Peach, Burrata & Aleppo Olive Salad
There is a brief, rather wonderful moment each summer when peaches are exactly as they should be. Heavy in the hand, fragrant before you’ve even cut into them and so ripe that the juice threatens whatever shirt you happen to be wearing.
Peaches are at their best from July to September, and this is a recipe for making the most of them while they are here. There is no cooking and very little preparation. Just good peaches, creamy burrata, salty olives, torn herbs and a dressing that is already sitting waiting for you in the olive jar.
We’ve used Aleppo Olives, along with their Extra Virgin Olive Oil, which has picked up all the warmth of Aleppo chilli and the bright, citrusy character of sumac. Finished with basil, mint and a scattering of chopped Marcona almonds, it is a salad of soft, creamy things punctuated with freshness and crunch.
Peach, Burrata & Aleppo Olive Salad
Serves 2 as a light lunch with good bread or 4 as a side
Ingredients
- 3–4 ripe peaches
- 1 burrata
- A generous handful of Aleppo Olives
- 2–3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil from the olive jar
- A small handful of fresh basil leaves
- A small handful of fresh mint leaves
- A handful of Marcona almonds, roughly chopped
- Freshly ground black pepper
- A little flaky sea salt, if needed
Method
Slice the peaches into generous wedges place them in a mixing bowl.
Spoon over a little of the Extra Virgin Olive Oil from the Aleppo Olive jar and gently turn the peaches through it.
Roughly chop a handful of olives and scatter them amongst the peaches. Tear over the basil and mint leaves, keeping things quite rough and generous.
Arrange the salad on a suitable serving plate.
Drain the burrata and place it in the middle of the plate. Tear it open just before serving so that the creamy centre tumbles into the peaches.
Finish with another spoonful of the spiced olive oil, a generous scattering of roughly chopped Marcona almonds and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Add a little flaky sea salt if it needs it.
Serve immediately, preferably with good bread nearby to deal with the peach juice, burrata and olive oil left at the bottom of the plate.
A jar of olives is also a jar of dressing
The oil surrounding a good jar of olives shouldn't be thought of as something to drain away. It's Extra Virgin Olive Oil that has spent its time absorbing the flavours around it — herbs, spices, chilli, citrus and, of course, the olives themselves.
Here the Aleppo and sumac-infused oil does most of the work. The sweetness comes from the peaches, saltiness from the olives, richness from the burrata, freshness from torn basil and mint, and finally that lovely buttery crunch of Marcona almonds.
Beyond that, there really isn't much more required.
That is rather the point.
