bruschetta toast with peaches, prosciutto, and burrata

hi friends!

greetings from me in my bed where i’m still mostly horizontal but have the oomph to raise my head just so to sip my coffee and not spill all over the sheets. i have the day off from my job-job (surprise! I don’t actually get to play with food all day) and things don’t generally get rolling until ~ 9am around here. i’m a reformed anti-relaxer, in that i used to be so atrocious at relaxing that in a former life, i would still wake up around 5am even on my days off because i’d be panicked about ‘missing the day.’ it was gently pointed out to me that there’s nothing to be missed by actually letting your body rest (??? what a concept?) and that the most of the world also collectively agreed things don’t begin to unfurl until at least 7am. it’s been a weird process re-wiring my brain from the gym job days and allowing my head and heart to calm the f down and actually let myself get all the dang rest i need.

this was a very roundabout way of me getting to this past weekend, where i had the rare delight of having the bed and the apartment to myself as my manpanion was out of town. the rest was ample and i woke up at a complete diagonal in our vast sea of a king size bed and i truly felt like i was waking from a 100 year sleep. i went rogue and no-alarmed it on sunday, and still managed to make my way to the farmer’s market here in arlington and wow wow wow, what an overwhelming thrill, friends. rows and piles of bright orange and green heirloom tomatoes, stacks of shiny blackberries, cantaloupes sliced in quarter moons with their buttery coral flesh scenting the tent, bushels of basil and kale tied neatly into big bunches. it was summer showing off the literal fruits of her labor, and it was like candyland for me. i gathered a basket of rainbowed grape tomatoes, baby eggplants to grill, a crusty loaf of sourdough for buttering and toasting, waxy yellow zucchinis, and a little tray of figs i absolutely could not pass up. goodies on goodies on goodies.

from those goodies we get bruschetta toast with peaches, prosciutto, and burrata and YES IT IS everything you want and need. for snacking purposes, for these thick, hazy summer days. we’re marinating the tomatoes with balsamic and fresh basil, layering our crusty bread with salty, thin prosciutto, adding some peach slices for peak summery sweetness, and tucking in some soft, creamy burrata to help soak up the tomatoes. it’s simple, it’s heaven, it’s what we want and deserve.

a few things before we get started:

- this sweet little snack practically SING SCREAMS summer. it’s the freshest of fresh with tomatoes, basil, juicy peaches, and some burrata and prosciutto to round things out. truly the earth delivering all the fruits of her bounty to us in one crunchy, tangy, sweet, buttery bite
- if you want to prep any part of this ahead, the bruschetta tomatoes will be more and more delicious the longer they sit. marinate those cuties and do your thing
- definitely recommend using all parts of this recipe, however, if a nectarine or plum looks particularly beautiful, you can swap that for the peach
- do yourself the absolute pleasure of buying the nice burrata. it makes all the difference here
- these would be great/cute on a baguette in more miniature if that’s your style

bruschetta toast with peaches, prosciutto, and burrata
makes: 4 toasts
prep time: 5 mintues
cook time: 5-10 minutes

4 slices of crusty bread; i used a round loaf of sourdough
1c grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 peach, sliced
8 slices of prosciutto
1 ball of burrata, gently torn into smaller pieces
1 1/2tbsp olive oil
1tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2c fresh basil, chopped
1/2tsp salt
1/2tsp black pepper
1tbsp butter or ghee

mix the tomatoes with the oil, balsamic, basil, and spices in a bowl and set aside.

while the tomatoes marinate, heat the butter in a large pan over medium heat. toast the bread on each side until golden and starting to crisp (alternately, you can toast the bread. i do not have space for a toaster in my tiny apartment, so old school it is.)

once the bread is toasted, layer the prosciutto, peaches, and burrata pieces on first. then top each toast with the bruschetta mixture. i like to drizzle any remaining marinade over each piece.