It would be wrong to start a blog predominately featuring Italian cuisine & not talk about burrata.
What is it? Burrata is an Italian buffalo milk cheese. The outer shell is firm mozzarella, while the interior is creamy stracciatella. The word literally translates into “buttered,” if that gives you an idea of the indulgence that we are talking about. Although it may look like a ball of fresh mozzarella, the two are not to be confused.
Maybe you’ve noticed a recent surge in all things burrata on Instagram? In restaurants? At the grocery store? That’s because we’ve finally discovered something that the Italians have had all along – creamy heaven on a dish.
I have paired fresh burrata with many things (i.e., tomato salad, neapolitan pizza, pasta with pesto), but only recently put it on toast.
To make this Burrata Pesto Bruschetta, I smear my classic pesto sauce on sourdough toasted bread. After adding the fresh burrata, I finish the bruschetta with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil & freshly ground pepper. It truly reaches its fullest potential, though, when the burrata is slit open allowing the creamy filling to spill out.
Having dinner guests? Impress them with this antipasto, which looks a lot fancier than it is difficult to make. In fact, you can prepare the pesto ahead of time and wait to assemble until you are closer to serving time. Just keep in mind that burrata is best served within 48 hours of purchase.
Between this & my obsession with fresh mozzarella, chances are I will turn into a big ball of cheese. I can think of worse things…
- 4 cups Fresh Basil Leaves
- 1 cup Pine Nuts
- 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1/2 cup Pecorino Romano grated cheese
- 1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano grated cheese
- 1 clove Garlic minced
- 3 tbsp Water
- Salt
- Pepper
- 2 slices Sourdough Bread
- 2 Burrata
For the pesto, combine the basil, olive oil, pine nuts, cheese, garlic, water, salt & pepper in a blender OR food processor and combine until smooth.
Drizzle olive oil on sliced sourdough bread & toast in convection oven OR oven broiler for 3-4 minutes.
Smear pesto on toasted bread evenly.
Add burrata on top of each piece of toast.
Finish with freshly ground pepper & drizzle of olive oil.
