- 5 weeks ago
Beat the summer heat with a simple, no-cook technique that changes the way you serve cheese. In this video, Chef John shows you how to make a creamy whipped burrata spread that serves as the base for three delicious summer appetizers. Whether you top your toasted bread with sweet peaches, fresh tomatoes, or savory prosciutto and fig, these quick treats are perfect for any warm-weather gathering.
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00:00Hello, this is Chef John from Foodwishes.com with how to make whipped burrata and three
00:08perfect summer appetizers. That's right, I'm going to share a technique that's perfect when it's
00:14just too hot to cook and we don't want to spend too much time in the kitchen. And by the
00:19way,
00:19please stop saying it's not the heat, it's the humidity. That is not helping. So with that,
00:25let's go ahead and get started with the star of the show, some beautiful balls of burrata,
00:30which if you're not familiar with, is basically a thin skin of mozzarella stretched around an
00:35incredibly delicious creamy soft cheese called stracciatella. And while it's delicious as is,
00:41it's even more incredible whipped up and used as a spread. And to do that, we will add four four
00:46ounce balls into a blender cup. And then to that, we'll add a nice big pinch of salt,
00:50a small splash of whole milk, just to lighten it up a little bit. And then last but not least,
00:56a generous splash of olive oil. And believe it or not, that's it. And we will take our stick blender
01:02and we will whip this up until it's very smooth and light and fluffy. And yes, you can whip this
01:07up
01:08even smoother and lighter in a regular blender, but the difference is nominal. And why clean a blender
01:13if you don't have to? Oh, and the longer I've been making this, the less ingredients I've been putting
01:19in. So if you're thinking you want to add some garlic or herbs or hot pepper, don't do it.
01:24Since all those things are going to be better applied over the top. And that's it. Once our
01:29mixture is whipped up light and fluffy like this, we will simply cover it and pop it in the fridge.
01:34And we'll move on to the base of our perfect summer appetizers, which is going to be some fried,
01:39toasted or grilled bread. And I'm going to show you all three versions, but I'm going to start with my
01:44favorite one, which we're going to do in a pan over medium high heat. And after we've drizzled both
01:50sides generously with olive oil, we will cook that for a few minutes on both sides until it's
01:55beautifully browned and starts to get crispy. But we do not want this bread to dry out and get crumbly,
02:01which is why we're using medium high heat, so that we relatively quickly get a nice crust on the
02:07outside before the inside totally dries out. Okay, we're not making croutons or crostini.
02:13We are simply toasting the bread in a pan. And once that's looking fairly amazing, we'll go ahead and
02:18pull it out. And we'll let that cool down on a plate before we use it. So that is method
02:24one. And we'll move
02:25on to method two, which is simply to do the bread in a toaster, which is going to give us
02:30something
02:30relatively close. If that is, as soon as it comes out of the toaster while it's still hot, we drizzle
02:37it
02:37generously with olive oil. And while it's not going to be quite as good, in my opinion, as the pan
02:41fried
02:42version, it is very fast and easy to do, and really does work fine. Oh, and I will be showing
02:48you the
02:48third version later, which is going to be doing it on the grill. But anyway, once our toast is set,
02:54I'm going to move on to prep the first appetizer, which is going to be a peach and basil. And
02:59this
02:59peach was very sweet, but also very firm. So when I went to slice out the first wedge, as I
03:04was trying
03:05to pry it out, it shot across the room. So I had to pick it up and wash it off
03:09and have a little chef
03:10snack. And then I went back to slicing. And firm or soft, the first one's always the hardest, since
03:16once you have a little space, after you make your cut around the pit, those slices will pop off
03:21relatively easily. And no, do not peel the peach. You need the fiber. Allegedly. And once our peaches are
03:29done, we'll move on to chiffonade some basil, which as you know, is the only approved way to cut basil.
03:35And it's done very simply by piling up about five or six leaves, and then rolling them nice and tight,
03:41and then slicing across into ribbons. And please use a sharp knife for this, as a dull knife will crush
03:48the leaves and the edges will turn black. And that's it. Our basil is ready to use on both our
03:53peach
03:54appetizer, as well as our tomato version. Speaking of which, we're going to finish that one with a
04:00balsamic drizzle, which we make by reducing some balsamic vinegar over medium-high heat until it's
04:06boiled down by about half. And once it's looking a little something like this, we'll transfer it into
04:11a bowl. And even though it looks a little thin right now, once it cools, it'll thicken up to something
04:17closer to like a runny honey, as you will see very shortly. And now that that little bit of prep
04:23is
04:23done, we can move on to the first perfect summer appetizer, which starts by topping one of our
04:28slices of fried bread with a generous amount of our whipped burrata. And yes, I switched to a smaller
04:34spoon for better control, which was absolutely unnecessary. But anyway, once that's applied,
04:41we will scatter some of our basil chiffonade over the top, and then we'll follow that with two or three
04:46slices of our fresh peach, depending on the size. And don't worry, I'm going to show you a grilled peach
04:51version later when we do the grilled bread. But anyway, once that's been peached, we will apply a
04:57few drops of olive oil over the top of the fruit, just to shine it up and provide a little
05:01more
05:01richness. And it's also going to give our last addition something to grab onto, which is going to be a
05:07little sprinkling of flaky sea salt. And I think that is looking absolutely glorious, except the colors
05:13aren't really popping on this wooden board. So I'm going to transfer that onto a plate for the eating shots.
05:18And that, my friends, was just a perfect bite of food. Right, somehow that whipped burrata is rich and
05:24decadent, but also light and refreshing at the same time. And just pairs perfectly with that sweet fruit and
05:30that fragrant basil, with everything being punched up with that little sprinkling of salt. So that really was
05:36fantastic. And I could have ate a few more. But I have to move on to perfect summer appetizer number
05:42two, which is
05:43going to be some sliced fresh tomato on our whipped burrata. And I think the best choice is some sliced
05:48toy box cherry tomatoes like this, which are always beautiful, and probably your sweetest choice.
05:54Okay, if it is peak tomato season, of course, any sliced or diced tomato will do. But you can't go
06:00wrong
06:00with these. And once those are on, we'll apply some fresh basil, which you do not need to fuss with.
06:07And I know
06:08that, but I still always fuss. And that's it. We'll finish up with a generous pinch of sea salt.
06:13And then last but not least, our balsamic drizzle, which now that it's at room tap, has thickened up
06:19nicely. And as perfect as the peach version was, this one really was every bit as good, which was the
06:26least surprising thing ever, since fresh sweet tomatoes and burrata are a match made in heaven.
06:32And if you've never enjoyed a reduced balsamic vinegar, this would be the best way to experience
06:36it for the first time. And at this point, we'll move on to our third perfect summer appetizer,
06:42which is going to be torn prosciutto and fig. And we'll apply a generous amount of those beautiful
06:47pink ribbons to the top, making sure we leave a few nooks and crannies in which to drizzle our fig
06:53jam.
06:54All right, if you luck out in its fig season, you could also use those, of course. But the fig
06:59jam is
07:00available all year, and it really does work beautifully here. And then we'll finish this
07:04one very, very simply with a generous application of freshly ground black pepper. And that's it,
07:10our third version, which I consider sort of a savory dessert, was ready to enjoy. And if you've never
07:16had fried bread, whipped burrata, prosciutto, fig jam, and freshly ground black pepper together,
07:22you do not know what you're missing. I could literally have eaten about six of those. And no,
07:27I'm not going to pick out a favorite, since all three tied for best ever. And I know you're going
07:32to love them all. But those were the indoor versions. And since it's summer and you might be
07:37grilling, you might want to try a version where you grill your peaches first. Right, not too black,
07:43just nicely caramelized on the edges, with a little bit of charring here and there. Oh, and if figs are
07:49in season, you could do the same thing. And then slice those up and use them instead of the jam.
07:53And then obviously, we might as well grill the bread also, which really is probably the best way.
07:59But of course, this is the most dangerous method. And you really do have to pay attention and keep
08:04that bread moving around and flip it early and often so it doesn't overchar. Although having said
08:10that, make sure you get a little bit of char on the edges. Otherwise, what's the point? Which reminds
08:15me, I did moisten the bread a little bit with a few drops of olive oil on each side, which
08:20is going
08:20to help it brown up and give it a nice color. And that's it. I'm going to finish up by
08:25doing one more
08:25of the peach version, this time using the grilled bread and peaches. And by the way, all the components
08:31we did today are totally interchangeable. Okay, if you want a little bit of basil on your prosciutto,
08:36go ahead. Or maybe you want to give this one a drizzle of balsamic. So definitely feel free to play
08:42around and experiment. I mean, you are after all the Madonna of what to put on it. But whether you
08:48freestyle or not, how to make whipped burrata is a technique everybody has to know. And I really do
08:54hope you give it a try soon. So please follow the links below for the ingredient amounts,
09:00a printable written recipe, and much more info as usual. And as always, enjoy!
09:08enjoy!
09:08enjoy!
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