My original plan was to make a simple, basic Caprese but to substitute Burrata for the usual Mozzarella. As I was getting ready to prepare the salad, my box grater caught my eye and I decided to play around with texture. I must have had Pan con Tomate on my mind as this certainly was an homage of sorts to that dish. I ended up with something that was a cross between a Caprese and a Gaspacho -- curiously delicious despite taking only a few minutes to put together.
2 perfectly ripe, end of summer, large tomatoes
2 balls of fresh Burrata
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
red wine vinegar to taste
olive oil, a fruity one, to taste
salt, pepper to taste
sea salt for sprinkling on top
Grate the tomatoes - skin and all (except for the core) - into a bowl. Make sure you catch all the juices and squeeze out the core well before discarding. Add the basil, reserving about 2 tsps to sprinkle over the top of the Burrata as a garnish. Season with salt and pepper, a liitle olive oil and red wine vinegar, according to your taste preferences. Stir well and let sit for 5 minutes or so so that the tastes can marry.
Tear - do not cut - the Burrata balls in half and place each into a shallow bowl. Ladle 1/4 of the tomato liquid into each dish, sprinkle with sea salt and the remaining basil and serve at once.
This was the perfect summer dish; it could only have tasted better eaten outside, in a garden just as the fireflies are coming out. I considered adding a little garlic or grated shallot to the dish but the tomatoes were too perfect to mess with in any way. Maybe I will add them, or garlicky croutons made with day old sour dough bread, if I make the dish again at some point this year with winter tomatoes, which are always a disappointment.