Charred Truss Tomato Salad with Stracciatella

Classic pairings of truss tomato with Stracciatella di Buffalo mingled with a deliciously fresh basil and mint pesto. Stunning to serve and easy to make. Pretty good, hey?

Why I Love Charred Truss Tomato Salad with Stracciatella

Less is more when you have quality fresh ingredients that harmonise well together.

Adding a couple tweaks is generally all it needs. Plus I adore easy to make salads that can be fantastic for lazy lunches or entertaining the masses.

The striking red hues of truss tomato against the milky white stracciatella di bufala with fresh green basil mint pesto dotted throughout creates a stunning dish in the middle of the table.

Plus the flavours…well, they truly speak for themselves when you try!

What is Truss Tomato?

I love seeing tomatoes, this humble fruit, in season at the local greengrocer. So many beautiful colours, shapes and sizes. Red, orange, yellow, green and even black tomatoes.

No longer are the days where we just get the good ol’ round, red ones. There are literally thousands of tomato varieties cultivated across the globe.

Truss tomato is a very popular variety of tomato. They are nutritious and bursting with intense flavour. Grown in clusters on a stem, truss tomatoes are harvested on the vine.

By keeping them on the vine, truss tomatoes will continue to ripen and sweeten ensuring they are at their best when you are ready to use them.

Favourite Salad Pairings With Truss Tomato

A couple of my favourite salad pairings with truss tomato is basil and mozzarella.

By having quality fresh produce, you don’t need much to make them shine. Just like the classic Caprese salad – the simple salad recipe showcases these fresh ingredients so well. And because of this, I decided to create a truss tomato recipe inspired by these classic pairings.

Charred truss tomato to bring out the sweetness combined with creamy stracciatella di bufala and to finish with a fresh and nutty basil and mint pesto.

Good quality ingredients mingled into a simple gluten free salad recipe.

What Is Stracciatella Di Bufala?

As the name suggests, stracciatella di bufala is a soft Italian cheese traditionally produced from buffalo milk.

A silky texture, stracciatella di bufala is composed of small shreds of stretched mozzarella bathed in cream. The flavours are deliciously creamy and uber buttery.

Stracciatella di bufala is also used to make burrata cheese. Basically when you burst the burrata balloon, milky stracciatella di bufala oozes out.

I love stracciatella di bufala and burrata. They are both up there in my top 5 favourite cheeses. Can be used in many tasty traditional Italian dishes like fresh pasta, risotto, pizza and bruschetta.

But there are some fun ways to include this mouthwatering soft cheese including pairing with truss tomato, charred grapes or caramelised fennel. Apparently, you can even make stracciatella gelato!

If stracciatella di bufala is not available at your local deli or supermarket, you can use burrata or buffalo mozzarella in this gluten free salad. Tear the burrata or buffalo mozzarella apart when serving.

This cheese also goes so well with carrots such as our roasted maple carrots with stracciatella cheese.

What Type Of Cheese to Use In Salads?

Stracciatella di bufala is a fantastic cheese in salads. Its delicate creamy texture adds another level of interest but also serves as a perfect base for a multitude of salad dressing flavours.

What other types of cheese in salads are good? Balance is the key. If you need to create a savoury bite, try a crumbly feta like our Yellow Watermelon and Feta Salad or salty halloumi in our Pearl Couscous, Halloumi and Pomegranate .

For pungent flavour, give blue cheese a try in our Pear And Rocket Salad With Provoleta Blue Cheese.

Finally, parmesan is always a favourite. We love it in our Parmesan Chipotle Corn Salad With Black Beans.

Instructions

Step by step instructions for how to make charred truss tomato salad:

How to Make Basil and Mint Pesto

To be honest, as much as I enjoy pesto, I’ve never made my own. Not sure why but I really should have done it earlier! It’s so simple, and you can create your own version tailored to your tastes.

There are 5 key ingredients in a classic pesto – basil, pine nuts, parmesan, garlic and olive oil, but the ratios can be tweaked, and of course, you can add your own twists.

As the basil and mint pesto in this truss tomato salad would act as a salad dressing, I didn’t want it to be too gluggy.

I preferred a more silky, thinner consistency. And I felt the extra hit of mint and lemon juice would add another layer of freshness.

Of course, alter the ratios as you please – for more garlicky flavour add more garlic, don’t like the zing, omit the lemon juice etc. And for a nut free version, swap the pine nuts for sunflower seeds.

Remove basil from the stem to yield 1 ½ cups. Repeat with mint to yield ½ cup.

Wash basil and mint leaves. Shake dry. Add basil and mint leaves and pine nuts to a food processor or hand blender. Pulse several times.

Add grated parmesan cheese and garlic to the mixture, scrape down the sides and continue to blend for approximately 1 minute.

While the food processor is running, slowly add the extra virgin olive oil in a steady stream. Blend until a smooth mixture. By gradually adding the oil, you create an emulsion with the ingredients and less likely to separate later.

Remove the lid and add lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Pulse a couple more times.

Taste and adjust flavours as required. If you find it a bit gluggy, add a little more extra virgin olive oil.

Remove basil mint pesto from the food processor/hand blender and set aside for assembly.

You can easily make a double batch of basil mint pesto and keep any leftovers for other dishes. Mine stored for another week in the fridge. Great for an easy pasta stir through plus I loved it on my crusty toast and poached eggs.

How to Grill Truss Tomato

Heat a large frypan over medium to high heat. Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil to the large fry pan.

When hot, place the truss tomato, season with sea salt and fry for about 3 minutes or until the truss tomatoes start to blister. Remove from heat.

If you can’t find truss tomatoes, you can substitute with cherry tomatoes.

Remove basil leaves from the stem to yield ½ cup for the salad. Give it a good wash. Set aside for assembly.

How to Assemble Truss Tomato Salad

Using a large serving plate, scoop out the creamy stracciatella di bufala and layer on the bottom of the plate. Place charred truss tomatoes on one side of the dish. Scatter basil leaves on top of charred truss tomato and stracciatella di bufala.

When ready to serve, drizzle basil and mint pesto over charred truss tomato and stracciatella di bufala. Have extra basil and mint pesto on the side for guests to spread over their toasted bread.

A final drizzle some extra virgin olive oil over truss tomato salad.

Serve with warm toasted sourdough or your favourite loaf.

Good food doesn’t have to be stressful. This Charred Truss Tomato Salad with Stracciatella di Bufala and Basil Mint Pesto is a perfect example of this. Try it yourself and let us know.