Much to love about burrata
Unsurprisingly, I have a couple of food Achilles heels. Burrata is chief among them; little pouches of mozzarella filled with a mixture of leftover mozzarella and topped up with cream, originally developed to deal with all the scraps left over from mozzarella making. I absolutely love them and praise be, they’re finally starting to appear down here. Massimo’s and Il Casaro are two names to look out for. If you can’t find it, use fresh mozzarella instead, tear it up and combine with a bit of cream and salt.
Gnudi, pronounced ‘‘nudie’’ (insert rude joke here), are gnocchi made from ricotta. In spite of whatever you feel about making this sort of thing, they’re actually pretty damn easy to make. As always, don’t overwork the dough, once you’ve added the flour.
Add whatever you like to accompany the gnudi; in winter, in lieu of courgette and flat bean, I might instead use toasted walnuts and a sage butter. And, of course, my one true love, burrata.
Gnudi with courgette, flat bean, lemon and burrata
Preparation time: 30 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes Serves 4
❚ 3 large courgettes
❚ handful of flat beans
❚ 1 lemon
❚ 250g ricotta
❚ 200g mascarpone
❚ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
❚ 2 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan
❚ sea salt and black pepper
❚ 100g flour, plus a little extra for dusting
❚ 1 burrata or fresh mozzarella (about 100g-150g worth)
Using a peeler or julienne grater, peel the courgettes into long lengths. Slice the flat beans lengthways into 4-5cm pieces. Combine the two together with the zest and juice from the lemon, a little olive oil and a generous seasoning of salt and pepper. Set aside for a minute.
Bring a large pan of salted water up to a simmer as you work on the gnudi.
In the meantime, in a large mixing bowl (or in a food processor, if you prefer), combine the ricotta, mascarpone, nutmeg, parmesan and enough salt and pepper to taste. Mix well until you have a smooth paste.
Sift in the flour and gently fold into the mixture so that it is just combined to create a soft dough.
Sprinkle a little of the extra flour out on a large clean bench space, turn the dough out and divide into four. Gently roll each quarter into little logs about 1.5-2cm thick, and cut into little pieces about 2-3cm long.
Drop the gnudi into the boiling water and gently cook for about 45 seconds, until they rise to the top. Transfer the gnudi with a slotted spoon to an oiled plate.
Spread the courgette and bean mix over a serving platter. Scatter the cooked gnudi over the top. Break the burrata into little pieces over the top of everything so as not to waste any of the lovely cream inside, season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
Ido love a good chop. The farm boy in me has to shine through every so often. I never get sick of them. When I lived in London, I would frequently pay visits to Morocco, which left me with a lasting love of the flavour profiles of the region.
Masses of cumin, paprika, cinnamon, lemon and so on. Seductive ras el hanout, or ‘‘spice of the house’’ blends. I find myself using these