BURRATA NIGHT

Burrata Night has always been a pretty popular request at my house. You present each guest with one burrata and lots of side dishes. By allowing everyone to compose their own plate, everybody leaves satisfied. You can get creative and interchange the vegetables based on what’s in season, I’m just using what I found at my local market. As a vegetarian, I find that roasting vegetables brings out the best flavors and I’ve never gotten a complaint from any of my meat-eating friends.  Using prosciutto helps me avoid cooking meat, which I’m fairly unfamiliar with. I like to serve it all with olive oil, fleur de sel, fresh black pepper, homemade balsamic reduction, and delicious crusty bread to soak it all up. A good red wine doesn’t hurt either.  If you have a BBQ, feel free to grill instead of roasting, but here are the oven instructions for those of you without. I’ve arranged them according to ideal prep+cook time, all together should take you about two hours. Serves four.

Shopping List

4 BURRATA

10 SLICES PROSCIUTTO

2 LARGE ONIONS

2 RED BELL PEPPERS

2 SMALL ZUCCHINI

1 EGGPLANT

1 LARGE HEIRLOOM TOMATO

CHERRY TOMATOES ON VINE

3 CUPS CHANTERELLE MUSHROOMS

STRAWBERRIES

MACHE SALAD

BASIL

THYME

BALSAMIC VINEGAR

OLIVE OIL

GOOD CRUSTY BREAD, LIKE BAGUETTE

GOOD RED WINE

  

Roasted Bell Peppers

Preheat oven to 450°F.  Place bell peppers on a lined baking sheet and roast until skin starts to blacken, turning once or twice to make sure all sides roast evenly. When ready, place bell peppers in a paper bag and allow to cool. The steam will make it easier to remove the skin.  When cool enough to handle, remove stems, seeds, and skin and slice lengthwise.

Zucchini

Cut zucchini into long spears and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper and allow to roast with bell peppers at 450°F for 20 minutes or until golden.

Eggplant

While the peppers and zucchini are in the oven, slice the eggplant in half lengthwise. Cut a deep grid into each half diagonally, being careful not to pierce the skin. Open the cuts and sprinkle salt into them, then set aside for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven heat to 400°F.  Pour about a tablespoon of olive oil onto each half, sprinkle with thyme and place facedown on a lined baking sheet.  Roast for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of your eggplant. The bottom should be soft and caramelized.

Balsamic Reduction

In a small saucepan, bring one cup of balsamic vinegar to a boil.  Turn heat to low, and allow to reduce for about ten minutes. You should be able to coat a spoon with the liquid, but do not overcook, it will thicken as it cools.

Caramelized Onions

Halve the onions and slice cross-wise.  Heat up a few tablespoons of olive oil in a pan over medium heat, add onions, and stir until golden. I like to add about two “shots” of water into the pan about five minutes into it and let it cook off. I find that it softens the onions and gives them a beautiful golden color. Keep 1/3 of the onions in the pan, transfer rest to bowl.

Wild Mushrooms

Add the chanterelles into the pan with the remaining 1/3 of onions, adding a few more tablespoons of oil. Sautee over medium heat until golden, about ten minutes.

Tomatoes

Slice the heirloom crosswise and arrange on a plate with basil leaves. Lay the cherry tomatoes over the top, drizzle with olive oil.

Strawberries, Prosciutto, and Mache

Arrange each ingredient in it’s own bowl or plate and serve.

all photos by Olivia da Costa for Sous Style