Our recipe for a tomato burrata salad with asparagus, basil pesto and dukkah makes a quick and easy salad of creamy burrata nestled on a bed of crunchy asparagus spears, sweet juicy cherry tomatoes, and mixed salad leaves. Dollops of basil pesto bring more flavour and crunchy dukkah adds texture. Serve as a side or pile onto with slices of toasted sourdough for a snack or appetiser.
Tomato and white cheese is one of those wonderfully perfect flavour combinations that appear in so many fantastic tomato salads around the world – from a traditional Greek salad of tomatoes with feta to a classic Italian Caprese salad with tomatoes and mozzarella. If you’re also a fan of that ingredient pairing, you’ll love this tomato burrata salad recipe.
My recipe calls for asparagus spears, which, like the cherry tomatoes, are quickly pan fried in olive oil, or extra virgin olive oil for even more flavour, to add crunch and fresh flavour. I spoon on dollops of basil pesto (homemade or store-bought), drizzle on good extra virgin olive oil (or this classic vinaigrette), and sprinkle on some dukkah, that Middle Eastern nut, seed and spice condiment, for more crunch and flavour.
If you’re a tomato lover, we have lots more recipes with tomatoes here – made with beef tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and more – from my best tomato salad recipe for a Mediterranean style cherry tomato salad with olives, anchovies and capers and this Shan tomato salad with crispy fried shallots and coriander to this Thai fried egg salad with tomatoes, and simple Cypriot tomato salad, a cousin of the classic Greek salad.
Looking for more cooking inspo? Do browse our archives. We’ve got hundreds of recipes from around the world from places we’ve lived, worked, travelled. If you’ve made and enjoyed our recipes, please consider supporting Grantourismo by shopping our Society 6 store for gifts for food lovers designed with Terence’s images, or buy something on Amazon, such as these cookbooks for culinary travellers or classic cookbooks for serious cooks. More about this tomato burrata salad recipe below.
Tomato Burrata Salad Recipe with Asparagus, Basil Pesto and Dukkah
This tomato burrata salad with asparagus, basil pesto and dukkah was the result of cravings. I found myself salivating about creamy burrata while researching flights this week. Italian destinations probably come to mind when you think of burrata but I was searching for flights to Vietnam and Cambodia. Yes, I’m finally preparing to return home to husband Terence and our black cat Pepper in Siem Reap.
So why did Cambodia and Vietnam trigger burrata cravings? The cheapest flights had long stopovers at each connecting city, and as I have to get a Vietnam visa to transit anyway, I began pondering the possibility of a meal at Vietnam’s Japanese Pizza 4Ps in Saigon, or avoiding the connecting two flights to Hanoi and onto Siem Reap altogether and travelling overland via Phnom Penh, where they also have a zero-waste Pizza 4Ps branch.
You’re wondering why, I know. Or more like “What, why???!” What’s so great about Pizza 4Ps and why aren’t I craving a big bowl of pho, bun cha or banh mi instead. Well, I am craving those Vietnamese classics as well, but I’ve been cooking Vietnamese food recently, including Vietnamese xiu mai (meatballs in tomato broth) and banh mi xiu mai (meatballs in a baguette). Recipes for both coming soon. But it’s a sublime burrata I’ve really been longing for…
While I’ve recently been buying burrata here in rural Victoria in southern Australia that is very very good, it isn’t great. That got me thinking about the last time I had a truly heavenly ball of luscious creamy burrata and it was at Pizza 4Ps in Vietnam, where their burrata and other artisanal Italian cheeses are made in Don Duong village, outside Dalat in the Central Highlands.
If you’re travelling to Vietnam and you’re a food lover, you must visit Dalat, a former French hill station during the colonial era, that’s beloved by locals for its cool weather and fresh air. It’s also the source of Vietnam’s best produce sold at Dalat’s markets, fantastic Vietnamese street food, with dishes unique to Dalat, the finest Vietnamese coffee and tea, and beautiful flowers grown in the mountains around Dalat – along with artisanal cheeses, thanks to Pizza 4Ps.
Also put Pizza 4Ps on your eating lists if you’re heading to Vietnam or Cambodia. The Japanese-born, Vietnam-raised pizza chain started as a small Japanese-style pizza joint secreted down a laneway in Saigon’s Japantown – which we dined at not long after it was opened by young couple Yosuke Masuko and Sanae Takasugi in 2011.
Now CEOs of the flourishing company, they’re committed to sustainability – the Phnom Penh branch is zero-waste – peace and happiness (a big part of their mission), and great food made with home-grown produce and products, including divine artisanal cheeses, such as their creamy burrata. But I got side-tracked…
I’ll tell you more about Pizza 4Ps in the future, as I’m a big fan, but I’ll tell you more about burrata, and this tomato burrata salad with asparagus, basil pesto and dukkah below.
Tips to Making this Tomato Burrata Salad Recipe with Asparagus, Basil Pesto and Dukkah
Just a few tips to making this quick and easy recipe for a tomato burrata salad with asparagus, basil pesto and dukkah, as it comes together in no time. Let’s start with the asparagus and cherry tomatoes.
Pan Fry the Asparagus
Start with the asparagus as it’s firmer and takes a little longer to cook than the cherry tomatoes. In a large pan over medium-high heat, you’ll need to add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, heat it until shimmering, add the asparagus pieces, and leave to pan-fry for a minute, shaking the pan periodically to turn the asparagus.
Cook the asparagus for a few minutes until just-done and still crispy. Then transfer the asparagus to a plate or tray to cool.
Pan Fry the Cherry Tomatoes
To the same pan, add the cherry tomato halves, along with a little more olive oil if needed, and sprinkle with salt. You’ll pan-fry the cherry tomatoes for a few minutes just as you did the asparagus, until the cherry tomatoes start to soften. Transfer the cherry tomatoes to a plate or tray to cool, along with the pan juices.
Prep Toasted Baguette or Sourdough Slices
While the asparagus and cherry tomatoes are cooling, you could toast enough sourdough or baguette slices to feed your guests, using a pastry brush to brush on some extra virgin olive oil.
Assemble the Tomato Burrata Salad
Next, you’ll begin to assemble the salad by laying the mixed salad leaves out on a large serving plate. When the asparagus has cooled, distribute the asparagus pieces across the bed of salad leaves, then add the cherry tomato halves on top of those, along with the pan juices.
Use a small teaspoon to dollop the basil pesto on top of the asparagus and cherry tomatoes. Create a well in the centre of the salad. Drain the burrata over the kitchen sink, tip the ball of burrata into your hand and gently place it at the centre of the salad.
Finish the Tomato Burrata Salad
Pour the extra virgin olive oil (or vinaigrette if you prefer) over the tomato burrata salad, sprinkle on some dukkah (best made in a mortar and pestle), and grind on some cracked black pepper.
Serve the Tomato Burrata Salad
Slice the burrata at the table, so the gooey soft centre oozes out, spread it over the salad, pour on a little more more extra virgin olive oil, shower with dukkah, and grind on more black pepper.
Serve your tomato burrata salad with homemade croutons, toasted baguette or sourdough slices, and encourage guests to pile the salad on top and customise as they like with more dukkah, salt and pepper, and fresh basil leaves.
Tomato Burrata Salad Recipe with Asparagus, Basil Pesto and Dukkah
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp olive oil - divided
- 12 asparagus spears - trimmed of hard white ends, cut into quarters
- 12 large cherry tomatoes - sliced in half
- ¼ tsp salt
- 40 g mixed lettuce leaves - such as rucola, curly leaf, baby chard, mizuna, tatsoi, baby spinach, etc
- 1 burrata ball - sold in containers of brine at supermarkets or tubs at delis
- 3 tbsp basil pesto - optional, homemade or store-bought
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil - or this vinaigrette
- 1 tbsp dukkah
- ¼ tsp cracked black pepper
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Pan-fry the asparagus spears: in a large pan over medium-high, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, heat until shimmering, add the asparagus pieces, leave to pan-fry for a minute, shaking the pan periodically to turn the asparagus. Cook for a few minutes until just-done and still crispy. Transfer to a plate or tray to cool.
- Pan-fry the cherry tomatoes: to the same pan, add the cherry tomato halves, along with a little more olive oil if needed, sprinkle with salt, and pan-fry for a few minutes only, as you did the asparagus, just until the cherry tomatoes start to soften. Transfer to a plate or tray to cool, along with the pan juices.
- While the asparagus and cherry tomatoes are cooling: you could toast enough sourdough or baguette slices to feed your guests, using a pastry brush to brush on some extra virgin olive oil, and begin to assemble the salad by laying the mixed salad leaves out on a large serving plate.
- Assemble the salad: distribute the asparagus pieces across the bed of salad leaves, then the cherry tomato halves on top of those, along with the pan juices. Use a small teaspoon to dollop on the basil pesto. Create a well in the centre of the salad. Drain the burrata over the kitchen sink, tip the ball into hand and gently place it at the centre of the salad.
- Pour the extra virgin olive oil (or vinaigrette if you prefer) over the salad, sprinkle on the dukkah, and grind on some cracked black pepper.
- Serve at the centre of the table and once everyone is seated slice into the burrata so the gooey soft cheese at the centre of the ball oozes out and spread it over the salad.
- Serve with toasted baguette or sourdough slices, and encourage guests to pile the salad and burrata on top of the toast, drizzle on more extra virgin olive oil, and customise as they like with more dukkah, salt and pepper, and fresh basil leaves.
Notes
Nutrition
Pesto lover? Try our recipes for pesto gnocchi with homemade pesto alla Genovese, my basil pesto pasta with potatoes and beans, our pesto spaghetti and meatballs with peas and broccoli, a pesto potato salad, this pan-fried asparagus with pesto hummus, our pesto scrambled eggs, this broccoli pasta with a creamy broccoli pesto sauce, and my Southeast Asian pesto.
Please do let us know in the comments below if you have any questions or feedback if you make our tomato burrata salad recipe. We love hearing how our recipes turn out for you and we reply to every comment.
