Sunday, August 28, 2011

little green fairy treats



On a recent visit to the local cheese shop, Matthew and I picked up a ball of Burrata. When Matthew asked, "what is burrata?" I just said, "oh, it's this ridiculously hip mozzarella cheese ball that all the foodies are excited about." The truth is, we just wanted to see what all the excitement was about, and to judge for ourselves if Burrata is worth all the hype and the 5 dollar price tag for one little ball of cheese (hardly as big as a tennis ball). It was delicious and fun to try something new, but, to be honest I'd be just as happy with a slice of fresh, plain old mozzarella.



What I loved, more than the Burrata itself, was the pretty little look of the green heirloom tomatoes atop leaves of fresh basil, with the milky white cheese on top. It really looked like fairy food with all those shades of green; the alternating stripes of dark and light green on the tomatoes along with the brightness of the basil were all very unusual and fun.



I would normally have used bright red or purple tomatoes for the color contrast against basil, which is the classic look that we are all used to and love to see, but I have discovered a new favorite tomato treat. And this one is fit for the greenest of woodland fairies.


3 comments:

Lunette Gleason Fleming said...

I'll have to agree that the woodland fairies are partial to the refreshing appearance of the green tomato treats. I'll keep this combination in mind for the next Fairy Festival.

Lunette Gleason Fleming said...

So, what, exactly, is the difference between Buratta and fresh Mozzarella?

Lynnea said...

Hello Mama!

A fairy festival sounds so fun! do all the little girls dress up for it? how sweet!

Burrata is fresh mozzarella that's stretched around a little blob of ricotta cheese and then twisted so that it will stay closed. So, most of the burrata actually consists of ricotta cheese. But the little "skin" of mozzarella makes it look like just a ball of fresh mozzarella, without a tasty little treasure tucked away inside.