Burrata Crostini with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
Five minutes in the oven will turn ordinary cherry tomatoes into an act of love.
And once placed on top of burrata on crusty bread and shoved into your mouth, they can be part of a life-changing experience. You could serve porridge all night afterwards, and everyone would still go home happy, talking about the appetizers.
This is not cooking. This is an assemblage of choice ingredients. Yet because it’s so easy and so good, this recipe warrants a few thank-yous: Thank you to the cows who make the milk that becomes burrata. Thank you to the farmers who raise those cows. Thank you to the olive grove workers who harvest the fruit that gives us the life force of food—olive oil. Thank you God for tomatoes. Thank you to the bakers who wake up before the crack of dawn to make us bread and to the truckers who make sure it gets to our markets fresh. Thank you to all food producers who fervently believe in high quality. Our lives would not taste the same without you.
(Of course, no one who eats these will think about that. They’ll just think you’re a badass!)
Makes 10-12 Crostini
Ingredients
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1⁄4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
1 Tablespoon dried thyme
20 to 30 grinds of the pepper mill
8 ounces burrata
10 to 12 (1/2-inch thick) slices baguette
Directions
Position the oven rack on the second rung from the top. Put the broiler on high and let the oven get hot for at least 5 minutes.
Place the tomatoes on a baking sheet, which can be covered with aluminum foil if desired. Drizzle the tomatoes generously with olive oil, a hearty pinch of salt, a hearty pinch or two of thyme, and the pepper.
Mix the seasoned tomatoes with your hands. Lick your fingers. You want them to taste good even if a bit over salted and “over- herbed” because much of the flavor will burn o in the oven.
Put the sheet in the oven and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, opening the oven at times to give the sheet a shake to roll the tomatoes around. The tomatoes are done when the skins begin to bubble, burst open, and even burn. Let them cool for a couple of minutes before using.
Cut the cheese into thin slices, it will get messy. It’s ok.
Toast the bread on a baking sheet by setting it under the broiler until golden, about a minute. Turn the slices over and toast the other side. Be careful not to let the bread burn.
Assemble the Crostini:
Top each slice of bread with a piece of cheese.
Sprinkle salt.
Place two or three tomatoes on top and crush down gently with a fork.
Drizzle with olive oil.
Pour yourself a glass of cold prosecco.
Eat. Sip. Eat.
Repeat.