Blistered Tomato, Burrata & Pesto Flatbread

The warmth of summer is here and I couldn't be happier about it! As sad as I am to see the spring season go, I am looking forward to the easy living the Summer months provide. We recently added a golden retriever puppy to our family, so in between keeping up with her and our work schedules, I am always looking for simple yet delicious dinner ideas. This recipe was inspired by my recent trip to our farmer's market where I was so excited to see the most beautiful tomatoes and bundles of fresh basil. This blistered tomato, burrata and pesto flatbread comes together in minutes and is loaded with amazing flavor. 

When you use quality ingredients, you don't need to add a lot to them. I used a mix of fresh cherry tomatoes, sliced shallots and drizzled them with olive oil and Maldon sea salt. If you are making this for a party, you could do this step ahead of time and then just reheat them right before placing them on the flatbread.

I blended up a fresh batch of pesto for this recipe but you could certainly use a jar of store bought pesto. I could eat it by the spoonful ;)

The smell you get from the blistered tomatoes is amazing! It always reminds me of when I'm shopping in a William Sonoma store. Have you ever noticed how amazing it always smells in that store?

Assembling the flatbread is so simple. I spread a few spoonfuls of the pesto on top of the flatbread, added torn pieces of the burrata cheese, and topped it with the blistered tomatoes. For a little kick, I also added a few red pepper flakes. I can't even tell you how incredible this flavor combination is! 

This flatbread is perfect as an appetizer for a summer party or it makes for an amazing easy dinner served along side a summer salad. It can also easily be altered to fit any dietary restrictions with a gluten free crust, dairy free cheese, etc.  

I hope you add this recipe to your summer menu! I would love to hear what some of your favorite summer recipes are, so be sure to comment below or on my Instagram :)

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Blistered Tomato, Burrata & Pesto Flatbread Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 flatbread OR 1/2 pound pizza dough
• 2 cups fresh burrata cheese, torn into pieces
• 1/2 cup pesto 
• 1 cup blistered cherry tomatoes
• Maldon sea salt
• cracked black pepper
• crushed red pepper flakes to garnish

Blistered Tomatoes:

• 1 cup cheery tomatoes
• 1 small shallot, thinly sliced
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• Maldon sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the broiler. In a medium baking dish, toss the cherry tomatoes, shallot and olive oil and season with Maldon sea salt and cracked black pepper. Place under the broiler for about 5 minutes, or until the tomatoes pop and are lightly brown. 
2. Preheat the oven to 400 (450 degrees for pizza dough) degrees. Place the flatbread on a baking sheet and lightly brush olive oil on top. Bake for 3-5 minutes (for pizza dough 8-12 minutes) till golden. Remove from oven and top with pesto and torn fresh burrata cheese. Let the burrata melt (can place back in the oven for a minute to speed up the process) before topping with the blistered tomatoes. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper flakes (optional). Slice and enjoy! 

Avocado Pesto "Pasta" with Blistered Tomatoes

There is nothing quite like a warm Spring day! We have been having a few of them lately here in California (don't worry- we have rain in the forecast all week), so we have been soaking it up. The warmer weather makes me want to swap out soups and stews for some lighter meals. That's what lead me to create this amazing avocado pesto "pasta" with blistered tomatoes. It is so light yet creamy and it's perfect on its own or next to some grilled chicken or salmon. It also comes together in minutes making it the perfect weeknight meal. I hope you make this one of your go-to dishes this Spring and throughout the Summer months ahead. 

Have you ever spiralized zucchini to create zucchini "noodles"? That's probably a silly question since it's been a food craze for a while. But, I have to admit this was my first time trying it. And now, I get all the hype! They were the perfect "noodle" for this dish since the avocado pesto perfectly coats them. You could certainly use regular pasta noodles in this dish (I won't judge)! 

I used my Vitamix blender to make the pesto sauce and it worked great! You could also use a food processor as well. If you find that your sauce is too thick for your taste, you can always add an extra drizzle of olive oil and/or lemon juice to thin it out a bit. Or, if you are using regular pasta noodles, you could add some of the cooking water to the sauce. 

The blistered tomatoes not only give this dish a nice color, but they also add a slight sweetness! 

To plate this dish, I simply tossed the zucchini noodles with the sauce and piled it on the plate with the blistered tomatoes. To finish it off, I grated some fresh parmesan cheese on top and it is perfection! You could also add some fresh cracked pepper and salt to taste.

I hope you give this recipe a try and love it as much as we do! As always, feel free to leave any questions or comments below or on my Instagram :)

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Avocado Pesto "Pasta" with Blistered Tomatoes Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2-4 zucchini, spiralized (2 large or 4 small)
• 3 cups red and yellow mini tomatoes
• Freshly grated parmesan cheese for topping

Avocado Pesto:

• 1 large bunch basil, washed
• 2 ripe avocados
• 3 green onions (green parts)
• ½ cup unsalted walnuts
• 2 Tbs. lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic
• ½ tsp. sea salt
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• Freshly ground pepper to taste 

Directions:

1. Put all of the pesto ingredients into a blender or food processor and pulse until smooth. Set aside.

2. Heat the cherry tomatoes with a drizzle of olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Gently shake the pan to get them moving. Continue cooking until the tomatoes are roasty and the skins are split or loosened. Remove from heat and set aside.

3. Bring a separate pan to medium high heat with a drizzle of olive oil. Add the spiralized zucchini. Toss for 1-2 minutes, until tender-crisp. Remove the pan from the heat and combine the zucchini with the pesto sauce. Toss until combined. Season with salt and pepper, top with tomatoes and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

Note: I am on the conservative side with garlic, so if you like your garlic flavor strong, add an extra clove or two.