This tomato treat is so easy and delicious you won't even believe it. A fantastic appetizer to prepare around the holidays or for any gathering where people love amazing food...especially tomatoes. 🙂 The recipe is adaptable and customizable so you can make the tweaks you want. So let's walk through this roasted cherry tomatoes w/smashed garlic & burrata appetizer.
What in the world is burrata?
Burrata is an Italian cheese with mozzarella cheese and cream mixed together. While it might look like a ball of just mozzarella on the outside, you cannot slice this into rounds like you might be used to doing. No. When you cut burrata cheese, you're essentially cutting a sack open and the mozzarella and cream come oozing out. You've been warned: don't cut this open until you're ready to eat it.
When you cut the cheese always matters. .. the cheese, cheese, not... well nevermind...
Before I tested this recipe, I actually (somehow!!) had never tried Burrata. I know, unheard of considering I'm a food blogger and there are tons of burrata recipes on the internet. For whatever reason, I just wasn't... interested in it. I am sometimes a late mover with trends in general and this was definitely one of them. But I knew I wanted to make an easy and delicious tomato appetizer of some kind and burrata popped into my head so here we are.
Tips for working with burrata cheese:
- Burrata balls are very delicate. Gently remove them from the container and place them on a couple of paper towel to blot. Again, be careful, you don't want to puncture the cheese.
- If you're making this appetizer, it is a good idea to use both burrata balls that come in the one container. When serving four or more people, you don't want them fighting to get at the burrata, lol. I put one ball at each end of my little serving tray.
- Once the burrata is on your serving plate, drizzle a little olive oil on the top and season with a sprinkling of salt and pepper.
- A couple of small spoons will work well for serving. This way it's easier to scoop the burrata and tomatoes.
- Store bought French bread works great for this. You may not use it all, but you can freeze for a French bread pizza night another time.
why you should roast tomatoes more
If you are a regular reader of my blog, which of course you are, you are most likely aware that I love roasting tomatoes. It seems like not enough people know about it or think of incorporating roasted tomatoes into their week. Roasted tomatoes are deeply flavorful and extremely low maintenance. Basically all you're doing is cutting, gutting and cooking. You can use them for so many things: eat on crusty bread, add to your favorite salad, serve on top of scrambled eggs, make French bread pizza, quiche, pasta and whatever your heart desires! I'll leave some links below to some recipes where I've used them.
The Six Easy Steps of Roasting SLICER Tomatoes:
- Remove tomato cores.
- Cut tomatoes in half.
- Using your fingers, scoop out the tomato pulp and discard.
- Line a baking dish or two with the tomato halves.
- Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Cook in a pre-heated oven at 400 degrees for one hour. More if you want them charred which I do prefer. See video link below - you can make with or without the garlic.
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Tried and true recipes with roasted tomatoes
Since I love roasted tomatoes so much, I've got a bunch of recipes that use them. Starting with the most basic recipe of delicious roasted garlic tomatoes (video above), you can take it from there. And even though the base recipe includes garlic, you don't have to use it. If you want only the roasted tomatoes, just skip the garlic.
The best part about roasted tomatoes is how versatile they are. There is a rich flavor that is completely different than an uncooked tomato. You simply must try them. 🙂 Here's a jumping off point if you do:
- Easy, Delicious Roasted Garlic Tomatoes
- Chicken Caprese w/Roasted Tomatoes
- Roasted Tomato & Whipped Feta Phyllo Pie
- Roasted Tomato, Asparagus & Gruyere Quiche
- The Ultimate Brunch BLT
- Penne Pasta w/Sausage, Roasted Tomatoes & Garlic White Wine Sauce
easy steps for making roasted cherry tomatoes w/smashed garlic & Burrata
Roasted Cherry Tomatoes w/Smashed Garlic & Burrata
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
Description
If you love tomatoes and cheese, you’ll probably be really into this roasted cherry tomatoes w/smashed garlic and burrata appetizer.
Ingredients
- 1 container of rainbow cherry tomatoes (16.5 ounces)
- 1 package of burrata cheese (8 ounces - comes with two “balls” of the cheese)
- 3 medium cloves of garlic, smashed
- ¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 loaf of French bread, heated and sliced (or any bread you want)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Pesto, optional (homemade or store bought)
- Balsamic glaze drizzle, optional
- Garnish with fresh basil leaves, optional
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Instructions
- Be sure to watch my instructional video for the step-by step. Full video below. J
- Wash cherry tomatoes and place most of them in a small baking dish (and 8x8 or slightly smaller dish works well). Leave a handful of cherry tomatoes out and cut them in half. I like to have a combination of whole cherry tomatoes that get blistered in the oven AND some that are cut in half.
- Peel three medium garlic cloves and smash them with the side of your knife or with a kitchen mallet or back of a pan. Add garlic to the baking dish. Add ¼ cup of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. I used a light sprinkling of salt – can’t imagine it was more than a ¼ teaspoon and pepper was less than that. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes until tomatoes are soft and blistered.
- While tomatoes are cooking finish prep. You won’t need the full loaf of French bread so cut off what you think you’ll need. Freeze the rest for a French bread pizza night later. Wrap bread in foil and bake for 15-20 minutes in the oven with tomatoes. Add the bread half way through the tomatoes cooking.
- Once tomatoes are cooked remove from oven and let cook a few minutes.
- Set up your platter… Carefully remove the burrata balls from the liquid and place on a couple of paper towels to blot the excess liquid off. The burrata is VERY delicate. It is filled with mozzarella and cream so you don’t want to puncture the sack because everything will ooze out. Wait until you serve to cut the burrata open. Drizzle olive oil over each ball and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. This is where I added the optional ramekin of pesto in the middle of my platter. Spoon the tomatoes around the cheese and pour the juices and olive oil over the tomatoes. Feel free to add a few pinches of flaky or regular salt on the tomatoes. Garnish with fresh basil leaves if you have them. And if you want you can drizzle some balsamic glaze over the tomatoes and cheese or serve on the side.
- Slice you’re your warm crusty bread to serve on the side. Be sure to serve immediately while everything is still warm.
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