Recipe

Felly's Favorite Panzanella with Burrata

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Felly's Favorite Panzanella with Burrata

Photo by melissav

This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Cucumber Recipe

This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Recipe Using Fresh Mozzarella

This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Recipe Using Heirloom Tomatoes

This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Picnic Dish

This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Dish in the Raw
A&M's Testing Notes: This recipe was very simple and easy to throw together. With two large English cucumbers, this was easily enough for 6-8 as a side dish/salad. The flavor in the dressing is robust and tangy...
This recipe was very simple and easy to throw together. With two large English cucumbers, this was easily enough for 6-8 as a side dish/salad. The flavor in the dressing is robust and tangy. The burrata on top is like icing on a cake. The other really good thing about this recipe is that it offers the chef a number of opportunities to improvise to personal taste -- from the herb choices to adding other summer veggies, etc. The salad is substantial enough with the cheese that you could easily make it into an easy, fresh weeknight meal all summer long. I plan to do just that, over and over. - annalea

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Chef
melissav's Notes: This is one of my husband's favorite salads. We've been making it at least twice a week for the past two months. We've been tinkering it with every time and I think we've finally nailed...
This is one of my husband's favorite salads. We've been making it at least twice a week for the past two months. We've been tinkering it with every time and I think we've finally nailed it. It is the perfect dish for these incredibly hot summer days we've been having - refreshing and flavorful. [PS - I forgot to take a picture after we added the burrata so the picture above is not quite complete] - melissav

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Serves 3-4

Salad:

5 thick slices of stale baguette, cubed Ask the
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2 tablespoons olive oil Ask the
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1 garlic clove, crushed Ask the
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1/2 small red onion, sliced very thin Ask the
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1.5 pounds best quality tomatoes, a variety is good. I usually use a mix of roma, heirloom, and grape, chopped into large chunks Ask the
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2 cucumbers, peeled, sliced in half lengthwise, seeds scooped out with spoon, and sliced into half moons Ask the
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1 large handful of herbs, mix of basil, parsley, chives, mint, and tarragon or whatever you have handy, chopped Ask the
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salt Ask the
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1 ball burrata Ask the
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Heat the olive oil over medium low heat with the crushed garlic clove and add the bread cubes. Sprinkle with a little salt and saute until golden. You want them nice and toasty and golden and very hard. Once done, scrap into a large bowl and discard the garlic.
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Add the red onions, tomato, cucumbers, and herbs.
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Add the dressing (recipe below), starting with 1/4 cup. Toss. Add more dressing by the tablespoon until adequately dressed. I usually only need to add one or more spoonfuls after the 1/4 cup. Season to taste with salt.
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Let the salad sit for 10 minutes to allow the bread cubes to drink up the dressing and so the flavors have a chance to meld.
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Plate each salad. Gently tear or cut the burrata into large chunks and top each salad with a few chunks.
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Grab a seat on your patio and dig in!
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Dressing:

1 tablespoon whole grain dijon Ask the
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1 tablespoon capers, rough chop Ask the
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1 clove garlic, minced Ask the
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1/4 cup champagne vinegar Ask the
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1/4 cup red wine vinegar Ask the
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1/4 cup olive oil Ask the
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2 big pinches of salt Ask the
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1 big pinch pepper Ask the
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Place all the ingredients in a jar and shake vigorously.
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kmartinelli added 7 months ago

I looovvvvee burrata! And I love panzanella! So this is just perfect.

annalea added about 1 year ago

I tested this recipe for this week's Editors' Picks.

This recipe was very simple and easy to throw together. It isn't quite tomato season in northern California yet, so unfortunately I don't think that I could fully appreciate the flavors. I think the serving size is a little off. I used two large English cucumbers and ended up with a huge bowl. Easily enough for 6-8 as a side dish/salad. The flavor in the dressing is robust and tangy. The burrata on top is like icing on a cake. The other really good thing about this recipe is that it offers the chef a number of opportunities to improvise to personal taste. From the herb choices to adding other summer veggies, etc. The salad is substantial enough with the cheese, you could easily make it into an easy, fresh weeknight meal all summer long. I plan to do just that over and over.