Hands, a grocery bag, and a pot — that’s all it took for a platter of burrata crowned with smashed cherries and pistachios to vanish in 15 minutes at a backyard barbecue!
Last summer a friend turned up at a barbecue and said, “We had soccer and then a birthday party and I had no time to make anything but I brought this,” then began pulling items from a grocery bag. There were no clean cooking utensils, so she and I used our hands to break open balls of burrata and spread them on a plate, smashed cherries and pitted them, sprinkled the fruit over the cheese, crushed pistachios with the bottom of a pot, and finished the whole platter with olive oil, plenty of flaky sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and sprigs of mint we picked and tore. We lined the plate with store-bought crostini. I snapped a picture and, when I later shared it, dozens of readers messaged me asking for the recipe or a quick tutorial.
Honestly, I love it when you all are bossy. My brain can sometimes be such a drag — telling me “is this even a real recipe?” or “it’s probably been done a million times” and “maybe we should stop with the burrata already.” That’s a malady one can catch after nearly 20 years creating cooking content online: forgetting that things which seem “overdone” are often wildly delicious to people in the real world. And this was delicious. The platter was demolished by a pride of revelers in under 15 minutes.
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 especially timely: it’s hands-on, a little messy, and practically impossible to get wrong. Cherries are excellent this year; this method lets every cherry that hasn’t already been snacked on shine.
Servings: 4 as a small starter; 8 as party finger food
Time: 15 minutes
Psst: You really don’t need a strict recipe for this, but here are the proportions I used, loosely. I photographed a small plate made with half the quantities; you’ll be happier if you make the full amount below.
burrata is at its creamiest and most nuanced when it has been allowed to come up to room temperature, or just below room temperature. If you can find them, mini burrata balls (brands such as Liuzzi and BelGioso offer them) work wonderfully here and feel like they stretch further in a dish like this. Can’t find fresh burrata? The next best thing is stracciatella — the creamy shreds from inside a burrata ball — although that can be harder to locate. A high-quality fresh ricotta, either store-bought or homemade, is my favourite accessible swap.
Ingredient | Quantity (US) | Quantity (Metric) | Notes / Preparation |
|---|---|---|---|
Burrata | 1 lb | 455 g | Drain on paper towel; bring to room temperature (or just below); tear into chunks. |
Fresh cherries | 1 lb | 455 g | Pit and smash roughly by hand (or halve and lightly crush). |
Olive oil | 2–3 tbsp | 30–45 ml | Good-quality extra-virgin, to drizzle over finished platter. |
Salted shelled pistachios | 1/3 cup | 40 g | Coarsely crush (bottom of a pot or using a knife). |
Fresh mint | 1–2 sprigs | — | Pick leaves and tear or chop lightly for garnish. |
Flaky sea salt | To taste | — | Sprinkle over at the end. |
Freshly ground black pepper | To taste | — | Grind over the dish before serving. |
Crostini | For serving (about 12–16 rounds) | — | Store-bought or toasted slices of baguette. |
Drain the burrata on a paper towel and ideally allow it to come to room temperature, or just below, for maximum creaminess and flavour.
Tear the burrata into large chunks and scatter them across a serving platter.
Smash the cherries (remove pits as you go) and scatter them over the burrata. Use your hands or the flat bottom of a pot if a pitter is not available.
Crush the pistachios — a gentle smash with the bottom of a pot or a rolling pin is fine — and sprinkle them across the platter.
Drizzle generously with olive oil, scatter torn mint leaves, and finish with a liberal pinch of flaky sea salt and a few turns of freshly ground black pepper.
Serve immediately with crostini.
I photographed a small plate using half the quantities above, but this dish is happiest when made at full scale for sharing. It’s very forgiving: the balance of sweet cherries, creamy burrata, crunchy pistachios and bright mint is the point, not precise measurements.
