Heirloom tomatoes with olive oil, basil and burrata

Vine ripe summer tomatoes are the sine qua non of my kitchen. Can’t be without them and regularly buy more than I can use. After all there are only two of us eating here, yet I buy enough for an army. You want to come over?

You’d think that at my age (almost 30….NOT) I’d learn some balance but as the saying goes, A BALANCED LIFE IS A LIFE WITHOUT PASSION, and I cannot be accused of having no passion.

The last trip to the weekend market saw me coming back with boxes of heirloom tomatoes in all shapes, colours and sizes. They filled the bowls on my kitchen counter and spilled outdoors to my patio kitchen counter. I am still working through them. I made a few tomato soups that were so good we didn’t tire of them. I saved some soup in mason quart jars in the fridge and froze some in freezer plastic bags but I had to stop. I also made tomato sauce for pasta with some of the tomatoes and as with the soup, some of the sauce is in jars in the fridge, some frozen in bags. I don’t have much freezer space and anyway I am not very good about the freezer altogether. Mostly if it’s in the freezer it might as well be in Alaska. I tend to forget about it and end up tossing it out at one point or another. I hope this doesn’t happen with these sauces and soups, they are just too good.

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Tomorrow we are sailing to Penticton on my husband’s beloved, her name is Isa Lei, she is a forty somethin’ good lookin’ sailboat. We are going to a long table vineyard dinner with the one and only Joy Road Catering at God’s Mountain Estate. These memorable events take place every week during the summer and we try not to miss too many if possible.

I am not sure if we will sail all the way through or stop in Summerland and rent a car from there. We’ll see how things go. In any event, it’s an overnight trip sleeping on the boat. Let’s just say I like being comfortable, and boating is like camping. Enough said. But I am known to be a good sport, at least on occasion, if the stars are aligned. I will report afterwards, and you know you’ll hear the truth here.

So tonight I had to use up some things in the too-full fridge and at least make a salad with the beautiful tomatoes sitting in the bowl in front of me. Making a tomato salad is easy. I drizzle the beautiful small tomatoes with plenty of olive oil and basil and serve them with a soft mound of Burrata, Maldon salt and coarsely ground fresh pepper. I am not in the habit of adding vinegar to tomatoes. Rather, let the natural acidity in the tomatoes speak for itself, but if you want to, go ahead, make my day.

Burrata by the way is an Italian fresh cheese made from mozzarella and cream. It soft and creamy inside with a thin skin keeping it together. I almost like it more than fresh mozzarella, there is something so delicious about it, especially with tomatoes. Make sure you get the one made in Murgella, in the south of Italy.

So, are you going to make it? let me know.

Talk soon.

Serves 2.

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Ingredients:

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1 lb small heirloom tomatoes in all colours and sizes

1/2 a small onion, sliced thinly

A handful of fresh basil leaves, left whole or torn

1/4 cup great olive oil

Maldon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

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Directions:

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Slice the tomatoes in half or quarters, depending on their size.

Place the tomatoes and onion in a bowl, drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt.

Add the basil leaves and toss gently.

Divide the salad between two salad bowls and spoon some of the Burrata cheese on the side of the plate.

Grind pepper over and a little more salt.

Scatter a few basil leaves over.

Just before serving drizzle additional olive oil over and serve at room temperature.

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