There were beautiful spring pea shoots at the grocery this morning, which reminded me of a standout recipe in The Cheesemonger’s Seasons by Chester Hastings, a cookbook to bring joy to the hearts of cheese lovers everywhere. The very best recipes have only a few ingredients, which, when combined, are so delicious that they draw your complete attention to the plate – making you grateful for the moment. This is one of those recipes. Some good burrata, a little olive oil, lemon, salt, pepper, and spring pea shoots (I also threw in a handle of fresh peas), and you’ve got a first course that is both elegant and rustic. The original recipe calls for lemon-infused olive oil, which sounds great, but since I didn’t have any I squeezed a few drops of lemon juice over everything to get the same effect.
Adapted from The Cheesemonger’s Seasons
Serves: 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 pound burrata cheese
- 2 cups fresh pea shoots
- 1 cup fresh peas
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 squeezes of lemon juice
- sea salt and coarse pepper
Directions
- In a dry pan. Toast sesame seeds until golden, about ten minutes.
- While they are toasting, wash and dry pea shoots and shell peas.
- Cut burrata into four equal pieces and place the pea shoots and peas around them.
- Squeeze lemon juice over salads and drizzle with olive oil. Add salt and pepper and sesame seeds, and serve.
