skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Last weekend, we headed into San Francisco to check out the Slow Food Nation event. We went to the Slow Food marketplace. Then had lunch at Postrio. Later in the day, we picked up dessert at Beard Papa. But the best thing I ate all day? In fact, the best thing I've eaten in recent memory? Was this heirloom tomato and burrata salad from the Sunday Suppers at Lucques cookbook. I am a burrata fan, but it's ridiculously expensive and has a very short shelf life. I've seen it around at various specialty markets, but I never really felt like shelling out the money for it, and I was concerned that it may not be all that fresh.
Most of my burrata experiences have been in Los Angeles restaurants, specifically Pizzeria Mozza and Lucques. Burrata is more prevalent on restaurant menus down south because they have a local supplier. In fact, both Nancy Silverton and Suzanne Goin mention the supplier by name in their cookbooks (Gioia). So when I walked into Bristol Farms in San Francisco and found burrata, made by Gioia, at a price that was substantially less than what I'd seen in the past, I decided to give it a try. It was worth every penny.
This salad is actually pretty simple - fresh tomatoes (from my garden) are tossed in a balsamic, shallot and oregano vinaigrette with sliced shallots. The tomatoes are topped with olive oil croutons and plenty of sliced burrata.
I made this salad a few weeks back with fresh mozzarella instead of burrata. The mozzarella version didn't even hold a candle to this rendition. Fresh, ripe tomatoes are critical to this dish.
So what happened to the rest of the burrata? I used it in another recipe from Sunday Suppers at Lucques for broccoli with burrata and pine nut breadcrumbs. The last bit of cheese went into braised leeks with burrata and mustard breadcrumbs, a recipe from Pizzeria Mozza. I can definitely say that I'll be making another trip to Bristol Farms in the not-too-distant future for more cheese!
I picked up a variety of cherry tomatoes at the farmer's market today, and I thought this recipe from Ina Garten would be a perfect use for them. This salad came together in minutes. I didn't have a red onion, but I did have a shallot, so I used that instead. Tomatoes and feta are truly a great flavor combination.
When reading Martha Stewart Living, this recipe caught my eye. I went to buy the ingredients, only to find that the store was out of poblano peppers! After a quick survey of the produce department, I decided that large beefsteak tomatoes would work as a substitute. The recipe is a little time consuming, but I made the tomatillo puree a day in advance. Also, when chicken goes on sale, I often buy a couple pounds, and then roast it, shred the meat and put it in the freezer. It defrosts really well and saves time on recipes like this that call for cooked, shredded chicken. When I got home from work, all I had to do was heat all the ingredients through, stuff the tomatoes and bake. This is a very light and flavorful dish. The lime juice gives it a bright flavor, and I would definitely not substitute frozen corn for fresh. I served this with green rice.
My tomato plants aren't doing very well this year. I think it's because we've had a very mild summer. So when I saw heirloom tomatoes in every color at the Ferry Building farmer's market, I had to have some. This recipe is from Vegetable Harvest. It's a simple tomato salad with a unique dressing of lime and vanilla. The dressing is made a day in advance - the seeds from one vanilla bean are combined with the juice of two limes, a touch of salt, and 1/4 cup of olive oil. I chose to about half the amount of olive oil and added a squeeze of honey to temper the acidity. The dressing sits in the fridge overnight, and the zest from the limes is reserved in a separate container. When you're ready to serve the salad, simply slice the tomatoes, drizzle them with the dressing, and sprinkle them with lime zest, freshly ground pepper and fleur de sel. This was a fun way to dress up tomatoes - the vanilla really adds an exotic note to the dish.
