Enjoy This Restaurant Style Burrata

Burrata with Apricot Mostarda, Basil Pesto, and Pistacio Served with Crostinis Makes 4 Individual Servings

I love re-creating my favorite restaurant foods. Pizza Vino, an Italian restaurant in our neighborhood, serves an appetizer consisting of burrata, apricot mostarda, basil pesto, and chopped pistachios. It is delicious and filling enough to be eaten as an entree. The recipe that follows makes four individual servings. You can just make one large serving and share it. Just what is mostarda? Italians often serve their guests antipasto platters—a sampling of store-bought meats, cheeses, and olives. To personalize the spread, they add something homemade, like spiced nuts or a sweet-savory condiment known as mostarda. A tangy, spicy blend of fruit and mustard, this preserve can be made with a variety of fruits, including quince, pears, cherries, or peaches and is normally chunky. The Italians make mostarda in large batches as it lasts about four weeks in the fridge. Besides serving it on antipasto platters, it is delicious on sandwiches or as an accompaniment to savory dishes. Because the Pizza Vino version appeared to be puréed, I followed suit.

The basil in my herb garden has not yet propagated enough to make pesto. We love the basil pesto sold at Cosco. It only costs $6 and lasts several weeks in the fridge.

For the Apricot Mostarda:

2 pounds apricots, peeled, pitted, and diced ½ cup sugar ½ cup water 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper 1 teaspoon dry mustard 1 ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

In a medium saucepan, place sugar and water and bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved. (This makes a simple syrup.) Add apricots and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook apricots 10 to 15 minutes, or until soft. Remove apricots from the heat. Add crushed red pepper, dry mustard, and Dijon mustard and whisk to blend. In a food processor or blender, place the apricot mixture and process until puréed Transfer mostarda to a bowl, cool, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to serve.

To serve: Apricot mostarda Basil pesto 4 (2 ounce) balls burrata ½ cup chopped pistachios Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling Barrel-aged balsamic vinegar for drizzling Crostinis In 4 soup bowls, place ¼ cup apricot mostarda and add 4 teaspoons pesto. Using a chopstick, swirl the pesto through the mostarda. Place burrata in the center of each bowl and sprinkle with chopped pistachios to taste. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar to taste. Serve with crostinis.

Shopping for apricots: Buy plump apricots with a golden, orange color and velvety skin. Unless they break the skin, blemishes will not affect the quality of apricots. When ripe, apricots will give to gentle pressure and smell fragrant. Soft, ripe fruit has the best flavor but needs to be eaten immediately. Avoid buying apricots that are pale-yellow or greenish-yellow in color or ones that are hard, shriveled, or bruised.

Try this Burrata and let me know what you think! Subscribe to CarolAnnKates.com for weekly recipes straight to your inbox. What would you like me to cook next?

Carol Ann

Carol Ann Kates is the award-winning author of cookbook, Secret Recipes from the Corner Market and Savvy Shopping Tips. She’s an expert in how to shop, select, and store produce for maximizing home cooking outcomes and minimizing time and money spent. As a former supermarket and deli operator, Carol Ann shares grocery-insider wisdom—the same expertise you used to receive when patronizing a mom-and-pop establishment. Contact her at KatesCarol@aol.com and explore her website, www.CarolAnnKates.com.

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