Michael and I have a small herb garden on our deck that we love using throughout the summer. This year we picked up an emerald towers basil plant from our favorite local farmer's market, and it has gone CRAZY. I've been making lots of fresh bruschetta, and I think this salad is my new favorite way to eat it. I tossed arugula with a simple vinaigrette and topped it with a quick grilled and marinated skirt steak, fresh bruschetta, homemade croutons, and creamy burrata. It's fresh, light, and comes together in around 30 minutes (and without the stove!).

This bruschetta and burrata steak salad has five main components, but they're all quick and easy. Promise.

Arugula Salad
Arugula is actually an herb, and it has a signature bitter, spicy flavor that pairs perfectly with the sweet flavors in the dressing and bruschetta. We don't recommend any substitutes because it's just so dang good. It's tossed with a simple dressing that contains olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, honey, salt, and pepper.
Fresh Bruschetta
Most bruschetta recipes are pretty similar. This one is no different, but I've tried to keep it simple. You just have to combine chopped cherry tomatoes, ribboned basil leaves, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper. No cooking necessary. It's seriously so light and refreshing.
Homemade Croutons
You could buy croutons for this, but don't. Making them at home is SO easy, and they're SO MUCH BETTER. I bought two crusty dinner rolls from Lidl, but any crusty bread works. Cut it into big, messy chunks, then toss with olive oil, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and salt. Throw them onto a baking sheet, pop them into the oven for 10 minutes, and that's it. The croutons replace the toasted bread that bruschetta is traditionally served with, and take away some of the guilt (maybe. That's for you to decide).
Marinated Skirt Steak
Skirt steak isn't the most tender cut of meat, but it's super flavorful and great for grilling. I marinated ours in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper for about an hour prior to cooking and it was full of summer flavor and paired great with the light salad and bruschetta. If you're not a beef fan, this dish would be great with grilled chicken too.
Burrata
Burrata is a cheese similar to mozzarella, but it's filled with cream, which gives it a gooey, almost runny center. It's perfect on the side of this salad plate, and I love dunking every bite into the creamy center. Burrata seems to be hard to find--Trader Joe's and some Safeways carry it, but it's not widely available elsewhere. If you can't find it, mozzarella would be a good substitute--it just won't have the creamy center.

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