Roasted Tomato and Burrata Salad

A couple Fridays ago, I invited some guests to join me for dinner. One of the guests had quite a few dietary restrictions, so I had to figure some appetizers that would fit her diet as well as not cause an allergic reaction.

Both her and I share a love of cheese. So I really wanted to have Burrata as an appetizer. Burrata is a softer and creamier version of traditional mozzarella cheese. The outer shell is solid mozzarella, while the inside contains both mozzarella and cream giving it a creamy soft texture.

Mozzarella and Tomatoes go perfectly together, and I thought that Burrata would have been lovely with fresh tomatoes and fresh basil. But since she was allergic to raw tomatoes, I decided to roast them in the oven with salt, pepper, garlic, and extra virgin olive oil. The result was amazing. We served burrata with crisp crackers, but this would be just as lovely with freshly baked crunchy baguette.

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Roasted Tomato and Burrata Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 Ball of Burrata (about 1/2 lb) (Can be found in Vancouver BC at Whole Foods, Urban Fare or les amis du fromage) 1 pint of Cherry Tomatoes or Grape Tomatoes, clean 2 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1 Bundle Fresh Basil Salt Black Peppercorns, cracked Pink Peppercorns, cracked

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Place the tomatoes in on a baking sheet or container. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, and salt & black pepper to taste. Place into the oven for 15-20 minutes until roasted.

3. When the tomatoes are ready, remove from the oven and allow them to cool for 10 minutes.

4. While tomatoes are cooling, drain the burrata from the liquid it is sitting in. Pat dry with a paper towel. Place the burrata cheese on a plate.

5. Spoon tomatoes around of burrata cheese.

6. Chiffonade the basil. To do this, stack the basil leaves, then tightly roll into a cigar, use a sharp knife, and cut thin strips off the roll.

7. Drizzle the top of the cheese extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pink peppercorns, and fresh basil.

8. Serve with french baguette or crackers.

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Notes: Not enough time to make roasted tomatoes? Serve with halved fresh cherry/grape tomatoes! If you can’t find Burrata, you can substitute with Fresh whole milk mozzarella or buffalo mozzarella or bocconcini

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