Last summer, a friend came to a barbecue and said, “We had soccer and then a birthday party and I had no time to make anything but I brought this” and started unloading items from a grocery bag. There were no clean cooking utensils so she and I proceeded to use our hands to break open balls of burrata and spread them on a plate, smash open cherries and pit them, sprinkling them over, crushed pistachios with the bottom of a pot, and finished the whole platter with olive oil, lots of sea salt, black pepper, and fresh mint we picked from sprigs. We lined the plate with rounds of storebought crostini, I snapped a picture and later when I shared it, dozens of you messaged me to demand a recipe or tutorial.
Honestly, I love it when you guys are bossy. Because my brain can be such a drag, telling me that “is this even a real recipe” and “it’s probably been done a million times” and “probably we should just stop with the burrata already” which is a malady one can catch after spending nearly 20 years sending out cooking content on the internet, forgetting that things that can seem “overdone” are, in fact, wildly delicious to people in the real world. And it was. The platter was demolished by a pride of revelers in under 15 minutes.
And so for a week in which many of us are heading out of town and cooking in unfamiliar kitchens that might lack such creature comforts as (gasp!) a cherry pitter, this no-recipe recipe feels suddenly timely: hands-on, a little messy, but also impossible to mess up. The cherries are fantastic this year; this allows every single one I don’t snack on first to shine.
Burrata with Crushed Cherries and Pistachios
Some additional burrata advice: Burrata is at its most nuanced and creamy when it’s been allowed to come to room temperature, or just below. If you can find them, mini balls of burrata (Liuzzi and BelGioso brands sell them) always feel like they stretch further in dishes like this. Can’t find fresh burrata? The next best thing is stracciatella, which is basically the creamy, scrappy inside of a ball of burrata, but it is sometimes even harder to find. My favorite easier swap is a high-quality fresh ricotta, storebought or homemade.
- 1 pound (455 grams) burrata
- 1 pound (455 grams) fresh cherries
- Olive oil
- 1/3 cup (40 grams) salted, shelled pistachios
- A sprig of two of fresh mint
- Flaky sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Crostini for serving
Drain burrata on a paper towel and ideally let it come to room temperature or a little below before using for the maximum creaminess and flavor. Tear burrata into chunks and scatter on a serving platter.
Although I have a cherry pitter, I prefer the cherries here crushed or sliced open. To crush them, use the side of a knife or even the bottom of a heavy glass to press the cherry into a cutting board or plate until you can easily remove the pit. Tear the cherry in half and scatter over the burrata. Repeat with remaining cherries. Yes, this makes a mess but a delicious one: pour any accumulated cherry juices over the cherries on the burrata. To slice cherries open, run a paring knife around the cherry, cutting to the center, twist the sides apart, and fish out the pit.
Drizzle cherries and burrata with olive oil.
Either coarsely chop the pistachios or you can use the back of a heavy pan to crush them into irregular pieces. Sprinkle the pistachios over the cherries and burrata, followed by flaky sea salt, grinds of black pepper, and fresh mint. Serve with crostini and watch it vanish.
Previously
6 months ago: Invisible Apple Cake
1 year ago: Summer Steak with Corn and Tomatoes
2 years ago: Summer Pea Salad with Unexpected Dressing
3 years ago: Roasted Tomatoes with White Beans
4 years ago: Frozen Strawberry Daiquiris
5 years ago: Collard Greens with Cornmeal Dumplings
6 years ago: Corn Salad with Chile and Lime
7 years ago: Grilled Zucchini Ribbons with Pesto and White Beans
8 years ago: Grilled Pizza and Confetti Party Cake
9 years ago: Peaches and Cream Bunny Cake
10 years ago: Green Beans and Almond Pesto and Very Blueberry Scones
11 years ago: Sticky Sesame Chicken Wings and Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches
12 years ago: Slow-and-Low Dry Rub Oven Chicken and Grilled Bacon Salad with Arugula and Balsamic
13 years ago: Blackberry Gin Fizz and Bacon Corn Hash
14 years ago: Skirt Steak with Bloody Mary Tomato Salad and Flatbreads with Honey, Thyme, and Sea Salt
15 years ago: Bread and Butter Pickles, Blue Cheese and Red Potato Tart, Zucchini and Ricotta Galette and Porch Swing
16 years ago: Mediterranean Pepper Salad, Cherry Brown Butter Bars and Watermelon Lemonade
17 years ago: Chopped Vegetable, Watermelon, and Feta Salad
18 years ago: Rosanne Cash’s All-American Potato Salad and Ratatouille’s Ratatouille
YUM! Anything burrata is good by me!
This sounds amazing and I have all the ingredients except burrata! If anyone in MA wants some mint for this dish, hit me up – my mint has gone amok!
All mint goes amok. We had our mint carefully isolated into a container on our patio, a good foot and a half away from soil. Yet, it sneaked a root across the gap and rooted itself in the soil, where we’ve been fighting it from taking over the yard ever since!
Oh yum! This reminds me of the NYT “no recipe recipes”. As always, love your recos for options and substitutions. I’m also going to try this with quark – we have a local cheesemaker who makes amazing quark.
(What is quark? Quark is a fresh, unaged dairy product, similar to a soft cheese, with a creamy, thick texture and a mild, slightly tart flavor. It’s often described as being between cottage cheese and yogurt in consistency.)
Oh, thanks for this! I live in rural Hungary and had no idea what burrata was — wikipedia helped a little but not enough — but quark can be found at any grocery store bigger than a gas station. We put quark in everything. I will make this with quark!
Can’t find/afford burrata? Decent water-packed fresh mozzarella, torn over the plate, then drizzle with cream. Easy. Cheap.
This looks delicious! Thinking about bringing to a 4th of July party tomorrow but concerned on how it will age left out on a table for an hour or so. Does it sit well?
Thanks!
This was beautiful and delicious- I ended up putting on a bed of arugula to stretch it to feed more people and it got raves!
It looks great, I do have to admit that I’m the weird person who doesn’t like burrata (too gloopy and milky) but I love pistachios, cherries and almost every cheese in the world, so I will think of something ;)
Perhaps not “the,” but “a” weird person who doesn’t care for it – neither do I. What’s that softer, creamier feta called? Is it ricotta salata? I imagine that would be tasty in this beautiful dish.
P.S. Fascinating to hear that NY cherries are splendid this year; the northwest cherry trees graced us with a bumper crop of delightful fruit too.
Burrata doesn’t have to be “gloopy & milky” because it totally depends on the brand. Some are so much better (firmer) than others. Please don’t give up on burrata. Just keep experimenting until you find one that is more firm & less loose on the inside.
Have you ever tried Bing cherries with blue cheese? It’s phenomenal. I often use the combo in a salad when cherries are in season. But this recipe makes me think it would make a good crossing topping! Might switch out the pistachios for toasted almonds.
Crostini. Sorry for the autocorrect.
Maybe use fresh ricotta? Cherries with fresh ricotta and a drizzle of honey 🤤
I’m not a fan of cherries. Would other stone fruits work?
I’m not a fan of cherries either. I think it would be good with peaches. Just have to wait for them to be in season!
I made this with the blueberries on hand at my grocery store (instead of cherries) and it was delicious! I’ve been eating the leftover blueberries & pistachios on my salads and finding that they go really well together.
Adding just a few blueberries will make this a perfect Memorial Day or Fourth of July treat!
Now that we don’t have children at home, something like this makes the perfect dinner on a hot day. I love to cook, but sometimes an easy, no recipe dinner is just what we need! I might go with chunks of sourdough instead of crostini.
We have another favorite burrata dish that uses peaches and tomatoes, with burrata and hot sauce. I think it’s from Bon Appétit. Perfect for a farmers market haul!
Summertime and the living is easy!
And just like that Deb Perelman causes a nation wide Burrata shortage for the 4th of July weekend 😉. (Really! Had to go to 3 stores!!)
sounds really good – haven’t made it yet…
I’m wondering – what about using fresh-made mozzarella?
Yes, this would work too — just less scoopable.
My people did not love it with fresh mozzarella. It was good, but we would have liked it better with a softer cheese.
Heaven on a plate :)
My whole life is just hopscotching from one ball of burrata to another. Delighted you’ve come up with another way for me to indulge my fancy!!
Absolutely perfect. Made this with no real changes for the grown-up treat at a kid’s birthday… and my sister asked to take the (few!) leftovers home for dinner. I did use half fresh cherries and half frozen, thawed while the burrata came to room temperature. The frozen cherries of course released more juice than the fresh, which we loved.
Oh my word, you didn’t have to tell ME twice. My crowd devoured the first batch at our July 4th party, then a guest showed up with fresh-picked peaches, so we used them instead of cherries for the next round with equal success. Thank you!
I use the peaches and cherries together! You can never have too much of a good thing!
Made this tonight. Good flavors but we felt the mint and cherry overwhelmed the pistachio and burrata. On the second round, we used larger slices of bread and found we were more able to balance the flavors. This is a keeper but we need to be mindful on the ratio of ingredients.
How has it been 17 years since the watermelon, feta salad? How?!
After throwing together a peaches and burrata “dinner” last night (add good olive oil, a little dark balsamic, flaky salt, pepper, mint leaves), I can confidently say “no, NOT enough with the burrata already.” With peak summer fruit, it makes a perfect throw-it-together dinner or lunch.
Delicious, delicious, delicious. Brought it to a 4th of July party and it was a huge hit. I didn’t make any changes. Thank you Deb for sharing!
This was summer perfection and will be on repeat! Of note, didn’t have mint and we still loved it – if you have it, I’m sure it would be delicious but we didn’t miss it either. Another smitten kitchen slam dunk!
This is unbelievable!! We’re ecstatic to try this dish. Hot crostini, sweet cherries, crunchy pistachios, creamy burrata, flecks of salt, fresh mint – what a concoction to delight senses!!
Many thanks for sharing this recipe, Deb!
I made this yesterday for our family pool day, along with the big green little gem salad from Keepers (that recipe has revolutionized my salad game). Both salads were a huge hit! I absolutely love fruit with a fresh cheese product. Will be trying this with peaches and nectarines when those get really good. It’s true that the cherries are amazing right now, and we’re on the opposite coast and I get local ones. I added both basil and mint just because I love herbs and couldn’t help it. I was tempted to drizzle just a little honey on it too but then forgot. Maybe next time.
I wonder how hot honey, like “Mike’s Hot Honey” would be on this?
Yes, I was initially thinking that but the cherries have been so sweet, I didn’t bother.
What do you think of using mascarpone for this?
It might tip it more dessert-like due to the richness, but I’m sure it will be delicious.
I must say that I think straciatella is actually the best best thing, but this combination looks heavenly and is so full of color–I can’t wait to try it with whatever I can find!
I made this with mozzarella and cream as one commenter suggested. I wish I had done ricotta or goat cheese. I used tart cherries with a drizzle of honey… delicious!!!
Similar stupidly simple and incredible idea from a friend. Goat cheese log, cover either honey, sprinkle garlic powder, and then with golden raisins dip crackers or crudite into it! Creamy, salty, garlicky, sweet, and chewy!
Yum! This was delicious! The salt flakes were key to enhancing the flavors. Will definitely make again!
This was phenomenal! Another Smitten Kitchen success. I can’t wait to make it again with fresh ricotta.
This is such a great appetizer!! It really did disappear. I made it for someone with a nut allergy the second time and subbed roasted sunflower seeds and it was still delicious. I want to try it with roasted salted pepitas next time!
Update: I did try the Mike’s Hot Honey and it was good. I used to kind of think messing with sweet cherries was overkill, they are so delicious to just eat as they are. But this was kind of a summery change of pace. Very good with ricotta too.
LOVED! I served with basil as I find mint to be overpowering – even the leftovers were tasty on top of a baguette with a local peach sliced on top.
I made this for dinner last night and it was magnificent.
For even faster prep: crush all the cherries in one fell swoop between two cutting boards. It does require a little force and a little torque on the top board. I walked in the door from the grocery store and was back out again, having entirely prepped this, cleaned myself of cherry juice, and gotten dressed for a party, inside of 15 minutes. With this year’s cherries, I can’t think of an appetizer with a more favorable flavor to effort ratio.
This is a great tip!
I made the burrata & cherry salad and found it fairly bland. TBH, the burrata wasn’t quite at room temperature but not sure letting it warm up a bit more would have helped.
What did help was a a few dashes of balsamic reduction. It really brought out the sweetness of the cherries.
Thanks
Loved this. Thanks to the commenter with the cutting board smush tip. Zero notes, would take to every BBQ from now until the end of time. ❤️