It has been SO HOT in LA recently, and even I don’t want to spend too much time in a hot kitchen, so I’ve been throwing lots of no-cook meals together. This bruschetta is a great (practically no-cook) summer appetizer for a group, or a meal for two very hungry people – juicy heirloom tomatoes + burrata + crusty baguette slices is my perfect meal! For those of you who haven’t tried it, burrata is an Italian cheese – it has a solid outer layer made of mozzarella that forms a hollow pouch, while the inside has both mozzarella and cream, which gives it that soft and luscious texture!
Besides burrata, the key to making this dish so flavorful is the heirloom tomatoes. If I have cooked for you, you likely know how much I love tomatoes. I should probably write a cookbook about cooking with tomatoes because I put them in everything. Tomatoes are at their peak season during the summer – they are so juicy and bright, bursting with perfectly balanced sweet, acidic, and rich flavors. My parents have this huge garden plot and switch up which produce they grow depending on what is in season, so whenever I go home to visit we’ll do a garden haul and lots of subsequent cooking projects, which has certainly influenced my love of seasonal cooking. My favorite time of year for garden visits at home is the summer because of the tomatoes. In fact, on my most recent trip home to see my family, they sent me on my flight back to LA with a carry-on bag full of freshly picked tomatoes and basil!
Make sure you take advantage of tomatoes in their peak summer flavors before the season is over! All summer long I have been making heirloom tomato panzanella salads, serving them with peaches and mint, simmering them into tomato sauces, and of course, this bruschetta recipe. I’ve served this appetizer with a crisp and cold glass of white wine and it really complimented all of the flavors.
Serves: 4 as an appetizer or 2 hungry people
Ingredients:
3-4 large heirloom tomatoes
2 4-ounce balls of burrata
Handful of basil
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Olive oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
1 baguette
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400*. Slice baguette diagonally and lay onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Drizzle baguette slices with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake toasts for a few minutes until light golden brown. While the baguette slices are toasting, chop tomatoes and arrange on a platter with two burrata balls. Drizzle olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar on burrata and tomatoes, and freshly squeezed lemon juice on the tomatoes. Give the basil a rough chop and scatter it on the tomatoes. Add salt and freshly cracked black pepper to burrata and tomatoes to taste. Place toasted baguette slices on a cheese board and serve it next to the burrata and tomato platter with utensils so people can assemble their own toasts. Bon appetit!