INSTRUCTIONS:
- Cut some tomatoes into pieces and halve some cherry tomatoes. Sprinkle them with salt and let them sit in a colander for 30 minutes to drain off any excess liquid.
- Take some bread pieces and pulse them in a food processor until they become large crumbs, about ⅛ to ¼ inch thick.
- Heat up some seasoned oil in a skillet and cook the bread crumbs until they become crispy and golden, which should take about 10 minutes. Clear a space in the center of the skillet and add some minced garlic. Cook the garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds, then stir it into the toasted bread crumbs.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together some minced shallot, vinegar, and salt to make a vinaigrette dressing. While whisking constantly, drizzle in some olive oil to emulsify the mixture.
- Add the drained tomatoes and some chopped basil to the bowl with the vinaigrette and toss everything gently to combine.
- Arrange the dressed tomatoes on a serving platter. Place some burrata cheese over the top of the tomatoes and drizzle the creamy liquid from the burrata over everything. Finally, sprinkle the toasted bread crumbs over the dish to finish it off. Serve immediately.
NOTES:
- Caprese salad is a faithful Italian standby, but we wanted to up the ante to create a luxe modern reimagined showstopper.
- To intensify the flavor of the tomatoes, we salted and drained them and dressed them with a white balsamic vinaigrette. Decadent burrata stepped in for the regular mozzarella.
- And our pangrattato—crispy, garlicky bread crumbs made from a rustic, crusty loaf brought this salad firmly into the 21st century.
