Mini Caprese Inspired Appetizers for Italian Saint Days

Caprese salad is a simple Italian salad, made of sliced fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and basil, seasoned with salt, and olive oil. It was made to resemble the colors of the Italian flag: red, white, and green. A clever Italian Flag-Shaped Caprese Salad was featured in past post. Since the salad is a specialty of the Island of Capri and the province of Calabria in southern Italy (which includes Naples) it is especially fitting for feast days of the saints associated with that region.  This week we celebrate San Gennaro (St. Januarius), the patron of Naples (September 19).  Two recent August saints, St. Alphonsus Liguori and St. Philomena, are associated with the region as well. And then there is St. Pio of Pietrelcina next week who is not from the region, but is Italian, and this can definitely be for any Italian saint as well.

I came across this variation of the salad as an appetizer and with sun-dried tomatoes which I love, so decided to give it a try. They were quite delicious and make a fun feast day savory treat. Ideally, this would be made with the true mozzarella di bufala, a specialty of the Naples region.

Mini Caprese Inspired Appetizers

INGREDIENTS:

4 oz. fresh mozzarella ball, diced small
3 tablespoons oil-packed, sundried tomatoes, patted dry and diced
2 tablespoons fresh basil, thinly chopped
1½ tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
30 Phyllo Shells
Flake sea salt, to garnish

DIRECTIONS:
In mixing bowl, combine mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes,vinegar and oil. Mix thoroughly. Fill mini shells with one heaping teaspoon of mixture. Garnish with chopped basil and flake sea salt. Serve.

You can buy the phyllo shells ready made (Ex: Athens Mini Fillo Shells) or make your own from phyllo dough. I adapted mine from this tutorial - cut them round instead of square. 

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San Gennaro or St. Januarius

September 19 is the feast day of St. Januarius, bishop and martyr. There is not much known about St. Januarius. He was Bishop of Benevento in Campania. He died near Naples, about the year 305, martyred under the persecution of Emperor Diocletian. Around the year 400 the relics of St. Januarius were moved to Naples, which honors him as a patron saint. He is better known as San Gennaro to the Italians of Naples.

In addition to seeking a new life in America, immigrants from Naples, brought with them a rich culture and deep religious heritage, including the centuries-old tradition they had followed in Italy to celebrate the feast day of San Gennaro. It has continued and the largest festival, which is now a 2 week street festival, is held in Manhattan, NY.

Not being from that part of the country, I first became aware of New York’s San Gennaro festival in reading the book, American, Too by Elisa Bartone. It is a very intriguing cultural and religious celebration to me. It’s a great day to honor this saint as the Italians and Italian-Americans do, with lots of good Italian food which could include:

pepper and sausage sandwiches
pizza margarita
cannoli
zeppoles (traditional for St. Joseph's feast, but served for other feasts as well)
gelato

Here are a variety of recipes from Campania Italy, the region of Naples and San Gennaro.

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