Garden Tomatoes with Burrata Cheese

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TomatoFinalMy garden is flourishing.  In fact, it’s not just flourishing, it’s growing enough food to feed a small army.  We are happy to share everything this mutant garden produces, except the tomatoes.

Have you ever tasted a super-ripe garden tomato that is one day away from turning to mush?

If your answer is no, you have not lived, my friend.
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Perfection in a garden-grown tomato. No white, no chewy places, just super ripe goodness bursting with flavor.

After visiting one of my favorite Portland haunts with two of my favorite ladies and our husbands, I was inspired to find the biggest, ripest tomatoes and make a simple salad with quality ingredients.  Because flavorful, satisfying food doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated.  It just has to taste good.

I’ve been a fan of the traditional tomato mozzarella salad for many years.  Who doesn’t love mild, slightly creamy fresh cheese paired with the bright acidic flavor of a ripe tomato with a touch of basil?

(Okay, if you hate tomatoes or cheese, this is admittedly not the recipe for you.)

For the rest of the tomato loving world, this recipe will change the way you eat your tomato mozzarella salad.  In fact, you might never go back to store-bought tomatoes or mozzarella again after tasting this.

Burrata is a shell of fresh mozzarella, stuffed with cream and cheese curds.  It’s creamy, decadent, silky smooth, and provides the perfect accompaniment to those sweet, ripe tomatoes.

There are six ingredients to this and it takes roughly seven minutes to prepare.  But it is so impressive and addictive, I have a hunch you can get that prep time down to five minutes.  I will say this, though.  The quality of the ingredients is in direct correlation to the fantastic taste factor.  Without the quality ingredients I’ll list below, you will take this dish from a 10 to a 5.  So, if you want to do your tomatoes justice, spring for the ingredients.  You  won’t regret it.

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I intentionally did not filter or tweak the colors in any of the pictures because I want you to see how beautiful and ripe these tomatoes are. It’s possible.

Ingredients:

  • 2 large, very ripe tomatoes from the farmer’s market or your garden. (Deep red, people. No orangey red.) Pick ones that are on the cusp of being too ripe.  You can also ripen them in a window sill for a day or two.
  • 1 ball of fresh burrata cheese (I found mine at Whole foods.)
  • 3-4 leaves of fresh basil, torn or roughly chopped
  • 1-2 Tbsp organic olive oil
  • fresh cracked pepper
  • kosher-style sea salt

Directions:

  1. Remove burrata from refrigerator, drain water, and set aside.
  2. Slice whole tomatoes one inch thick.
  3. Arrange tomato slices on a platter and top with basil, fresh cracked pepper, and salt.
  4. Place burrata in the center of the tomato slices. Lightly drizzle entire plate with organic olive oil.
  5. Serve and devour immediately.
  6. My husband and I ate this for dinner the other night.  Just this.  Nothing else.  Because we are adults who love good food and also don’t like expending energy on a 95 degree day unless we have to.

Toematoe Tomahhtoe,
Carrie

 

 

Paleo Biscuits {Four Ways}

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Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuits

Most of us have guilty pleasures.  My husband, who is an indie music aficionado, loves a little Brittany Spears.  It’s not uncommon for him to rock out to “Toxic” while taking a long run. An old boss of mine, who was a MAJOR wine snob, loved the occasional bottle of Boone’s Farm. My very health-conscious BFF can’t resist a spoonful of Cool Whip in all of it’s chemical creaminess, especially when it’s frozen.  No matter what your “thing” is, you almost undoubtedly have a guilty pleasure.

Or, if you’re like me, your guilty pleasure list rivals your regular {translation: acceptable} pleasure list.

At the top of my foodie GP list?  Red Lobster cheddar biscuits.   Fluffy, cheesy, herby, and comforting baked heaven. I hate that I love them, but it I just can’t help it.  Maybe they’re rooted in childhood nostalgia.  Maybe I love bread and cheese a little too much.  Maybe I’m a secret lover of chain restaurants.

Or maybe I just like what I like.

At any rate, I can’t eat those little biscuits from heaven without feeling like I’ve been dragged through hell the next day.  I’m sure the less-than-quality ingredients have at least a little something to do with it.  Also, wheat is my mental/emotional/physical kryptonite. I turn into a puddly mess approximately one hour after eating it and it takes me a full 24 hours to recover.

So, I did what any other carb-loving, cheese-worshiping home cook would do: I adapted it.  No gluten, no fuss, no troublesome dough or wheat-induced weeping.  Just good, old-fashioned guilty pleasure food.  Minus some of the guilt.

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup coconut flour, sifted
  • 3 Tbsp butter, cubed
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 Tbsp raw honey
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar
  • 1-2 Tbsp chives (dried or fresh)
  • 1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning (optional)
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions:

  1. In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, butter baking powder, eggs, honey, and apple cider vinegar until completely incorporated. (Butter will be slightly lumpy, and that’s okay.)
  2. Add chives and red pepper flakes then combine, and fold in cheese last.
  3. On a parchment paper lined baking sheet, drop biscuits with a spoon and flatten slightly.
  4. Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.  Allow to cool almost completely before eating.

Variations

Maybe you don’t love cheese.  Maybe you just want plain biscuits.  THAT’S OKAY, TOO.  There is no wrong way to eat these bad boys.  You can omit the cheese and herbs, and you’ll be left with a simple coconut flour biscuit perfect for Eggs Benedict or a snack on the go.

If you’re craving sweet over savory, omit cheese and herbs, and add 1/4 cup raw chopped pecans, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp of vanilla extract, and 3 Tbsp of raw honey or Grade B Maple Syrup.

And finally, if you’re totally into cheese but are strictly paleo or dairy intolerant, sub 1/4 cup nutritional yeast for the cheese and add two tablespoons of unsweetened almond milk. This is my favorite variation for savory sandwiches.

Guilty Forever,

Carrie