WhitsAmuseBouche

January 7, 2013

Homemade Burrata

So I am back from Mexico and you’d think I’d be all “New Year, just got back from vacation, new diet!” But it’s more like “I am back from vacation therefore, CHEESE.”

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And lucky for you and I both, I know a guy.  His name is Frank Bonanno, and yes, you’ve probably heard of him before.  He’s a renowned Denver restauranteur with a pension for cured meats and cheeses, and he has a new icookbook out.

I had the great pleasure of joining him for dinner to sample some of the recipes from this icookbook, The Luca D’Italia Cookbook and it focuses on approachable family style italian food of restaurant quality.  It’s a really unique format, with over 2 hours of instructional video and countless recipes to feed a hungry crowd.  I really can’t tell you how easy these recipes are.  While they may call for some unusual ingredients, Frank’s step-by-step approach can turn any of you into a cheese monger. While you’ll probably see a lot more recipes of his on the Bouche in the coming months, today, cheese.

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See, I can’t even form a sentence. Today’s cheese is a homemade burrata (or what I like to call a beggars purse of cheese.) Because when one cheese isn’t enough, just stuff it with another cheese, right?

This thin layer of mozzarella is stuffed with a homemade ricotta.  I don’t have to tell you how I feel about cheese inside of cheese, it should be pretty self explanatory.

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Have fun with this recipe by choosing different herbs to flavor your ricotta, and I recommend you go buy Frank’s icookbook for many more great italian options!

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Homemade Burrata

By Whitney, January 7, 2013

Homemade Burrata

Recipe modified from Frank Bonanno's Luca D'Italia Cookbook

Ingredients:

Instructions:

Take room temperature curd, and cut into 1 inch cubes.  In a large pot, bring heavily salted water to boil.  It should taste like ocean water, people.  Once at a rolling boil, turn the heat off and add the curd, stirring constantly until it comes together in one large piece of cheese.  Remove the curd from the boiling water and knead with your hands until soft and homogenous. Pinch off a handful and begin to stretch into a thin layer, you should almost be able to see through the cheese. Take a small ramekin, and coat with one tablespoon of olive oil.  Lay the stretched mozzarella out and push down into the mold, allowing the excess to hang off the sides.  Stuff with ricotta (recipe below) and fold the excess mozzarella over to cover.  Trim the excess cheese as needed to make sure the ricotta is covered but the edges are uniform.  Flip out onto a platter, serve with cured meats, breads, crackers, whatevers. Top burrata with smoked sea salt. To make the ricotta: Place a large sieve over a deep bowl.  Line the sieve with cheese cloth.  Bring the milk and heavy cream to a boil over medium heat.  Add the salt, and turn off the heat, stir.  Add the butter milk and strained lemon juice, and let it sit for one minute.  The buttermilk and lemon will cause the mixture to curd.  Pour the mixture over the cheesecloth lined sieve, and discard the separated whey (liquid in the bowl).  Allow the ricotta to drain for at least 30 minutes, but up to 24 hours.  (If you're going that long, fridge it.)  Once it is thick and drained, remove from the cheese cloth and stir with a little heavy cream (to make it smooth) and chives.   Taste, and season with salt if necessary.  

Love,

Whit

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Whitney

About Whitney

Whitney is the Founder of Whit's Amuse Bouche, a nationally recognized food and humor blog. When she's not in the kitchen, you can find her with a glass of california cabernet in one hand and a hot glue gun in the other. She prefers sweat pants to real ones. View all posts by Whitney →

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