cute kitchen

Tomato mozzarella salad is delicious, don’t get me wrong. Sweet tomatoes, mild mozzarella and fresh basil – it’s a summer classic. And yet, every time I eat it, I feel like it has so much more potential. There are missing elements, almost too much simplicity to it. So on holiday one Easter on the beautiful German island of Sylt, I decided to step it up a little and make my own version of a simple veg and cheese combo. Here it is. And if I do say so myself, it’s pretty damn awesome. Give it a try. Whack as much flavour as you can into each element. The end result will be a flavour bomb in your mouth. I promise.

(My tip: Prepare all of your elements in the morning or at least an hour before lunch. The capsicum and onion mix are best if they’ve had time to seep in their liquids!) 

Serves 2 for lunch with fresh baguette or sourdough (If you’re in Berlin, the only (!) place to buy bread is from Johann Bäckerei in the Gleditsch Str.)😊

Ingredients (for 2 people)

50g Pine Nuts 

1 Red and 1 Yellow Bell Pepper, thinly sliced

1 Garlic Clove, finely chopped

Olive Oil

White Wine Vinegar

Maple Syrup 

Balsamic

300g Tomatoes

1 Red Onion, finely chopped

1 tsp Chilli Flakes 

2 x Burrata (take out of the fridge and drain of their liquid about 30 minutes before eating. Burrata is always best served at room temperature). 

Lots of fresh Basil Leaves, ripped 

• Take out a pan and toast the pine nuts until they are dark brown and deliciously roasty. Remove and keep on a small plate. 

• Roast tomatoes with a generous drizzle of olive oil, maple syrup and balsamic vinegar over the top. Bake at 150 degrees Celsius for 1 hour. 

• Heat 3 Tbsp olive oil, using the same pan as for the pine nuts, until nice and hot. Add your thinly sliced paprika and garlic. Stir occasionally until the paprika has nicely softened but not lost its shape.

• Add 3 Tbsp white wine vinegar and 1 1/2 Tbsp maple syrup to the pan. Add salt and pepper but not too much, you want the flavouring to be subtle. Give everything a good stir.

• Leave to cook, softly letting the liquid bubble on a medium heat for 1-2 minutes. You want the liquid to thicken up but only a little. 

• Take the capsicum mix off the heat. Tip it into a deep bowl so that it is submersed in the liquid as much as possible. Keep aside while you prep the onions.

• Mix finely chopped onions with 1 Tbsp of white wine vinegar and 1/2 Tbsp maple syrup.

• When ready to serve: Halve the paprika mix and its liquid. Dish out into two bowls. Top each bowl with half of the marinated onions and their liquid. Sprinkle over chilli flakes if using (chilli flakes are very different depending on the brand you use. Only use enough to add a slight hint of spice to the dish. It shouldn’t be overbearingly spicy)! Place a ball of Burrata into the middle of each bowl, drizzle a good tablespoon and a half of excellent olive oil on top. Scatter the roasted tomatoes around the burrata. Sprinkle the pine nuts over both bowls. Rip lots (!!) of fresh basil leaves over the bowl, sprinkle carefully with pink Himalayan salt and a good grinding of pepper. And there you have it! You will NOT be disappointed!!