If there’s one thing Uncle Giuseppe’s {10 Triangle Plaza, Ramsey; 201.995.6800; uncleg.com} prides itself on, it’s scratch-made cooking. All fresh mozzarella is made in-house, daily. “The fresh mozzarella is warm,” says Peter Damiano Director of Prepared Foods, “and we use that across the board in the kitchen for our prepared food. We’ll use that fresh mozzarella made that morning and we’ll use it in the fresh pizzas, for the chicken parmigiana on the hot bar, and we’ll use it in our recipes in the kitchen. We pride ourselves on freshness and quality, and we also make all of our sauces – marinara, vodka, francaise – in house daily. We have chefs all day long just preparing those sauces.”
Uncle Giuseppe’s has about 145 items in their showcase that are made daily, and the Ramsey location, at 42,000 square feet, is one of the biggest Uncle Giuseppe’s locations after its six outposts in Long Island. Visit on Saturdays from noon to 4pm and a Frank Sinatra crooner will greet customers. The food is the real draw. Many recipes have been passed down from the ownership’s parents.
Priding themselves on seasonal offerings, Damiano is utilizing the heirloom tomatoes in a fun and easy-to-make salad.
“We are going to use the heirloom tomato and blue cheese salad with a shallot and champagne vinaigrette,” said Damiano. “We love to utilize produce and other items during peak season. Heirloom tomatoes are soon to be at their best and the flavor profile is like no other.”
INGREDIENTS:
- 10 Heirloom Tomato – 5 red and 5 yellow cut into wedges
- 1/2 Bunch Basil- hand torn
- 1 cups crumbled Gorgonzola Cheese
Champagne Vinaigrette:
- 1/2 cup champagne vinegar
- 2 shallots- rough chop
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 cup blended UG oil
- Salt to taste
METHOD:
In a mixing bowl, place Champagne Vinegar, shallots, honey and Dijon Mustard. Using a whisk or fork, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until the dressing is creamy. Season with salt to taste. Toss all tomatoes, vinaigrette, blue cheese and chopped basil together. Top with torn basil leaves.
