Bruschetta with Heirloom Tomatoes and Burrata

An Inspired Easy Delicious Appetizer

I remember a lesson learned in a business class may years ago:

• Fast
• Cheap
• High Quality

Pick 2 - you can never have all three. I found it was pretty true in business and I have found that same principle often applies to food.

• You can have cheap and delicious but it will take some time - like my favorite cooking method - braising.
• You can have fast and cheap - like instant ramen - but it's not the best thing you've eaten (although I must admit I do like the extra salty noodles and I have also been known to enjoy boxed macaroni and cheese and cheep frozen pizza but they are not the BEST bites I've had).
• Today's recipe falls into the third category - It is incredibly delicious and incredibly fast but the ingredients won't win you any cheap recipe contests.

Browsing for Inspiration

I was wandering the produce aisle of one of my local gourmet grocery stores - a thing I love to do - and they had heirloom tomatoes in all their beautiful glory.

The tomatoes reminded me of a delicious appetizer I had with my dear friend Annie last summer for her birthday at Chateau Marmont.

Bruschetta with Heirloom Tomatoes & Burrata

I quickly left the produce aisle and went to the specialty cheese section, but to my dismay I didn't see any burrata. The cheese lady must have seen my disappontment and asked me what I was looking for -"I don't suppose you have any burrata?" I asked tentatively and she took me to a different section and there it was - seeing it actually made me feel giddy - I even think I giggled with glee.

Burrata - what is burrata you ask - only one of the best bites you may ever have!!

Burrata is a specialty of the Apulia region of Italy - the southeast coast of Italy or the “heel of the boot.”

Burrata, which means “buttery” in Italian, is a hollow ball of mozzarella di bufala (buffalo mozzarella) filled with panna (cream) and mozzarella bits. Cut into the ball and the cream oozes out. The cheese bits make the panna both buttery and creamy, although not overly rich, since this is still a fresh cheese.

It was first made in the 1920's, became more readily available in the 1950's and now there are a limited number of U.S. burrata makers.

For more information on Burrata visit The Nibble.

I have found Burrata at two places, a specialty cheese store near my home and Whole Foods. But be warned you can never plan on it being there. If I know I need it I order it. On this lucky day there it was - oh the lovely beautiful delicious burrata.

The rest was easy - bread, olive oil, salt, pepper, tomatoes, and basil.

Bruschetta with Heirloom Tomatoes and Burrata

Ingredients

• 1 crusty baguette loaf
• 2-3 heirloom tomatoes - pick different colors for a beautiful look
• 1/3 cup fresh basil
• kosher or sea salt to taste
• fresh ground pepper to taste
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 cup fresh olive oil
• 1 ball fresh burrata

Directions

Preheat broiler. Slice the baguette on a slight diagonal into 1 inch pieces. Broil until golden brown.

Meanwhile - shred basil gently. Core tomatoes and cut into 1/4 inch pieces. In medium bowl combine tomatoes, basil, and salt and pepper to taste.

When bread is toasted, cut garlic clove in half and rub with a bit of pressure on toasted bread. Brush generously with a very good quality olive oil - don't skimp on the oil. Spread each bread toast with a bit of burrata and top with tomato basil mixture.

Open up a cold crisp white summer wine like an italian pino grigio and enjoy. This will be one of the best bites you've ever had made very quickly but not particulary cheap - but hey - life is short Mangia Mangia!!

A Bit of History on Bruschetta

(I couldn't resist)

The word bruschetta pronounced "brusketta" comes from the verb bruscare meaning to "roast over coals." Some food historians believe it originated with the Roman practice of using bread to taste newly pressed olive oil, some say it was developed in Tuscany to show off the new season's olive oil and yet other's say it was a way to use bread that was no longer fresh.

No matter the source, bruschetta is simply grilled bread rubbed with a clove of garlic and topped with extra virgin olive oil.

In more modern times toppings have been added to make it a more substantial snack and Americans typically use the word to refer to the topping - the most popular being tomatoes and basil - but bruschetta is actually the toasted bread used as a vehicle for olive oil.

"The most important ingredient in bruschetta is not garlic but olive oil." The garlic on bruschetta is rubbed on, so that you inhale the fresh garlic perfume as a backdrop to the olive oil, rather than eating great lumps of it. The origin of bruschetta was probably the ancient Roman practice of tasting newly pressed olive oil on a piece of bread, with or without garlic -- a practice that has continued in the oil-producing areas of Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio. The name derives from bruscare, meaning "to roast over coals".
---"Toast of the Tiber ," Bee Wilson and Frances Stonor Saunders, New Statesman, 04/24/2000 (p. 50).

So when you buy "bruschetta" in a tub in the grocery store you are buying bruschetta topping. I wish the history of a dish wasn't lost through mass marketing.

Heirloom Tomatoes

photo courtesy of wikimedia commons

Normal or hybrid tomatoes as they are called are often preferred by farmers and grocers for their yield, resistence to disease, and shelf life which allows them to be shipped long distances. The can be delicious and I am a big fan.

However, heirloom tomatoes are magnificant. Heirloom tomatoes are known for their diversity of color, shape, and flavor and come from plant seeds that are at least 50 years old and are often affiliated with a particular family. They are all open cultivated and not bread for yield or transport and often - in my experience - are more beautiful and sweet then their uniform looking hybrid cousins.

You could easily make this recipe with less expensive hybrid tomatoes and it would be delicious - especially if you are using tomatoes ripe from the garden - but I prefer the heirloom tomatoes for their sweetness and bright color variety.

Happy Cooking

And Remember Take Time to

Enjoy a Little Gourmet Everyday!!