Creamy Burrata with Minty Pea Pesto is a melange of textures, flavors and colors. Once you cut into the creamy interior of the cheese, you’ll be mesmerized.
While dining out on Boston’s Atlantic Wharf, we recently sampled a cool and creamy burrata appetizer and were instantly inspired to feature the delectable cheese. For anyone unfamiliar with burrata, it’s a mild, buffalo milk cheese from Puglia, similar to the ever popular fresh mozzarella but filled with cream. It means “buttered” in Italian which is only appropriate when you cut into the outer shell to reveal a creamy, oozy interior.
While in Boston, we enjoyed balls of burrata with a chilled pea puree, and opted to merge these ingredients into a burrata, pea and mint pesto bruschetta. The cascading cheese spread atop toasted baguette slices is the perfect alfresco appetizer. The creamy pool swirls with the vibrant green pesto and the pea polka dots just dance off the platter.
Burrata with Minty Pea Pesto Bruschetta
- Total Time: 15 mins
- Yield: 6-8 1x
Description
Burrata is a mild, buffalo milk cheese from Puglia, similar to the ever popular fresh mozzarella but filled with cream.
Ingredients
- 1 baguette cut into 1/4-inch slices
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 8 oz. burrata ball
- 2 c fresh peas, plus an extra 1/4 c
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/3 c pine nuts
- juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 1/3 c Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
- 2 T chopped fresh mint
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper throughout
Instructions
- Preheat oven or grill to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Brush both sides of the sliced baguette with extra virgin olive oil and set on top a grill or in an oven until golden brown, about 3-5 minutes per side.
- Meanwhile, submerge the peas in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and let cool. Add the 2 cups of peas, garlic, pine nuts, lemon, Parmigiano Reggiano and mint to a food processor and puree until coarse. Stream in the extra virgin olive oil until smooth (add more extra virgin olive oil if not smooth enough). Season with salt and pepper.
- Spoon a pool of the pea puree onto a serving place. Top with with the burrata cheese ball. Pour over more pea pesto, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper. Garnish with the 1/4 cup of peas and any flowers you may have in your garden. Serve spread atop the toasted baguette.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Category: Appetiser
- Method: Blending
- Cuisine: Italian
