Don’t you just love when a dish has just a few ingredients – but they’re the best; so, each compliments the other and actually produces a flavor that is greatly elevated and enhanced just because they’re together? This is exactly the case with this salad. It was one of those happy little accidents in my kitchen.
I had visited the Farmer’s Market and picked up the most beautiful heirloom tomatoes. These babies were so vibrant and juicy, they make the tomatoes you buy in the grocery store about as interesting as a tennis ball. To not use these as soon as possible would be criminal – so that night I decided to pull together a caprese salad – tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil. Delightful. Except – I didn’t have any fresh mozzarella or basil for that matter in the house. Then it came to me – instead of mozzarella, I’d use burrata; mozzarella’s very close friend, except its center is cream…think a molten lava cake, but instead of chocolate ganache in the center of deep chocolate, you have rich cream nestled inside a ball of fresh mozzarella. Dear God!
My green of choice was arugula. It’s my go-to because of its texture and peppery flavor. Oh, and to dress this beautiful salad – a guilty pleasure of mine: Good Seasons Italian dressing. Don’t judge – it’s delicious. And when I’m not making my own vinaigrette, I love to whip this up. You have to love a meal that is really just assembling and not cooking at all.
