Fried Burrata Salad with White Balsamic Dressing

Fried Burrata Salad with White Balsamic Dressing
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I am completely aware of how uncalled for this Fried Burrata Salad is. Burrata is a decadent treat all on its own. So to roll it in potato starch, egg, and panko before deep-frying it is a, um, little much. But we are in the middle of February and Valentine’s Day adjacent, so I’d say a little indulgence is allowed, advisable even. So rather than question the virtuousness of this dish, let’s just make it, enjoy it, and move on with our lives.

Ingredients for Fried Burrata Salad

I put together today’s Fried Burrata Salad as a potential Valentine’s Day menu. I suppose fried cheese of any stripe is hard to classify as classy. Burrata is classy, I suppose, but I somehow doubt fried burrata can boast the same status. But I couldn’t care less. This dish, to me, is a love language. Long stem roses and all that noise don’t really capture my imagination. It’s all too choreographed. You don’t have to know anything about a person to buy them a bouquet or a box of chocolates. And the presentation seems stiff, formal, even distant.

Pouring white balsamic over shallots
Slicing a baguette to make crostini

Today’s Fried Burrata Salad on the other hand is sweet, messy, and playful – as love should be. And it’s heavy on the cheese and if you’re not with a person who appreciates that, I’m here to tell you, you deserve more. I mean, I will allow for lactose intolerance and/or veganism. But I would hope there is a dairy-free cheese that has captured their heart. This is an odd tangent. Let’s get back to the salad.

Tangelo with skin partially removed

Salad is a strange term to use to describe anything that involves a ball of fried burrata but a salad is exactly what this is. Technically, a salad is “a cold dish of various mixtures of raw or cooked vegetables”, so yeah, the word “salad” does not guarantee healthiness. See snickers salad for proof. But this Fried Burrata Salad is actually pretty healthy, the fried cheese notwithstanding. You’re looking at a bed of frisée and radicchio accented with figs, and tangelo segments dressed with pickled shallots in a white balsamic vinaigrette. See? Pretty healthy, right. I mean, yes there is a hulking ball of fried cheese and ribbons of prosciutto but they bring the joy.

Breaded ball of burrata

Now, this recipe is pretty easy to put together. Really as simple as making a salad. But there are a few things you should be aware of. The first pertains to the shallots. I can’t take credit for this pickled shallot vinaigrette. My wonderful partner, Sunny, makes this dressing every time he manages to wrestle the kitchen back from me. He usually makes it with red or white wine vinegar, but it works very well with white balsamic. And white balsamic and I seem to be having a moment lately.

Pickled shallot white balsamic dressing

Basically, what you do is slice your shallots thinly, cover them with the vinegar you want to use in your dressing, and set them aside to pickle while you get on with the rest of the recipe. Then, at the very end, you add your oil to your now pickled shallots and vinegar and any other dressing ingredients you fancy. Whisk it up, and pour it over your salad. And that’s it!

Topping the salad with fried burrata

There are two more timing issues you should be aware of before embarking on this recipe and one is a little weird. After pickling the shallots, wash your greens. This obviously isn’t the weird one. I like to wash my greens early on in the recipe, so they have as much time as possible to dry. I’m not a salad spinner person, so I like to let my greens air dry. Even if you’re a salad spinner person, it’s not a bad idea to leave your greens to air dry for a while anyway. It will reduce the amount of time you have to spin them, which is a very good thing.

Fried Burrata Salad with White Balsamic Dressing

Now for the weird ask. After you pickle your shallots and dry your greens, you’re going to pop your burrata in the freezer. You’re only going to leave it there for 20-30 minutes, so don’t worry about messing up the texture of the cheese. I like to do this as sort of a failsafe. Burrata, particularly large balls of burrata, is fairly delicate. They can rupture quite easily. So I like to firm them up in the freezer, so I’m less likely to tear the burrata as I move it from starch to egg, to panko, to oil. But having said that, still treat your chilled burrata with care. This is the fussiest part of this recipe.

Fried Burrata Salad with White Balsamic Dressing

So that’s pretty much everything you need to know about this Fried Burrata Salad. It’s ooey-gooey, decadent, and yet surprisingly refreshing. And it’s a meal built for two, perfect for Valentine’s Day. But even if you’re not a Valentine’s Day couple, file this recipe away for a fun at-home date night. It’s a wonderful escape on a plate.

Enjoy!

Fried Burrata Salad with White Balsamic Dressing

Fried Burrata Salad with White Balsamic Dressing

This Fried Burrata Salad features a bed of radicchio and frisée accented with figs, prosciutto, and tangelo segments dressed in a white balsamic pickled shallot dressing organized around a ball of fried burrata.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Chilling Time 30 minutes
Course Main Course, Salad
Servings 2

Equipment

  • 1 large wok
  • 1 oven-safe large skillet
  • 1 deep and narrow casserole dish

Ingredients
  

  • 1 shallot thinly sliced
  • ¼ cup white balsamic vinegar
  • 1 ball burrata
  • 1 head frisée torn into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 head radicchio halved and chopped
  • ¼ cup + 2 tbsp olive oil divided
  • 1 baguette sliced
  • ¼ cup potato starch
  • 1 ½ tsp salt divided
  • 2 large eggs beaten
  • 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • neutral oil for frying
  • 2 tangelos segmented
  • 227g (8oz) black mission figs quartered
  • 100g (3.5oz) prosciutto torn
  • ¼ cup mustard microgreens

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 400°F.
  • Place the shallots in a small bowl, pour the white balsamic over top. Set aside to pickle. Place the burrata in the freezer and freeze for 20-30 minutes.
    1 shallot, ¼ cup white balsamic vinegar, 1 ball burrata
  • While the burrata is in the freezer, wash the radicchio and frisée in a large colander. Shake off the excess moisture and set the greens aside to dry.
    1 head frisée, 1 head radicchio
  • Arrange the baguette on a large baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and sprinkle with some salt. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake until golden, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
    ¼ cup + 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 baguette
  • In a bowl, whisk to combine the potato starch and 1 teaspoon of the salt. ** Place the bowl alongside the eggs, and panko breadcrumbs. Pour roughly 2 cups of oil into a large wok and place it over high heat. When the temperature reaches 300°F, take the burrata out of the freezer and coat it in the starch mixture, dip it in the eggs, and roll it in the panko breadcrumbs. 
    ¼ cup potato starch, 1 ½ tsp salt, 2 large eggs, 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • Your oil should be between 350 -375°F by now. Add the burrata and fry for 5-7 minutes, spooning the oil over the top of the ball constantly. Take the burrata out of the oil and place it on a plate lined with a paper towel. Set aside.
    neutral oil
  • Place the radicchio and frisée in a large bowl. Add the remaining, salt, and oil to the pickled shallots and whisk to combine. Pour half of the dressing over the greens and toss to coat. 
    1 ½ tsp salt, ¼ cup + 2 tbsp olive oil
  • Pile the greens onto a large platter and top them with the tangelos, figs, and prosciutto. Add the fried burrata to the center and drizzle with the remaining dressing. Sprinkle the mustard microgreens over top and serve immediately alongside a basket of crostini.
    2 tangelos, 227g (8oz) black mission figs, 100g (3.5oz) prosciutto, ¼ cup mustard microgreens

Notes

** If you can’t find potato starch, use cornstarch instead.
Keyword burrata, figs, friseé, prosciutto, radicchio, tangelos

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