Caprese Salad with Burrata, Roasted Tomato, and Arugula Pesto

The sweetness from fresh-picked tomatoes is enhanced when the tomatoes are roasted to give them a candied flavor. Pair the warm tomatoes with classic caprese flavors of burrata and balsamic, and a new twist on pesto made with arugula and walnuts.

Ingredients:

2 cups cherry tomatoes

4 cloves peeled garlic + 1 tbsp minced garlic

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

½ teaspoon of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1-2 balls of burrata cheese

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

¼ cup fresh basil leaves

4 cups packed fresh arugula

1 cup olive oil

2 tbsp walnuts, toasted, plus 1 tablespoon

1/8 tbsp vitamin C (optional)

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan

salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions for the pesto:

Prepare an ice water bath in a large bowl, and bring a large pot of water to a boil. Put the arugula in a large sieve and plunge it into the boiling water. Immediately immerse all the arugula and stir so that it blanches evenly. Blanch for about 15 seconds. Remove, shake off the excess water, then plunge the arugula into the ice water bath and stir again so it cools as fast as possible. Drain well.

Squeeze the water out of the arugula with your hands until very dry. Roughly chop the arugula and put in a blender or food processor. Add the garlic, salt and pepper to taste, olive oil, 2 tablespoons of the walnuts, and the vitamin C, if using. Blend for at least 30 seconds. In this way the green of the arugula will thoroughly color the oil. Add the cheese and pulse to combine. The pesto will keep several days in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.

Bring arugula pesto to room temperature. Before serving, add the remaining 1 tablespoon toasted walnuts.

Instructions for the salad:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a small sheet pan lined with aluminum foil, toss the tomatoes and garlic with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add salt and pepper and toss to coat. Roast in oven for 15 minutes and set aside. Drain the water from the burrata and set aside.

For individual servings: Spread about 2 Tablespoons of arugula pesto on a small plate (recipe below). Top with some burrata, and then nestle a few of the roasted tomatoes on top of the cheese. Drizzle with some of the juices released from roasting the tomatoes, some olive oil and balsamic vinegar then season with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Gently tear the basil leaves into smaller pieces (or chiffonade) and scatter over the salad before serving.