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Burrata Cheese with Fresh Pesto Drizzle
Burrata cheese is the Rolls Royce of fresh mozzarella. The soft, creamy cheese is basically mozzarella stuffed with mozzarella curd and heavy cream. It has an unbelievably milk-sweet flavor. If it's too hard to find, just drizzle the pesto over goat cheese to mimic Burrata's spreadable softness.
Yield: 8 servings
Pesto
2 cups basil leaves, lightly packed
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
3 garlic cloves
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
Assembly
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt
16 ounces Burrata cheese
1 cup yellow and red grape or cherry tomatoes, cut in half
Basil sprigs
Baguette, sliced
To make the pesto: Combine the basil, pine nuts, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is finely chopped. Add the olive oil and roughly puree. Season the pesto with salt. (Can be prepared up to 4 days ahead. Transfer the pesto to a small container and cover with plastic wrap, pressed directly onto the pesto; refrigerate.)
To assemble the dish: Combine 1/2 cup of the pesto with the olive oil in a small bowl. This with 2 to 4 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Season with salt.
Drain the Burrata, if necessary, and place in a dish. Gently break open the cheese and drizzle it with the pesto mixture. Surround it decoratively with tomatoes. Sprinkle with sea salt, garnish with basil sprigs, and serve with sliced baguette.
Other ideas
You can also use this pesto on pasta, diluted with a bit of heavy cream, or spread it on toast and top with a fried egg, sliced tomato, and Parmesan cheese.
This recipe may be reproduced with the following credit:
Recipe from BLUE EGGS AND YELLOW TOMATOES: Recipes from a Modern Kitchen Garden by Jeanne Kelley
(Running Press; March 2008; $35.00/hardcover)
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