As summer draws to a close, it dawned on me that every summer I tend to become obsessed with a different salad:
- One year, it was strawberries, avocado, and goat cheese over baby spinach with a lemony poppy seed dressing
- Another year, I constantly made Caprese salad, with fresh mozzarella and Roma tomatoes in lots of different ways
- Two summers ago, I couldn’t get enough of my refreshing watermelon and feta salad with red onion over mixed baby greens
- Last summer, it was an unusual Cantaloupe salad with Point Reyes blue cheese
This summer, I’ve been obsessed with Burrata – specifically the wondrous Basil Burrata produced by my pal Zack Gadberry, the cheesemaker and owner of UAV (Uno Alla Volta).
If you are fortunate enough to be able to get fresh Burrata, you have got to try this luscious summer salad.
We always eat our salads as our second course, and this jewel combines the sweetness of end of summer peaches (and nectarines, if you can still find them) with the crunch of the licorice flavored fennel, the slight bite of shallots that have been soaked in water, and the lush creaminess of a well-made Burrata. Heavenly!
But first I want to clear up some mis-conceptions about Burrata.
I’ve read articles that claim that Burrata is just a Mozzarella ball with ricotta inside.
That overly simplistic description really doesn’t do justice to Burrata’s complexity and completely ignores the fact that the creamy goodness is stracciatella, and not ricotta!
Zack tells me that the whole process takes about three days. It takes him about two days to make the mozzarella curd for the skin of the burrata.
Once the mozz curd is made, Zack makes the stracciatella by mixing fresh mozzarella and cream. At this point he adds either fresh basil or chilis, depending on which kind of burrata he is making.
Then, he heats the mozz curd in salt water like he’s making fresh mozzarella, but instead of stretching the mozz curd into balls, he breaks it into small chunks. He then stretches those chunks into sheets, ladles in the filing, shapes it into the Burrata “coin purse ” shape, and pinches it shut so that all the delicious creamy stracciatella filling is sealed inside. Once he has all the components ready, Zack says he can make about 5 Burrata in a minute!
Anyway, I digress . . . back to my salad!
Gather all your ingredients, and work in roughly the following order:
- Take your burrata out of the fridge, so that it is at room temperature.
- Soak your sliced shallots in cold water to soften their bite.
- Core and thinly slice the fennel. Depending on the size of the fennel bulbs, you may only need one, or you may need two or three if they are tiny.
- If you are using pine nuts, toast them in a small skillet for a few minutes, but don’t let them burn.
- Zest and juice one lemon and one lime.
- Wash the lettuce or other salad greens you are using, and spin them dry.
- Last, but not least, peel, pit, and slice your peaches. Feel free to substitute a nectarine for one of the peaches if good nectarines are still available. Put the juice of half of a lemon over them so that they don’t brown while you are making your dressing and assembling the salad.
I make my dressing using the remaining half of the lemon juice, the lime juice, the lemon and lime zest, the optional peach balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and citrus olive oil. I dress my greens in a large bowl, and then apportion the greens on the individual salad plates. There should be a fair amount of dressing remaining in the bottom of the bowl. The peaches, nectarines, shallots, and fennel go in the bowl next, and get gently tossed with the dressing before topping the greens.
Last, but not least, I put my room temperature burrata in the bottom of the now empty bowl that is still glistening with dressing.
I slice into the burrata, letting the stracciatella ooze into the small amount of dressing still in the bowl . . .
Then, I quarter the burrata, and place about a quarter of the mozzarella shell and the stracciatella on top of each salad.
If you are using pine nuts, sprinkle on the toasted pine nuts and serve the salad to your adoring guests!
In my area of South Carolina, we can still get gorgeous peaches through most of the month of September, so I fully intend to make this salad again before they are gone.
Please give it a try!
- 1 ball of burrata in water (water drained and burrata at room temperature) - my favorite is basil burrata
- 2 shallots, thinly sliced and soaked in cold water
- ½ cup pine nuts (optional)
- 1-3 fennel bulbs (depending on size), cored, and sliced
- 3 peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced (please note: if you can still find nectarines, substitute a nectarine for one of the peaches)
- 1 lime, zested and juiced
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- 1-2 teaspoons peach balsamic vinegar (optional)
- Citrus olive oil (roughly ⅓ cup, depending on your volume of greens)
- Salad greens
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- Take the burrata out of the fridge so that it warms up to room temperature
- Put the shallots in a small bowl of cold water.
- If you are using pine nuts, toast them in a small (don't let them burn!)
- Assemble your other ingredients. Use half of the lemon juice on the peaches to keep them from browning.
- Make the dressing using the balance of the lemon juice, the lime juice, the zest from the lemon and the lime, the optional peach balsamic, the citrus olive oil, salt, and pepper,
- Toss the cleaned and spun salad greens with the dressing, and then apportion on chilled salad plates.
- There should still be dressing in the bottom of the bowl once the greens are gone. Drain the shallots that have been soaking in water, and put them in the now empty salad bowl, along with the fennel, and peaches (and nectarines); toss gently and add a little more salt and pepper.
- Apportion the peach/fennel mixture over the greens.
- Drain the burrata, and carefully place it at the bottom of the now empty bowl. Quarter it, and then apportion it over the peach/fennel mixture.
- Top the burrata with the optional toasted pine nuts and serve.
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