by Steven Doyle
I love burrata. It’s creamy and cheesy, very spreadable and fun to share. There are a few places in Dallas you can get burrata and last week we were on a mission to find great examples.
Originally burrata was invented as a way to use the scraps of cheese left over when making mozzarella. The scraps are called ritagli in Italian. The cheese is made by taking a sheet of mozzarella and filling it with the ritagli and thickened cream. The result is a cheese that oozes cream as you slice into it, and you will need to quickly spread the milky cheese onto a crostini or bread.
Paula Lambert of the Mozzarella Company makes two varieties of burrata, one much like we have described which she calls burrata con crema and another with a longer shelf life called burrino. It is a fresh Italian-style cow’s milk cheese made by completely encasing a soft, creamy lump of sweet cream butter with soft, fresh mozzarella. Its name comes from its buttery center; burro means butter in Italian.
Lambert’s Burrata con Crema is filled with her own crème fraiche and available at her shop in Deep Ellum, or many other outlets like Central Market.
There are several restaurants that will actually make their own burrata. Although more of a summer treat at Julian Barsotti ‘s Nonna, the chef will make a house burrata and serve as a topping on his toasted bread and tomato salad. You may also find house-made mozzarella and ricotta on the menu and used in several dishes offered by the restaurant.
Some local pizzerias offer burrata for appetizers like Cane Rosso, who makes their own in house and serves with bitter greens and a drizzling of good olive oil and sea salt.
We also found the burrata bar at Dough at Preston-Forest to be especially fantastic and fresh and served as a caprese salad. Dough’s version is filled with a mascarpone-ricotta-truffle oil filling accompanied by Rain Drop Farms heirloom tomatoes.
The burrata at Victor Tango’s changes seasonally and is currently served with blistered shishito peppers and onions.
For those on the Jimmy’s Food Store mailing list, they import a burrata from new York occasionally and offer it up to the group. Once ordered clients are alerted to the arrival of the fresh cheese and can be picked up the same day.
La Perla de Italia Has Burrata di Bufala—which of course is made with Italian Buffalo Curd