Burrata - fresh mozzarella stuffed with "rags" of mozzarella and heavy cream. It is a regional speciality in Italy, from the area around Bari. It is always served raw, cool, but not too cold, so all the wonderful delicate creamy, sweet, sour, and earthy flavors come through.
Keep it simple!
In a salad: Burrata on freshly made chilled tomato sauce, over arugula dressed with olive oil.
I make the tomato sauce with olive oil heated gently with garlic and red pepper flakes. Then I add crushed Italian tomatoes and finish with fresh basil, and sea salt.
On bruschetta, with high quality olive oil, sea salt and fresh ground pepper.
A combination I heard about from Valentino restaurateur, Piero Selvaggio. He says he likes his burrata topped with caviar.
So...I gave that a try. Here the burrata is topped with ikura (salmon roe). It was fabulous!
We had a great time learning how to make fresh mozzarella and burrata while attending the Cal Poly Farmstead Cheesemaker course which I highly recommend for those with a passion for cheese.
Burrata tip: use a serrated knife to cut the ball into quarters.
POST post 11/18:
A Burrata Bonus - Burrata Four Ways!
After posting about this delicious cheese, we went to dinner at Melisse Restaurant in Santa Monica. Chef Josiah had burrata on the menu...his was heavenly, topped with an ethereal basil foam.
