Gotta love a lota burrata

Mmmmm cheese. Who doesn’t like cheese? No one that’s who. Well except folks that have a dairy intolerance, they don’t like cheese because their tummies don’t like cheese🧀. Those poor people; I feel very sorry for them😔. Maybe if you’re cheese intolerant skip this post, but I promise there are plenty of other posts sans cheese on this blog that are delicious!

I’m sure this is a busy time for most of us since Thanksgiving is over and we have a few more days until Christmas. Sometimes cooking isn’t on the “menu” because there are so many other things that we’re trying to get done; shopping being one of them. Speaking of shopping, I’m still not done. Actually, I just started today (yikes), so I’d say i’m a bit behind. Totally unlike me, but it seems like Christmas came so soon this year, wasn’t it summer last week? Well, at least I got all my Christmas cards out early #smallvictories

Sorry to get off topic; let me get back to this post and why I love this dish (other than the fact it’s cheese). Burrata with tomatoes is a super simple, but elegant appetizer you can make for a holiday party or as a start to dinner. Granted it’s winter and tomatoes are not in season, but in California we are blessed with temperate weather, so these ruby red tomatoes are fresh and were actually grown in my co-worker’s garden. She was generous enough to gift me these organic tomatoes for Christmas and I was delighted! For those of you in colder climates you could skip the tomatoes all together and the dish would still be a hit. Maybe add some prosciutto to the mix to bring in additional color and flavor if tomatoes aren’t available or out of season.

Ingredients:

1 package of Burrata (8 ounce)

3 medium tomatoes sliced (if not in season substitute with prosciutto)

4-6 fresh basil leaves

Good quality olive oil (I used Baker and Olive)

Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

Slice the tomatoes and lay them out on a plate. Cut the burrata into bite sized pieces and lay on top of tomatoes. Carefully tear the basil leaves and sprinkle over cheese and tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Serve with a baguette to scoop up all the flavors of this easy dish.

Wine to pair?

Since we were having burrata, and following up with a pizza, I stayed Italian in theme and went with a Chianti. I’m not super familiar with Italian varietals, so I asked the wine buyer at my local supermarket for help. He suggested a nice Italian wine that fit the bill. Most large grocery stores have wine buyers now, so use their expertise to select wines you’re not familiar with, they’re a great resource and can steer you in the right direction. Enjoy, and I hope you have a wonderful holiday and new year! Cheers 🍷