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.

Grilled Corn, Tomato and Avocado Salad

We were greeted with a heat wave to kick off the first official days of summer here in California. Are you getting the heat where you are? It seems as though any lingering gloomy weather has disappeared and the heat is here to stay. All of which led me to create this amazingly easy and fresh grilled corn, tomato and avocado salad. These few simple ingredients are transformed into the perfect salad to serve at a BBQ or to keep on hand for an easy lunch or dinner during the summer months. 

I always get so excited when the produce at the farmers market changes with the seasons. I found this fresh white corn at my local farmers market and I love the way it tastes in this dish. It gives it a nice crunch and slight sweetness. You could certainly use fresh yellow corn as well. 

Tomatoes are also a summer staple in our house! There really is nothing like having vine ripe tomatoes to put in a summer salad.

Once I gathered and washed all of the produce, this salad comes together very quickly! I simply grilled the corn for a few minutes so that it got a little char but I didn't cook it all the way so it remained tender and crisp. 

I also had some fresh mozzarella cheese on hand and since I am a big fan of adding cheese to my salads, I just had to add it! Feta cheese would also be amazing. 

What you end up with, is the perfect mix of summer flavors, a nice crunch from the corn and slight creaminess from the avocado and cheese. The best part about this salad is that you can make it ahead of time (add the avocado before serving) and you don't have to heat up the kitchen to make it! 

My husband and I enjoyed this along side some freshly grilled salmon and it was amazing! I also packed up some for a BBQ and put it in my favorite jars. It was not only easy to make and transport, but everyone loved the individual servings! 

I hope you give this recipe a try this summer! 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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Grilled Corn, Tomato and Avocado Salad Recipe
 

Ingredients:

• 4 ears of corn, husked
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 avocados, diced
• 1 cup diced mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped 
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 Tbs. red wine vinegar 
• Maldon salt and fresh cracked pepper 

Directions:

1. Shuck the ears of corn and brush lightly with olive oil. 
2. Grill the corn for about 5-7 minutes, turning often until slightly charred. Cool the corn and cut it from the cobs. 
3. Whisk the olive oil and red wine vinegar in a bowl to blend. 
4. In a medium bowl combine the tomatoes, avocados, and mozzarella cheese with the cooled corn. Add the chopped cilantro. 
5. Pour the olive oil and red wine vinegar dressing over the salad. Sprinkle with freshly cracked pepper and salt to taste. Toss to combine.

Grilled Asparagus and Caprese Salad

Recently I have found myself wanting to cook healthier meals that have simple yet quality ingredients. I think it has something to do with the warmer temperatures and the looming bikini season coming up.  I took all of my current favorite seasonal vegetables and came up with this delicious and simple grilled asparagus and caprese salad. It is perfect for a spring or summer night!  

I found these gorgeous asparagus at my local farmers market that I could not pass up! I like to buy the stalkier asparagus whenever I am grilling them since they hold up better. I started by tossing them in olive oil and sprinkled them with sea salt before grilling for about 6-8 minutes.

While the asparagus were grilling, I prepped the rest of the ingredients. I found a mix of red and yellow cherry tomatoes that I sliced in half and mixed with good olive oil, red wine vinegar, and sea salt.

The next thing I did was finely slice some fresh basil leaves. I absolutely love the smell of fresh basil in the kitchen! It instantly makes me feel like I am in Italy making a fancy meal, even on the most ordinary of week nights. 

Assembling this dish is so incredibly easy. I started with the grilled asparagus as the bottom layer and then added in some feta cheese to the tomato mixture before I poured it on top. You could also use goat cheese, mozzarella, or cotija; these would all be amazing as well. 

The addition of the cheese breaks up all of the veggies and gives it a nice salty flavor. Once you sprinkle the cheese on top, it's time to enjoy it!

My husband and I enjoyed this dish along side grilled chicken but it would be a great side dish to any protein. The best part about grilling dinner is that it makes for super easy cleanup in the kitchen after (score!). 

Cheers to kicking off grilling season and warmer evenings! I would love to know what you think of this recipe, so be sure to comment below or on my Instagram. 

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Grilled Asparagus and Caprese Salad Recipe 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs. fresh asparagus (about 2 bundles)
• 1 pint red and yellow cherry tomatoes 
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chiffonade or thinly sliced
• 2 oz. crumbled feta cheese (or goat cheese, mozzarella or cotija) 
• 4 Tbs. olive oil, divided 
• 1 Tbs. red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp. sea salt, divided
• Freshly cracked black pepper 

Directions:

1. Preheat the grill to 400 degrees. 
2. Wash and dry the asparagus. Remove the tough ends of the asparagus by snapping it at its tender point at the bottom. Drizzle 2 Tbs. of the olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. 
3. Spread the asparagus on the grill and grill for about 6-8 minutes, turning once until they are slightly charred. Remove from the grill and set aside. 
4. In a small bowl whisk 2 Tbs. of the olive oil with the red wine vinegar and 1/2 tsp. sea salt. Slice the tomatoes in half and add to the bowl. Chiffonade or thinly slice the basil and add to the bowl. Stir the mixture completely. 
5. To assemble, place the asparagus on the bottom and top with the tomato and basil mixture (down the center). Top with crumbled feta cheese and sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Serve warm or cold and enjoy!