Burrata & Heirloom Tomato Salad excerpted from Boards and Bites: Food Styling and Homemade Recipes for Elegant Party Planning by Melissa Francis.
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Boards and Bites: Food Styling and Homemade Recipes for Elegant Party Planning
by Melissa Francis is available at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.ca.
Burrata & Heirloom Tomato Salad
I have always been a tomato lover. In fact, my great-grandma, Granny, whom I have been told I am insanely similar to, used to eat sliced tomatoes with a sprinkle of salt and pepper to taste. Granny used to think BBQ chips were spicy, so it is safe to imply that she was taking it easy on the pepper. Anyway, one day, when I was little, I asked my mom if I could please have some sliced tomatoes. Weird, right? Ever since that day, I have loved tomatoes. This recipe was prepared for one of my first picnics and wine tastings. One of my good friends is a vegetarian, so I was brainstorming different ways to make vegetarian-friendly foods, and this recipe was born. Burrata is one of those cheeses that truly is a star and does not need much at all to be a showstopper. Burrata is a cow’s milk cheese with a mozzarella-like exterior, but once you slice into it, the center is so rich yet simple, with a creamy texture. Since burrata is a showstopper, heirloom tomatoes make the perfect accent to this amazing cheese.
Ingredients
5–6 medium heirloom tomatoes (try to grab some tomatoes with varying colours like red, yellow, etc.)
3–5 cherry tomatoes
½ cup (108 grams) of olive oil
Juice of ½ a medium-sized lemon
6–7 medium to large fresh basil leaves
8 oz (227 grams) burrata
Salt and pepper to taste
Balsamic glaze to taste
1–2 bulbs of roasted garlic
Serving Size
3–5 people
Directions
- Slice your heirloom tomatoes into quarter-inch-thick rounds.
- Place your tomatoes in alternating colours around the plate.
- Once the tomatoes are placed to your liking, season with a mixture of half olive oil and half lemon juice, and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Add in fresh basil.
- Gently place the burrata in the center of the plate. Burrata’s soft center requires tender love and care when handling it.
- Slice cherry tomatoes into rounds to fill in the gaps and add a different texture.
- Garnish with roasted garlic (pg. 86) and fresh flowers (pg. 80).
- Finally, top the burrata with a nice swirl of balsamic glaze. The swirl is a personal style choice, not a necessity.
- Serve with crostini (pg. 116) and/or your favourite crunchy cracker. I recommend serving this dish with something that adds a nice crunch. A crunchy cracker will give the bite some texture to offset the soft burrata and dense tomatoes.
Recipe reprinted with permission from Yellow Pear Press.