This Heirloom Tomato and Burrata Salad Is the Simple Yet Elevated Dish You’ll Serve All Summer Long

“Make this salad with vine-ripened tomatoes. At no other time will they achieve the mystical union of sweetness and acid that makes them irresistible,” Francis Mallmann advises about his heirloom tomato salad with torn burrata, tapenade, and pine nuts. It’s advice that one would do well to heed: Mallmann, the Argentinian celebrity chef and bonafide culinary maestro, has made his career by showcasing fresh-in season ingredients and open-fire cooking. His new cookbook, Green Fire, celebrates both with its abundance of vegetable and fruit-focused recipes—many of which are made over flame.

As Memorial Day fast approaches, Vogue decided to share one of Mallmann’s perfect warm-weather recipes: the aforementioned heirloom tomato salad with burrata. Easy to make yet sure to impress your guests, it’s bound to become a summer staple.

Heirloom Tomato Salad with Torn Burrata, Tapenade, and Pine Nuts

The less you do to cook or manipulate ingredients, the more critical it becomes to use them when they are at their peak of flavor, so make this salad only with vine-ripened tomatoes. At no other time will they achieve the mystical union of sweetness and acid that makes them irresistible. Roughly torn burrata with a nice soft chew in parts and overall luscious creaminess plays off the robust flavor of the tapenade, the crunch of pine nuts and breadcrumbs, and the full, rich flavor of the tomatoes.

Note: Chopping the olives by hand for the tapenade makes for a coarse and interesting texture. Extra tapenade can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Serves 6

For the tapenade

1 cup (155 g) pitted kalamata olives, chopped

2 tablespoons capers, rinsed, dried, and chopped

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1½ teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

½ cup (118 ml) extra-virgin olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

For the salad

6 ripe heirloom tomatoes, one kind or

a variety

1¼ pounds (600 g) burrata cheese,

at room temperature

Crunchy Breadcrumbs

¼ cup pine nuts, toasted

Extra-virgin olive oil

First, make the tapenade. Combine the olives, capers, lemon zest, lemon juice, and thyme in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in the olive oil and season to taste with pepper.

To make the salad, slice the tomatoes into thick rounds and arrange them on a serving platter. Spoon about ¼ cup of the tapenade over the tomatoes. With two hands, tear the burrata apart over the center of the platter and set the pieces down, torn side up. Sprinkle with the breadcrumbs and pine nuts, drizzle with olive oil, and serve.