There is nothing special in this post beyond my provocative saying "If you like mozzarella and never tried burrata, try it, and I am sure you will fall for it as well."
For many years one of my favorite summer dishes, when truly good sweet tomatoes are available, was mozzarella with tomatoes and basil. I could have eaten it every single day. Until the day I discovered burrata--an even more guilty pleasure.
Burrata means buttered. And it is. On the outside it looks like mozzarella but inside is soft, creamy, buttery. Ever since I tried burrata ,I became addicted to its taste but even more the texture. Now I buy mozzarella only if burrata is not available. Although fresh mozzarella is nowadays quite popular in the US, burrata not so much yet. Whenever I see its much smaller supply at Whole Foods or TJ I buy a couple of boxes.
Like in many so simple dishes the secret lies in the quality of the ingredients--fresh cheese, extra virgin olive oil, and most of all in the tasty, sweet tomatoes, topped with fresh aromatic basil leaves.
Last Friday, I made a trip to my local farmers market in search of perfect tomatoes for my burrata. I looked for tomatoes like those we have in Poland and Italy--fleshy and sweet, grown under the local sun. I bought two types: red and orange. Red, heirloom tomatoes were sweet and fleshy. But the orange ones, advertised as low on acid, tasted as perfect as if they grew in Poland, during a particularly hot summer, or if they ripened under the Tuscan sun. I used both of them, layering with burrata and drizzling with oil. It was a truly summery feast...
Tomatoes with Burrata
Ingredients:
2 tasty tomatoes,
1 ball of burrata,
See burrata on the left and mozzarella on the right:
extra virgin olive oil,
fresh basil leaves,
freshly ground pepper,
coarse sea salt.
Just arrange the slices of burrata and tomatoes, drizzle with oil, and sprinkle with spices and basil and enjoy
