Romaine Salad with Burrata Cheese

As you may remember, I decided to purchase some Burrata - you can read all about what that is in my Burrata: 101 - What is This Cheese All About? post.  I made several dishes and I will be sharing the recipes over the next few weeks.

This first one is a salad.  I eat salads daily - typically one as my lunch and then we almost always serve one with our family dinner. Obviously salads are easy to make and change to what you like to have in them. I included here some of the ingredients I enjoy in my salads - including a little Burrata.

Romaine Salad with Burrata Cheese
Serves 4 as a side salad

10-12 oz of Romaine lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces
3-4 radishes, thinly sliced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
20-24 Kalamata olives, whole (and ideally without pits!)
1/2 cup chopped almonds
Salt and Pepper, to taste
8 oz Burrata cheese (two 4-oz balls), roughly cut into pieces
Good olive oil and balsamic vinegar

Combine the Romaine, radishes, red onions, Kalamata olives, and chopped almonds in a large bowl and toss well.

Add the Burrata cheese along with the salt and pepper.

I don't have amounts of the olive oil and balsamic vinegar because I think it varies by person.  I typically add the oil and vinegar as a 1:1 ratio - adding enough to coat the leaves.  It's important, in my opinion, to use really good olive oil and vinegar when adding it to a salad.  I chose Balanced EVOO and Aged Balsamic Vinegar both from a producer local to Arizona, Queen Creek Olive Mill.

Gently toss the salad and serve immediately.

Burrata: 101 - What is This Cheese All About?

I recently purchased some Burrata to make some dishes and share ideas on ways you can use it too!

First - let's spend some time learning about what this cheese really is, starting with the pronunciation.  "Boo-rata" is the correct way and do you know what is even better?  You get to ROLL the "Rs" in it!  Fun, right?  You can go here and click on the play button to hear it pronounced.

What else is Burrata?  I'll share specific details on how it's made from online sources, but in a nutshell, Burrata is kind of like Ricotta Cheese INSIDE of a shell of Mozzarella Cheese that is formed into a ball  How awesome is that?

So how is it made?  This is a straight up copy/paste from Wikipedia

Burrata starts out much like mozzarella and many other cheeses, with rennet used to curdle the warm milk. But then, unlike other cheeses, fresh mozzarella curds are plunged into hot whey or lightly salted water, kneaded, and pulled to develop the familiar stretchy strings (pasta filata), then shaped in whatever form is desired.

When making burrata, the still-hot cheese is formed into a pouch, which is then filled with scraps of leftover mozzarella and topped off with freshcream before closing. The finished burrata is traditionally wrapped in the leaves of asphodel, tied to form a little brioche-like topknot, and moistened with a little whey. The asphodel leaves should still be green when the cheese is served to indicate the cheese's freshness.^[3] More recently, the cheese is often sold in a plastic bag or container.

When you slice open this delicious-ness, a creamy, rich, yummy center is inside!  

The burrata I purchased was by BelGioioso, if you go to their site, you can find out more about burrata, serving suggestions, recipes, etc. I purchased two 16 oz containers that had four (4 oz) balls in them each.  Everyday grocery stores don't typically carry this.  It can be purchased from specialty markets, cheese shops, or even ask your favorite Italian restaurant owner if he/she can get some for you - that's what I did!  

If you are in the Denver area, you can call my cousin Dino at Valente's Deli to place an order.  Give him 3-4 days to get it for you and when you pick it up, it will give you the perfect excuse to enjoy a homemade canoli for lunch!  Make sure you tell him that The Bubbly Hostess says hello!

There are so many recipes and uses for Burrata - appetizers, pasta dishes, vegetarian dishes, desserts - endless possibilities!  I will share just a sampling of ideas over the next few weeks...until, practicing rolling your "Rs" and saying BURRATA!