Fresh Stracciatella

Stracciatella (pronounced strahtch-ah- TELL-ah), is an extremely rare cheese to find in the U.S. yet incredibly delicious. This soft, fresh cheese may be best known as the delicious center of burrata. It is soft, pillowy and incredibly versatile. Like so many peasant foods, was born as a clever way to use leftovers, in this case the pieces of cheese that remain after mozzarella is stretched. Cheesemakers in Puglia, used to tore those pieces into thin strands and bathed them in cream. Stracciatella was served just like that, or stuffed inside new balls of mozzarella and called burrata

Ideas for serving:

- Serve with sliced heirloom tomatoes and a pile of fresh herbs. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and flaky sea salt.

- Use as a bed for roasted vegetables like romanesco or carrots and then drizzle with honey and sprinkle with sea salt.

- Dollop on grilled asparagus, then garnish with olive oil, lemon zest, toasted almonds and flaky sea salt.

- Spoon onto grilled pizza with prosciutto and basil. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

- Smear on grilled bread and top with fresh figs and olive oil. Dollop on pasta with bolognese