Tomato Salad Makeover – A New and Better Version

Match Made in Heaven

Tired of the same old Caprese salad? Me too. And while I do love that winning combo of heirloom tomatoes, delicate and creamy mozzarella cheese and fresh basil with just a drizzle of good olive oil and balsamic reduction sometimes you’ve got to change things up. Around here, especially when it’s tomato season which is long and strong in California, we need some new ideas on how to impart all things tomato salad into our weekly menu. And this twist is both delicious and easy to make which means pulling this dish off for a weeknight meal or even an impromptu dinner party is totally doable. Just toss and assemble.

Avocado Mousse?

When you think of mousse you think of chocolate right? It’s the same idea only made with avocado and roasted garlic. You want to achieve a light and whipped or airy texture. The texture comes from the avocado and creme fraiche mixture. The flavor comes from a whole head of roasted garlic that gives the mousse a nutty background note. Kind of like adding a little anchovy to a Caesar dressing. You don’t know what that extra depth of flavor is, but it’s there.

But why mousse and not a dressing? I wanted to create something thick that can really coat the lettuce. You could even put a few dollops on the side. And it’s fun to create something that is unexpected in some way. Gets people asking questions and isn’t that the point of sharing a meal? That said there is something yummy about a dressing so if that’s your preference you can use the same idea and just a little less of the creme fraiche and thin it out with some buttermilk. I did have leftover mousse and I used it on my sandwiches for the week as a spread.

To make things interesting I decided to add a little lettuce to this Tomato & Burrata Salad, which is also not standard in a Caprese. I chose baby gem because it has a sweet and delicate texture, but you can use romaine lettuce as well. The idea is to chop it up and coat the lettuce in the avocado mousse. This adds a layer of flavor of crunch at the base of the salad. Then you top it with those ripe heirloom tomatoes and the creamy Burrata cheese. The final layer is the finishing touches that add even more flavor and texture.

The Extra Touches

This Tomato salad gets its wow factor from the finishing touches which includes a sprinkling of Maldon Sea Salt, crunchy pistachios and a drizzle of chili pepper infused olive oil. The olive oil is different than chili oil used in say Asian cooking and I really like this kind as a finisher. It has more heat and is olive oil based. Highly recommend keeping some in the pantry or fridge. I use it in all kinds of recipes or even over pasta. Click for links to purchase from Amazon or you can find most items locally as well.

Tomato Salad Ingredients

• 4 medium heirloom tomatoes of different colors
• 2 small heads of Baby gem lettuce or romaine hearts
• Roasted Garlic & Avocado Mousse (see below)
• 1 7 oz ctr Burrata cheese
• Chili oil (drizzle for garnish or any other finishing oil)
• Pinch of Chili pepper flakes (optional)
• 1/4 cup Pistachios
• Maldon Sea Salt
• Pepper

Roasted Garlic & Avocado Mousse

• 1 head garlic
• 1/2 ripe avocado
• 1/3 cup creme fraiche or sour cream
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 small or 1 extra-large lemon
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• fresh chives
• 1/4 cup water
• salt & pepper

Method:

Avocado Mousse

1. Roast garlic. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and slice the top 1/4 inch off a head of garlic. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Wrap in foil and bake in a ramekin or on a lined sheet pan for 45-1 hour or until very golden brown and softened. Can be made ahead.
2. In the bowl of a food processor add in the roasted garlic (just squeeze it right in there and fish out any of the papery skin that gets in). To that add 1/2 of a ripe avocado, the creme fraiche or sour cream, olive oil, lemon juice, fresh chives and season with salt and pepper. Pulse until smooth and then thin it out if needed with a little water or buttermilk. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Assembling Tomato Salad

1. Clean and pat dry lettuce and chop into bite sized pieces. Lightly toss them in avocado mousse (dressing) and distribute evenly onto plates or on serving platter.
2. Top with sliced tomatoes and then a generous piece or two of the Burrata cheese. Garnish with chili pepper flakes, Maldon Flakey sea salt and a little cracked pepper, then drizzle with chili oil and top with pistachios pistachios.

What to serve with Tomato Salad:

This salad is great on its own as a starter or even a light dinner. But if you want to go the full meal deal then here’s a couple of suggestions of what to serve with this amazing Tomato & Burrata salad to complete the dinner.

Homemade Salmon Sliders

Ricotta & Butternut squash stuffed portobellos

If you want to keep things vegetarian, then this recipe is absolutely fantastic and also a do-ahead dish. One of my all-time favs and crowd pleaser for sure.

Pasta Bolognese

And finally, if you are looking for a hearty and absolutely to-die-for meat dish then this Pasta Bolognese is for you. It’s definitely a do-ahead dish because it takes a few hours for the flavors to really come together and for the meat to get really tender, but all the work is done stove-top, and it makes great leftovers.