A SIMPLE TOMATO + BURRATA SALAD

It's mid-November and I still have quite a few heirloom tomatoes that continue to ripen in the basement.  While wondering about some new salads to make with heirlooms, I came across this one from the Sprouted Kitchen.  I did not use the bread or the cheese as neither were in the house when I wanted to make the salad so I did the improvise thing..  I also sauteed the shallots in a little sake I had in the frig and  sprinkled a very small amount of gorgonzola cheese on the salad.

Give it a try with your own twist or make it verbatim--either way, I think you will enjoy it.

A SIMPLE TOMATO + BURRATA SALAD // Serves 4-6
Inspired by Big Sur Bakery Cookbook
Take note of the size of your burrata balls, you may need two. I assume about 4 oz. per person. This salad is very free form, don't pay too close attention to measurements. It's a summertime salad, it's meant to be easy going.

1 cup torn bread (preferably from a baguette or fresh loaf)
2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 sea salt
fresh ground pepper

1 1/2 lbs/ 4-ish heirloom tomatoes
sea salt + fresh ground pepper
2 cups soft lettuce of choice (arugula, spring greens, butter lettuce)
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1 shallot, finely chopped
8 oz. burrata cheese, room temperature
good quality extra virgin olive oil
balsamic vinegar

Photos are from Sprouted Kitchen

Preheat the oven (ideally toaster oven) to 400'. Spread the torn bread on a baking tray, drizzle with the olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges are crisp and brown. Set aside.
Slice the tomatoes into 1/4'' slices and arrange them on your serving tray in concentric circles. Sprinkle liberally with sea salt and fresh ground pepper and the chopped shallots. Chop the soft greens and basil together, toss them gently with 1 tsp. each olive oil and balsamic vinegar and then mound it in the center of the tomatoes. Distribute the croutons on top and then place the burrata in the center of the lettuce pile, breaking open the creamy center if you'd like.
Drizzle the burrata with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar to taste and finish with a sprinkle of salt and fresh ground pepper.