Italian Tomato and Burrata Salad With a Simple Pesto Dressing
Today marks the final day of my ‘Salads for Spring’ series and we are ending on a high with this amazing Burrata topped tomato salad. Super simple and unbelievably delicious this is a classic salad that takes a matter of minutes to make. What’s great about this salad is the super simple dressing on top - who doesn’t love pesto? Here I have used a mixture of heirloom tomatoes but this tastes great classic red tomatoes, just try to use a variety of shapes and sizes if you can to get a real depth of flavour.
This is the kind of salad that’s perfect for a warm spring day when you want something light yet rewarding on the tastebuds. Great as a lunchtime main this is also a perfect salad to serve as a side dish at a BBQ or summer lunch.
Serves: 2 as a light lunch or 4 as a side dish
Skill: Easy
Time: 10 minutes
INGREDIENTS
Three large handfuls of rocket leaves
300g tomatoes – a variety is best
1 ball of burrata (if you can’t find this in the supermarket, a torn-up ball of mozzarella will work well.
1 tbsp pesto (I like a sun-dried tomato for it’s more subtle flavour)
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
Roughly 10 basil leaves
1 tbs pine nuts (optional)
METHOD
Remove the burrata from the fridge about half an hour before you want to eat it as you want it to come up towards room temperature so that the inside is super soft and spreadable. You also want the tomatoes to lose their ‘fridge’ chill, so if they’ve been kept in there remove them too.
Start by placing a few handfuls of rocket leaves onto your serving dish. Slice the tomatoes (about a centimetre or under is good as you want a bit of bite) and then artfully arranged them on top of the rocket. At this stage sprinkle over. generous amount of salt and freshly cracked black pepper. The salt takes the flavour of the tomatoes up a few notches and you’ll really notice the difference.
In a small bowl add the extra virgin olive oil and pesto and give it a good stir so that is a good consistency to dollop beautifully on top of the salad – reserve a little to go on the burrata once you’ve broken into it. Scatter with the basil leaves and pine nuts, if using.
Top with the burrata crown and marvel and how good it looks. This is best served immediately.
Enjoy.
If you enjoyed this salad then why not check out the rest of this salad series here.