Peach and Burrata Salad with Honey Balsamic Dressing

Why You'll Love This Salad 

There are a million reasons to love this salad but here are my top 3 reasons you must make this burrata peach salad:

• Easy and impressive side dish:  Perfect for a summer dinner party or an easy weeknight dinner salad when it's hot out.
• Seasonal fresh ingredients:  Fresh peaches and basil are some of the best flavors to combine during the summer months.  Add the fresh burrata and you have a home run!
• Simple presentation style:  Use a large serving platter to show off all the fresh produce in this naturally gorgeous salad.

Tips and Tricks

• Make the pickled onions in advance. You can make them up to 7 days in advance and refrigerate them covered, in the vinegar juice. The longer they sit the better they taste!
• Check your local grocery stores or fruit stands for fresh peaches.
• Ripen the peaches on the counter. You want ripe peaches for this salad. If you buy peaches and they are hard, you may need to sit them on the counter for a day or two until they smell sweet and are slightly soft.
• Try growing a basil plant.  If growing fresh herbs is an option for you, I highly recommend it.  Pay for basil once and it will produce for months!  And it tastes so much better when it's fresh-picked.

Growing basil tip: Pinch back the basil at the nodes of the plant to prevent flowering and grow a large basil bush. The more you trim a basil plant the bigger it gets!

Ingredients and Substitutions

Peach and burrata salad:

• Fresh peaches:  You can use either yellow peaches or white peaches for this salad.  Just make sure they are ripe and ready to eat! Love to grill? You can also use grilled peaches for this salad.
• Burrata cheese: Burrata cheese is one of the main ingredients in this fresh fruit salad.  Burrata is a fresh Italian cheese, with an outer casing just like mozzarella cheese with a creamy interior made from heavy cream, ricotta, or mascarpone cheese.  Sometimes it's a combination of all of them.  It's so good when the creamy interior oozes with the peaches. If you've never tried burrata, you're going to love it.  You can find burrata at the fancy cheese counters in your local grocery store or Trader Joes.
• Little Gem Lettuce:  I use the pre-packaged little gem lettuce that is sold by the packaged spinach and arugula.  It's easy and the leaves are cut small so not washing or cutting is necessary.  You can substitute with arugula or butter lettuce if preferred or you can't find little gem lettuce.
• Pickled red onions: recipe follows, or red onion.
• Pistachios or roasted pine nuts: If you have a nut allergy, try using roasted pumpkin seeds.
• Fresh basil leaves: chopped for the salad and dressing, and some whole to garnish
• Flaky sea salt and cracked pepper

Ingredients for the pickled red onions:

These are optional but delicious!  These add a nice sour tang to the salad, complementing the peaches and basil beautifully.

• Red onion
• Red wine vinegar
• Sugar, white
• Dried thyme

Basil balsamic dressing ingredients:

This is such an easy and flavorful salad dressing.  Shake it up in a covered mason jar or blend it in a personal blender.  I combine the ingredients and mix it well, then stir in the chopped basil at the end so the dressing doesn't turn green.

• White balsamic vinegar or white wine vinegar
• Honey
• Dried thyme
• Extra virgin olive oil or regular olive oil
• Fresh basil, chopped
• Kosher salt and black pepper

How to Make This Salad

1. Make the pickled red onions: Combine red wine vinegar, sugar, and thyme in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves.  Slice half of a large red onion into half moons and add to the pot, remove from heat, and let sit for 15-60 minutes.
2. Make the dressing: Combine all the dressing ingredients except fresh basil into a personal blender or mason jar and mix until well incorporated.  Then, stir in the chopped fresh basil. Set aside.
3. Make the salad:  Using a large serving platter, add the lettuce, then top with peaches, burrata, pickled red onions, pistachios, chopped fresh basil, flaky salt, and cracked pepper.  Drizzle dressing on top or serve on the side.  Garnish with fresh basil leaves if desired and serve!

Variations 

• Peach and Tomato Salad:  Add cherry tomatoes to this salad to add more summer flavors.
• Peach and Goat Cheese salad:  Substitute the burrata cheese with goat cheese for a tangier version of this tasty salad.
• Peach and Prosciutto Salad: Add some thinly sliced salty prosciutto to add some more Italian flair.