Miss traveling, grab a copy of A Mouthful of Stars (Andrews McMeel, May 2014) by Kim Sunee.
Kim takes us on a whirlwind tour of her favorite recipes from her favorite places around the world.
Salad of Roasted Cherries with Burrata
Serves 4
I TASTED BURRATA—A FRAGILE, DELICIOUSLY creamy cheese from Puglia made with leftover mozzarella scraps and filled with fresh cream—years ago while traveling in Italy and never thought much about it, probably because almost everything I ate there was singular in its own way. Now, I dream of burrata and eat it whenever I can. Thankfully, it is now widely available in the United States, both in specialty markets and online.
I came across this pairing at Tom Douglas’s Serious Pie restaurant in Seattle, and it reminded me of the creamy cheeses that I gorged on when back in Italy. If burrata is not available, substitute a fresh chevre, fresh ricotta, or the creamiest, freshest mozzarella. If you find yourself wanting this outside of cherry season, substitute thawed frozen cherries. And you can omit the greens, if you wish.
For color and flavor, toss in a few saffron threads that have soaked in warm water. I make this in a heavy-bottomed nonstick 10-inch skillet to make turning out the rice easier.
1 pound cherries, pitted
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for optional greens and drizzling
8 ounces burrata
2 cups baby kale or arugula (optional)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (optional)
Fleur de sel, Maldon sea salt, or other finishing salt
Fresh mint leaves, for garnish
1. Preheat the oven to 400ÅãF and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Toss the cherries with the olive oil and place on the prepared baking sheet. Roast for about 20 minutes. Let cool slightly.
3. Place 2 ounces of burrata per person on each serving plate and place the cherries and juice around the cheese.
4. Toss the baby kale, if using, with 1 to 2 teaspoons of the roasted cherry juice, the balsamic vinegar, if using, and 2 tablespoons olive oil, and mix to combine; serve alongside the cherries and cheese. Sprinkle with fleur de sel, drizzle with olive oil, and garnish with fresh mint
NOTE: If you find yourself with leftover whole cherry pits (do not use even slightly crushed pits since they are toxic), soak them in red wine or white vinegar overnight, strain, and discard the pits. The resulting vinegar adds both color and a wonderful light fruit flavor to salads, pickles, and more.
(* Recipe from A Mouthful of Stars: A Constellation of Favorite Recipes from My World Travels by Kim Sunee -published by Andrews McMeel, May 2014- photographs by Leela Cyd…all rights reserved)