Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Broccoli with Burrata, Pine Nuts, and Warm Vinaigrette

I usually associate burrata with summer, but that's only because it goes so perfectly with ripe tomatoes and basil. It's available at any time of year though, so I changed my thinking about it after trying this warm, wintry broccoli salad. I've had the page with this dish marked in Sunday Suppers at Lucques since I first read the book, and I knew it was going to be good. How could it not be with blanched broccoli which happens to one of my favorite vegetables, creamy, fresh burrata, a warm vinaigrette with garlic, chiles, anchovies, lemon, and butter, and a crunchy, toasted breadcrumb and pine nut topping? This is a filling salad. So, if you're serving it as a first course, you'll want to follow it with something on the lighter side. Or, it also makes a great lunch all by itself. As usual with dishes from this book, there are a few steps involved, but the result is worth every bit of chopping and every dirty dish.

The first step is to toast the breadcrumbs and pine nuts, and the suggested procedure involved using two baking sheets to toast them separately. I tossed the breadcrumbs with some olive oil on one side of a big sheet pan, and let them get a head start in the warm oven. Then, I added the pine nuts to the other side of the same sheet pan, and toasted them in the oven for a few minutes while the breadcrumbs reached a good level of toastedness. Once removed from the oven and cool, half of the pine nuts were chopped, and they were combined with the whole pine nuts, the toasted breadcrumbs, some chopped parsley, and salt and pepper. I left all of that on the sheet pan to avoid using a bowl for the mixture. Next, broccoli was blanched and drained. I let mine drain in a colander rather than spreading it out on yet another sheet pan as was suggested. The warm vinaigrette was supposed to have been started in a saucepan and then finished in a saute pan. I skipped the saucepan and used the saute pan from start to finish. The recipe calls for seven tablespoons of olive oil and six tablespoons of butter which seemed like way too much of both to me. I used maybe three tablespoons of olive oil and two of butter. They were combined in the saute pan over low heat, and a minced anchovy and chopped dried red chile were added. Once the anchovy had melted into the oil and butter, minced garlic and thyme leaves were added followed by chopped shallots and lemon juice. The drained broccoli was then tossed in the warm vinaigrette in the saute pan. Last, the burrata was sliced and the salad was plated with the total number of pots and pans used reduced by one half.

This was a bit of a process even after simplifying a few steps, but because of the contrast of the fresh, cool, mild cheese with the robust flavors of the warm vinaigrette and broccoli, I wouldn't change anything else about it. Happily for me, burrata isn't just for summer anymore.



25 comments:

  1. Steamed broccoli is one of my favourite vegetables too. Great recipe Lisa. This looks fresh, colourful, nutritious and delicious. Love the ingredients in that dressing.

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  2. A scrumptious salad! That combination is wonderful.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  3. Oh my GOSH, I couldn't think of anything better to eat right now. So, so good.

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  4. That looks like a total winner!

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  5. summer or winter, doesn't matter as long as it looks so delicious.

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  6. Love broccoli and love how you reduced the use of all those unnecessary steps.

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  7. Lisa, once again you have an inspiring and innovative recipe for me. I too reserve burrata for summer tomato salads and would never think to put it with broccoli. Everything about this salad appeals to me - breadcrumbs...pine nuts... broccoli. How could it not be good:)
    -Erin

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  8. I am always looking for new a new way to prepare broccoli and this recipe would be a welcome change from my usual oven roasting. Love the idea that tomatoes are not the only vegetable worthy of Burrata! I couldn't agree more on making a smaller mess in the kitchen, great ideas!

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  9. I bought a huge bag of broccoli at the markets yesterday so we had broccoli pie for dinner but this looks amazing! I know what im cooking with the rest of the bag :)

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  10. We really do have such similar tastes. Both in books and dishes. I have long eyed this recipe (one of my favorite books) but have not made it because of the anchovy. I'm thinking I just need to leave it out and give this a try. My one complaint about that book is that it is truly a restaurant book with all the pans, pots, baking sheets etc. It sounds like you did a great job streamlining.

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  11. I love simple recipes with a touch of wonderful flavors. Perfect for this time of the year, after many heavy holiday meals :D

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  12. Oh, I saw burrsta at Whole Foods yesterday, but didn!t buy it... Now I wish I had... it!s quite a drive for me, so I will have to wait for the next opportunity.

    I remember ypmsrking this recipe in the book too. Can t wait to try it!

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  13. Oh my, this looks absolutely delicious! I never would've thought of pairing broccoli with burrata but I can imagine how perfect this dish tastes!

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  14. Ah, burrata... one of my ultimate favorites. I have not tried using burrata with broccoli. A must try for me! Looks wonderful.

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  15. Wow! Lisa, this only has a few ingredients but it is to-die for! Fabulous combination of flavors and textures and what a fantastic way to serve broccoli! I love it but my men avoid it - this would even get them eating it. I could make a meal of this. Beautiful!

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  16. Beautiful AND no doubt scrumptious. Random question - what brand of pine nuts do you buy? I just noticed my standbys (from HEB) come from China and the Chinese ones are the kind rumored to cause 'pine mouth.' Hate to throw out a $7 pack of nuts but I think I'm going to anyway!

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  17. Alisa: Yep, I've heard about the problems with pine nuts from China too. I was tempted by the big bag at Costco, but those also come from China. I buy small amounts as needed at Whole Foods.

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  18. Love the bright colors in this dish! If this fails to convert broccoli haters, I don't know what will.

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  19. i didn't know what burrata was, isn't that sad?! this sounds like a really satisfying dish, lisa--pine nuts need more play!

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  20. Burrata is the seductress of cheeses. So luscious and irresistible. I'd eat it with anything -- or nothing else at all. ;)

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  21. Sorry for the typos on my comment - me and the iPad not always communicate in perfect harmony

    I will try to comment only from my laptop from now on.... (sigh)

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  22. Mmm three of my favourite things in the world: burrata, pine nuts and broccoli! :D

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  23. We love broccoli. Never had it with cheese. I will look for burrata in the store.

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  24. I love Suzanne's recipes but I know what you mean about all the dirty dishes. Not having a dishwasher (as in staff) at my disposal, I often cringe when reading Sunday Suppers. This dish looks worth all the mess and fuss!

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