75 ml white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
2/3 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1. Wrap the mozzarella cheese in kitchen paper, weigh it down, drain and cut into thin slices.
2. Slice the ham lengthwise into thin strips (about 2/3 of the total amount). Finely chop the olives. Thinly slice the small tomatoes.
3. Make sushi rice by mixing the seasonings with the cooked rice. Mix the whole mixture as if cutting it, and cool it to the temperature of human skin by fanning it with an uchiwa (Japanese fan).
4. Mix thinly sliced prosciutto ham into the cooled sushi rice.
5. Cut the remaining 1/3 of the prosciutto into desired size and lay in a pressed sushi mold.
6. Fill with sushi rice, press, spread chopped olives, fill with sushi rice again, and press.
7. Let rest in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.
8. Cut into pieces with a knife, unmold, and top with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and basil.
9. Drizzle with olive oil and black pepper. Serve with balsamic vinegar or salt to taste.

Yamaichi's Pressed Sushi Box
https://www.shokunin.com/en/yamaichi/oshi.html
Otera Kohachiro Shoten's Kanamari S
https://www.shokunin.com/en/otera/kanamari.html

References
https://www.tutta-italia.com/destination/12809.html/
https://delishkitchen.tv/articles/156
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caprese_salad