Bar Pitti in the West Village is a reasonably-priced restaurant; you can get pastas there for close to $10 that rival some of the better pastas in the city (I especially admire their eponymous pasta, one that involves sausage, tomatoes and cream.) However, two weeks ago, I found an item on their menu to be a bit overpriced: burrata for $19.
Craig really wanted it. “Ooooh,” he said. “Should we splurge?”
“No!” I yelped, or exclaimed, I don’t tend to yelp. “I can get burrata at Union Market in Park Slope for $9.”
Emotional Intelligence is a measure of how long you can delay gratification. Craig showed great emotional intelligence that night and, sure enough, as his reward I bought him burrata from Union Market last week. I also bought a container of cherry tomatoes, basil and a shallot and concocted the dish you see above; (slice the tomatoes in half, thinly slice the shallot, julienne the basil and toss it all together with olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.)
What is burrata? Burrata, according to Wikipedia, is: “a fresh Italian cheese, made from mozzarella and cream. The outer shell is solid mozzarella while the inside contains both mozzarella and cream, giving it a unique soft texture.”
Yes: indeed, when you cut into burrata it’s like whipped cream inside a marshmallow. Add those acidic tomatoes, splashes from that vinegar to cut the creaminess, and you have a superior summer dish.
“Mmmmmmm,” sang Craig, something he really does (I know I have Craig “mmmmmm” too much on my blog.)
“See, aren’t you glad you waited?”
But he didn’t answer. He was in burrata heaven.
What are you oobatz?! Artie Bucco would not approve of this recipe…How about some burrata on a bed of green beans with some salt, pepper, olive oil and some crostini or toasted bread to manga it all up. MADONN!!!!
HAAHAHAHAH @ the last comment with his misspelled “Italian” words… I actually came here to write “My Craig ‘mmms’ a lot too!” but can’t stop laughing at the above comment. Mostly because my Craig is also the one who taught me those “Italian” phrases too.
*I don’t actually call him “my Craig” but to differentiate between, well, yours and mine. :)
Burrata is perhaps (one of) my favorite thing(s) in the world. Drench it in some olive oil, throw some sea salt on there, enjoy with some crispy, chewy bread. Heaven, pure heaven.
I’m sorry to say that $19 sounds like a steal, compared to the $23 I paid for burrata Saturday night at L’il Frankie’s. To be honest, I didn’t even ask the price before ordering; I figured it was hefty and I was craving it so. Then, I was pretty sticker shocked. Seems like nothing else on their whole menu costs $23! Their price on the import keeps shooting up from the $17 or so they were charging a little over a year ago. Is the Union Market burrata imported? It’s true that this is a dish that can be composed at home for pittance compared to what you’ll pay at a restaurant, and with simple, summer ingredients–cherry tomatoes, basil off the vine–it’s hard to screw up. I can taste the summer in your dish, looks delicious!
Looked like someone else yelped too AG!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/bar-pitti-new-york
I love that Craig said “should we splurge?” splurge is my favorite word when I want something that I know I shouldn’t spend the money on…my best friend and I used to “splurge” on sushi at least 3x a week when I was a poor college student!
And after this post, I want to splurge on some burrata, even though I’m only a poor publishing peon!