Burrata Salad Recipe: Simple, Beautiful, Delicious
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There’s nothing better than creating a beautiful dish that takes little or no effort. That’s how we feel about burrata salad: burrata cheese on top of interesting greens, with a garnish of olive oil and balsamic glaze. It’s great anytime: for a special occasion dinner, for an everyday lunch or the first course of an everyday dinner. Add some crunchy crostini, and it’s heaven. Just buy a burrata and baby greens or frisée, and use the EVOO and balsamic glaze you already have in the pantry. Voilà: a delicious salad with eye appeal (photo #1). Burrata is a “filled” mozzarella, a specialty of the Apulia region of Italy—the “heel of the boot.” The word means “buttery” in Italian. Burrata was formerly imported from Italy, traditionally wrapped in a green leaf and very perishable. If you lived in a major city with a specialty cheese shop, you might find it. But as more importers carried it and American foodies discovered it, it took off with American cheese-makers as well. The result was just as good; and you can now find burrata across America (we buy ours at Trader Joe’s). A hollow ball of buffalo mozzarella (mozzarella di bufala) is filled with panna (panna di latte, a.k.a. straciatella): cream that contains scraps of mozzarella left over from the mozzarella-making. The panna seems like very fine-grained ricotta. Cut into the burrata ball and the cream oozes out. While both buttery and creamy, it is not overly rich—just overly delicious. While burrata seems made to pair with salads, fresh vegetables and fruits, you can enjoy it simply with crostini, or get more creative and add it to pasta dishes. You can’t go wrong with burrata at any time: as a breakfast cheese with toast; for lunch with a salad; as a snack; and at the end of dinner as a cheese course or dessert with berries and other fresh fruits. Take a bite: |
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