What to do when you get gloomy about the state of the world?
I don't really want to turn this food blog into a political space but for me, reading the news this summer has triggered an emotional rollercoaster of giddy highs and depressive lows, leaving behind a gloom that's proving hard to shake. It's becoming difficult to muster more than a tired sigh every time I read a new headline. What to do?
I couldn't exactly head to the arrivals gate at Heathrow airport, but I still went down a British route and buried myself the Great British Bake Off, because, if that tent were a real place I could live, it would be where I choose to spend the next three months, wrapped in a cozy blanket of meringue, butter, and bad puns.
Unfortunately, I blew through all 6 seasons in an astonishingly short time, so instead of cuddling up with Paul and Mary and oregaaahno and pidda breads, I have to use other sources of comfort. There really is only so much rose a person can drink by herself and not cause another set of problems entirely, so I turned instead to another thing that always cheers me up, colorful food! It never fails to make me happy, and so I built myself a giant salad mountain of strawberries and watermelon and put some burrata on it because emotional distress is never not helped by a too-large serving of dairy, amirite?
This salad is super easy to throw together, full of juicy, ripe summer fruit (seriously, this is a juicy salad), topped with delicious things like basil and pine nuts, and most importantly, vibrant enough to shine a little sun on a dark mood. I'll take seconds, please.
Strawberry, Watermelon, and Burrata Salad
Makes 2-4 servings
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tbs balsamic vinegar
- fresh ground pepper
- sea salt
- 1 lb strawberries, hulled and sliced
- 3 cups watermelon, diced small
- 2 cups arugula
- 8 oz burrata
- 3 tbs basil, chiffonaded or torn
- 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
- baguette slices, for serving
- maldon salt or other flaky sea salt
- In a large bowl, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, pepper and salt to taste. Add the arugula, 2 cups of the strawberries, and 2 cups watermelon, and toss to coat.
- Divide desired amount of salad mixture among serving bowls and top with remaining strawberries and watermelon.
- Top each bowl with a portion of burrata, sprinkle with the pine nuts and basil, then drizzle with more dressing and garnish with flaky sea salt and more fresh ground pepper.
- Toast the baguette slices and serve.