Mozza's Pane Pomodoro with Burrata, Prosciutto, Pickled Shallots, and Tomato Vinaigrette

My friend Siobhan gave me this great cookbook for a recent wedding shower (thanks Al, Kara, and Nat for throwing it! And Sha for this great book!) and all of the pictures and recipes looked amazing. Yesterday I flipped through to try to find a good tomato recipe to use up some of my wonderful garden tomatoes from this week. I settled on this one because it sounded so tasty. It takes a lot of little things, but it's worth it! Also, the tomato vinaigrette is amaaaaazing. I just tastes like concentrated tomato. It's the best. And you can't go wrong with burrata. Yum yum. Can't wait to make some more for lunch!

Serves 2 as a main, 4 as an appetizer

For the Shallots
Ingredients:
1/2 pound shallots
1 cup red wine vinegar (she calls for champagne vinegar but I didn't have any)
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 teaspoon peppercorns (she calls for pink, but I used regular)
1 tsp coriander
1 dried bay leaf
1 dried arbol chile

Directions:
Trim the roots of the shallots. Cut them in half lengthwise and peel off the skin. Cut them in half lengthwise again. Combine vinegar, sugar, fennel seeds, peppercorns, coriander, bay leaf, chile, and 1 cup water in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Add the shallots and return the liquid to a boil. Immediately take out the shallots with a slotted spoon, put them on a plate, and put them into the freezer for 15 minutes to cool them.

Repeat the process (bring the liquid back to a boil, drop the shallots in, return to a boil, remove them to the plate, and put them in the freezer for 15 minutes). Bring the liquid back to a boil, drop them in, remove them when it returns to a boil, and let them cool on the plate and let the liquid cool. Once cool, put the shallots in a container and cover with the liquid. Refrigerate until you use them.

For the tomato vinaigrette
Ingredients:
1/2 cup chopped super fresh and ripe tomatoes
3 large basil leaves, torn up by hand
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 pinch sugar
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp sliced parsley

Directions:
Put the tomatoes, basil, vinegar, salt, and sugar in a mini food processor and blend until fairly smooth but with some texture. Put 1/2 of the olive in and blend, then add other half and blend until thick. Stir in the parsley just before serving. (And try not to eat it all right there - it's tempting.)

For the pane pomodoro
Ingredients:
4 very ripe cherry tomatoes, halved
4 1/2 thick slices of Italian bread
extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled
salt
4 slices prosciutto
2 balls of burrata
black pepper
parsley

Directions:
Heat the oven to 350. Liberally drizzle the bread slices with olive oil and bake until lightly browned and crispy, about 15-20 minutes.

Rub the garlic clove all over the tops of the bread slices until you have almost no garlic left. Take the halved cherry tomatoes and rub the pulp of the tomato into the bread until all you have left is skin. Discard the skin. Drizzle olive oil over the bread and salt.

To assemble, drape a slice of prosciutto over the bread. Cut the burrata into slices and put three slices on each toast, spacing evenly. Create a small crater in each portion of burrata and spoon the vinaigrette into each. Fan out some of the pickled shallot over each burrata and top each with a parsley leaf. Sprinkle freshly ground black pepper over the whole thing and serve.