July 2020
Burrata is a fresh Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream, and it can truly bring a simple weeknight dinner to the next level. If you’ve never used it before, don’t be intimidated — it’s available in the cheese case at most supermarkets, often next to the fresh mozzarella. This meatless burrata cheese dish also takes advantage of in-season zucchini and comes together in just 20 minutes. If you don’t want to turn your oven on, you can cook the zucchini ribbons for 2 minutes per side on a medium-heat grill.
Ingredients
- 4 small green or yellow zucchini
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 3 cups cooked wild rice, warm or at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
- 8 ounces fresh burrata cheese
Tools
- Chef’s knife
- Vegetable spiralizer with ribbon attachment (optional)
- Cutting board
- 2 sheet pans
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Large mixing bowl
- Whisk
Instructions
1. Cook the zucchini.
Heat the oven to 400°. Trim the ends of each zucchini. Using a vegetable spiralizer with the ribbon attachment, thinly slice the zucchini into long ¼-inch-thick strips. (If you don’t have a spiralizer, you can simply cut the ends off the zucchini, stand it upright on a cutting board and cut it lengthwise into long ¼-inch-thick strips with a chef’s knife.) Place the ribbons on the two sheet pans. Toss with olive oil, paprika, salt and pepper. Spread them out into an even layer on each sheet pan. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, until soft.
2. Prepare the wild rice and zucchini mixture.
In a large bowl, whisk the vinegar and sugar. Add the cooked rice and mint, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Add the cooked zucchini and very gently toss everything together (the zucchini will be soft and pretty delicate).
3. Serve.
Divide the warm zucchini and grain mixture between four plates, and top each one with 2 ounces of burrata cheese. Garnish each piece of burrata cheese with a pinch of paprika.
Kids Can!
- Spread zucchini over sheet pans.
- Mix zucchini and rice together.
- Plate final dishes with burrata cheese on top.
