Fresh mozzarella pairs with marinated grilled grapes.
This recipe is based on a recipe by Ottolenghi in Simple.
Ingredients
11 1/4 oz/320g seedless red grapes
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove crushed
1 1/2 tsp dark brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
– Toasted and lightly crushed
Flaked sea salt
Black Pepper
3 large balls of burrata or buffalo mozzarella
6 small purple or green basil sprigs
Directions
Marinate the grapes with the vinegar (the original recipe had sherry and I used balsamic and white wine), oil, garlic, sugar, 1 tsp of the fennel seeds, flaked salt, and plenty of pepper. Mix well and allow to rest for at least 1 hour and up to 1 day. Do not throw away marinade, it is used in serving.
Grill grape skewers over high heat for 90 seconds per side.
Using half a ball of mozzarella, top with marinade, sprinkle with remaining fennel seeds, serve with grapes and basil.
It was breakfast time and I was hungry. But I had procrastinated eating and was supposed to be hard at work, so I needed something quick and easy. I had hard boiled eggs in my fridge. I had prosciutto in my fridge. I removed the shell from a hard boiled egg and wrapped it in prosciutto. It was great. Like a little handheld breakfast. Salty, fatty, rich, and keto-friendly (I am not on a ketogenic diet). I recommend it if you are a person who is lazy, hungry, and already has hard boiled eggs and prosciutto.
Here we make a nice and quick pasta dish. I was heavily inspired by Kenji’s ten minute recipe below, but I significantly increased the garlic and used basil paste instead of fresh basil.
Risotto recipes are one of those recipes that many people are hesitant to try at home, because they are struck with fear that it will not turn out, or that it will require careful tending the entire time. Cooking it the traditional way where you gradually ladle in hot broth and stir carefully, it can be a bit delicate, but using the techniques shown here it becomes a much easier dish. Kenji made some controversial, but overall quite effective modifications to the classic risotto and the result is a simple, easily executed dish. I’ll be posted a fine tuned version of this risotto recipe soon, but here is a rough outline to get you guys started.
As Kenji explained in his articles, and I mention in the video, the reason we soak the rice is to try and get the best of both worlds, a very creamy risotto and the nice toasted flavor. And it really does work, served it to a friend who said they don’t normally like risotto and they loved this risotto recipe.
Mushroom Risotto Recipe
Heavily Inspired by Kenji at Serious Eats, please read his articles, and recognize his contributions when you share this.
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp butter (unsalted)
1 cup dry white wine (I used a cheap chardonnay (Rex Goliath))
4 cup Low Sodium Chicken Stock (I used Swanson’s unsalted)
1.5 Cups Risotto rice (I used arborio)
Salt
Pepper
1 lb Mushrooms (sliced) (I used 1 1/2 in the video)
4 oz Parmesan (grated)
1/2 Cup Heavy Cream (whipped to stiff peaks) (I used 3/4 in the video)
1/2 Onion (chopped) (I used 1 in the video)
First soak the rice in the unsalted chicken broth for about five minutes
Strain the rice through a fine mesh strainer saving the stock
Heat pan to medium-high heat and add fats
Cook onions and mushrooms together until mushrooms start to brown, salting and peppering to taste
Add strained rice to pan and cook until lightly toasted but not browned or scalded
Deglaze pan with white wine
Add 3 cups of the chicken stock, bring to simmer, reduce heat, cover and cook for ten minutes
Uncover, shake pan to redistribute rice, stir, cover, and cook for another ten minutes (I screw this step up in the video, do as I say not as I do)
Uncover, add remaining stock, and simmer until desired consistency
Heat oven on low, and place plates in oven to warm
Off heat, add whipped cream and cheese to dish, stirring to combine, and serve immediately
If you like any of the music in this check out Jake Hallendorff:
