Tomato Burrata Salad with Basil

Tomato Burrata Salad with Basil is summer on a platter, and it comes together in about 10 minutes. The trick is salting the tomatoes first so they make their own dressing. That one step is the whole difference between fine and unforgettable.

I make this on repeat from July through September, usually on the nights when turning on the stove feels like a personal attack. It is barely a recipe. Good tomatoes, a ball of burrata, and a little patience do all the work.

The patience part is where people quit, so let me talk you out of it. Salt your tomatoes and walk away. What happens next is the entire point.

• It is fast. About 10 minutes start to finish, and the oven never turns on.
• Four ingredients carry it. Tomatoes, burrata, basil, and good olive oil. Everything else is seasoning.
• The salting trick does the work for you. The tomatoes make their own dressing while you stand there doing nothing.
• It looks like a centerpiece. A whole ball of burrata in the middle of a platter earns more credit than the effort deserves.
• It bends to whatever you have. Serve it as a side, a light dinner, or a base for peaches and prosciutto.

• Tomatoes: The ripest you can find, at room temperature, never cold from the fridge. Heirloom, vine, or beefsteak all work. This is most of the flavor, so do not cheap out here.
• Burrata: One ball, drained, and also at room temperature so the center is soft and creamy instead of tight and cold.
• Fresh basil: Torn by hand. A knife bruises it and turns the edges black.
• Extra virgin olive oil: Use a good one. It is half the dressing, so it should taste like something.
• Balsamic glaze: Thick and a little sweet. Plain balsamic vinegar works too, just use a lighter hand.
• Garlic: One clove, finely minced, for a quiet background note. Raw garlic is loud, so one is plenty.
• Salt: It does double duty here, seasoning the tomatoes and pulling out their juice.
• Flaky sea salt: For finishing, because a little crunch at the end makes everything taste more like itself.

Salt the tomatoes first. Arrange the wedges on a platter, slightly overlapping, and season them right away with the salt. Let them sit for 5 to 10 minutes. They will release their juice onto the platter, and that juice is the secret. Do not skip this and do not wipe it up.

Make the dressing. Whisk the olive oil, balsamic, minced garlic, and black pepper together in a small bowl while the tomatoes do their thing.

Add the burrata. Drain it and set the whole ball in the center of the platter. Leave it whole so everyone can break into it at the table. It is more fun and it looks better.

Scatter the basil. Tear the larger leaves and drop them over the top.

Dress and finish. Drizzle the dressing over everything, sweep through the tomato juice as you go, finish with flaky sea salt, and serve immediately with crusty bread.

Bring everything to room temperature. Cold tomatoes taste flat and cold burrata stays firm. Twenty minutes on the counter fixes both.

Do not skip the salting step. It is the difference between a salad that is fine and one people ask about. Five minutes is good, 10 is better.

Use bread you actually like. There is always tomato juice and burrata cream left on the platter, and bread is how you get every last bit.

Serve it the moment it comes together. Burrata weeps, basil bruises, and the tomatoes have already given you everything. This is not a salad that waits.

• Add stone fruit. Sliced peaches or nectarines with the tomatoes lean the whole thing sweeter and very late summer.
• Make it a meal. Drape a few slices of prosciutto around the platter and it goes from side to dinner.
• Change the herb. Mint or oregano in place of, or alongside, the basil shifts the flavor without much effort.
• Bring some heat. A pinch of chili flakes or a drizzle of hot honey over the burrata plays beautifully against the cream.
• No burrata. Fresh mozzarella is a fine stand in. You lose the molten center, but the salad still holds up.