Tomato & Pesto-Stuffed Burrata Salad with Garlic & Olive Oil Sourdough
Vine-ripened, full-of-flavour tomatoes, creamy burrata stuffed with fresh pesto, and warm toasted garlic sourdough. Simple, fresh and bloody delicious.
Fresh ripe tomatoes, creamy burrata stuffed with homemade pesto, fresh basil and warm garlic sourdough toasted with olive oil. Looks simple enough, until you cut into the burrata and find the pesto hiding inside.
The whole thing is about keeping it simple and letting good ingredients do the work.
- →The pesto is hidden inside the burrata. You get the creamy stracciatella first, then the basil, Parmesan, pine nuts and garlic come through when you cut into it.
- →Ripe tomatoes bring the acidity. They cut through the richness of the burrata and olive oil without needing balsamic or anything else fighting for attention.
- →Salt the tomatoes properly. Salt pulls out some of their juice, which mixes with the olive oil and gives you a dressing without actually making one.
- →Warm toasted sourdough against cool burrata and tomatoes. Crunch, creaminess and fresh tomato all in the same mouthful.
- →Garlic sourdough does double duty. Toasting it with olive oil gives you crisp edges and enough richness to mop up everything left on the plate.
Common Mistakes
- ✗Fridge-cold tomatoes. If, for whatever reason, you have put your tomatoes in the fridge, get them out and bring them back to room temperature before serving. Tomatoes really do not like the cold, unless you are trying to prolong their life... or remove their flavour.
- ✗Using watery, flavourless tomatoes. There is nowhere for them to hide in this dish. Use properly ripe tomatoes.
- ✗Leaving the pesto too coarse. If you are injecting it, it needs to be smooth enough to pass through the injector or syringe.
- ✗Using an injector that is too small. If the opening is not big enough to pass the pesto, do not force it. Fill the burrata by hand instead.
- ✗Splitting the burrata while filling it. Take your time. The whole point is keeping that pesto hidden until you cut into it.
- ✗Over-toasting the sourdough. You are after golden and crisp, not something that will take the roof of your mouth off.
Tips & Tricks
- →Take the burrata out of the fridge before serving so it is not stone cold in the middle.
- →Use a mixture of tomato sizes, colours and shapes if you have got them.
- →Get the pesto as smooth as possible if you are planning to inject it.
- →A brine injector or old clean medicine syringe works, as long as the opening is big enough for the pesto to pass through.
- →If you are filling the burrata by hand, make the opening underneath. Turn it back over before serving and nobody knows what is hiding inside until it is cut.
- →Toast the sourdough last so it hits the table warm and crunchy.
Flavour Twists
Add a little fresh chilli to the tomatoes if you want some heat.
Add a few fresh oregano leaves through the tomatoes alongside the basil.
Use whatever properly ripe tomatoes are at their best. Cherry, grape, Roma, heirloom or a mixture all work.
Substitutions
- Burrata→ Fresh mozzarellaYou lose the creamy centre, but the tomato, pesto and mozzarella combination still works.
- Pine nuts→ CashewsDifferent flavour, same job in the pesto.
- Parmesan→ PecorinoSharper and saltier, so watch your seasoning.
- Garlic sourdough→ Plain sourdoughStill works, you just lose that extra garlic hit.
The pesto can be made ahead and refrigerated. Keep the tomatoes, burrata and pesto separate until you are ready to put the salad together. Once the burrata is filled and the tomatoes are seasoned, this is one to eat straight away.
Give your peppercorns a wee awakening. Toast them gently in a dry pan, let them cool, then add them to your pepper mill. It’s a good habit for any dish, not just this one. If you’ve got one of the big boys, maybe don’t fill it right to the top. Toast smaller batches and keep them fresh.
Something cold and crisp
A cold beer, crisp white wine or sparkling water with plenty of lemon. Keep it fresh and let the tomatoes, burrata and pesto do the talking.
Sometimes the simplest food just needs the right ingredients.
Method
- 1
Make the pesto
Add the basil, pine nuts, Parmesan, garlic and olive oil to a blender and blitz until as smooth as you can get it. Season with salt.
- 2
Stuff the burrata
If you have got a brine injector or medicine syringe with an opening big enough to pass the pesto, carefully inject the pesto into the centre of the burrata. If the opening is not big enough, fill it by hand. Turn the burrata over, make a small opening in the bottom and spoon the pesto directly into the centre. Keep the burrata intact as much as possible, then turn it back over. Nobody knows what is hiding in there until you cut into it.
- 3
Prepare the tomatoes
Cut the tomatoes into a good mix of slices, wedges and halves. Arrange them over a serving plate, season properly with salt and cracked black pepper, then drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.
- 4
Bring it together
Sit the pesto-stuffed burrata right in the middle of the tomatoes. Scatter over picked curly parsley, then finish with cracked black pepper and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
- 5
Toast the sourdough
Brush the garlic sourdough with olive oil and toast in a hot pan, on a griddle or under the grill until properly golden and crisp around the edges. Finish with a wee pinch of salt. Serve straight away while the sourdough is still warm and crunchy.
Cook with it
Related recipes
Leave a comment
Drop your name, email and a note — I read every one.