Enjoy this simple yet decadent summer salad with your protein of choice for a delicious, low effort hot weather meal! Sweet cherries, crunchy cucumbers and peppery arugula get tossed in a touch of lemon and salt then topped with creamy burrata and your best olive oil.
P.S. Watch my video on how to make your own “burrata” with just fresh mozzarella and heavy cream!
Ingredient highlight
Cherries! These little stone fruits are packed with vitamin C, fiber, and potassium. The deep red cherries are rich in anthocyanins – a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory phenol.
Servings 4
Prep Time 15 minutes Ingredients
- 3 cups loosely packed arugula
- 1 large cucumber, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced into half moons (about 2 cups)*
- 8 oz cherries (about 1 ½ cups), pitted, halved
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 burrata ball (or see hack)**
- Fresh herbs (basil, mint, and/or parsley), for topping
- Olive oil, for topping
- *I love an English or Persian cucumber because the skin is thinner and less bitter, so you don’t have to peel it off AND the seeds are smaller.
- **Substitute with goat cheese or feta cheese.
- **Burrata hack! That creamy inside of burrata is called "stracciatella" and it is just thin shreds of mozzarella mixed with heavy cream. You can make your own stracciatella by tearing fresh mozzarella into thin pieces/strands and then mix it with enough heavy cream to coat and make it “saucy” like the inside of burrata. Watch the video!
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add the arugula, cucumbers, cherries, lemon, and salt and toss to coat. Transfer to a serving platter or large shallow serving bowl.
- Tear the burrata into pieces and place it on top. Scatter the herbs all over. Finish it off with a generous drizzle of oil, sprinkling of salt, and black pepper.
Items you can prep ahead (optional)
- Halve and thinly slice 1 cucumber (about 2 cups)
- Pit and halve 8 oz cherries (about 1 ½ cups)
Substitutions:
- To make vegan, replace the cheese with avocado chunks sprinkled with salt. Use olive oil in place of butter for the nuts.
- Use any ripe summer fruit in place of the cherries.
- Use any seasonal salad greens.
- Substitute burrata with regular mozzarella (see hack!), goat, or feta cheese.
Storage:
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Leftovers + Repurposing:
- This salad tastes best closer to room temp, but you can eat it cold right out of the fridge. Top it off with a generous squeeze of lemon and a sprinkle of salt.
- Serve with a grilled sausage, grilled chicken or steak, or any other protein!
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