Heirloom Caprese Salad With Burrata Recipe
Burrata is a very special cheese. Actually it's two cheeses literally rolled into one. It's a ball of the mozzarella we all know and love filled with a rich, buttery mix of mozzarella and heavy cream. Is that a dreamy thought, or what?
Now that tomatoes are in full-on season, I've been making caprese salads left and right. Smoked mozzarella makes an excellent caprese, as do fried green tomatoes. This one is special, definitely for a dinner party or pot-luck. The preparation is so incredibly easy it's almost unfair how colorful and attractive this burrata caprese ends up, not to mention delicious in a way only uber-seasonal ingredients can be. Best of all, you're only in the kitchen with zero burners going for about 15 minutes before getting back to the gathering. More gin rickeys for you.
Spread the creamy stuff on a slice of crusty bread, top with a few pieces of juicy summer tomato doused with olive oil and adorned with basil ribbons and you're a happy party person. A tip: don't add salt until you're ready to serve — or you'll release a lot of extra liquid that will pool unpleasantly on the serving plate. Of course, that IS what the bread is for...
- 1 large ball (about 8 ounces) fresh burrata
- 2 to 3 medium heirloom tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (the greenest you can find)
- 6 to 8 leaves fresh basil
- coarse sea salt
- crusty Italian bread
- Drain the burrata of any liquid, place on a plate and set aside. Do not refrigerate.
- Slice each tomato into 6-8 chunks and toss in a medium bowl with the olive oil and basil until well-coated.
- Spoon tomatoes around the burrata and sprinkle with sea salt.
- Add an extra drizzle of olive oil if desired, then slice open burrata with a sharp knife and serve immediately with crusty bread (make sure to serve with a slightly less sharp knife for spreading).