Burrata is a wonderful creamier, richer sort-of-mozzarella style Italian cheese, originally from Puglia. It can stand on its own – served just plain with some tomatoes on the vine for example, or over plain pasta.

Here it tops a bed of courgette ribbons with a lemony dressing. You can enjoy it as a vegetarian salad, or you can add salami.

If you want to transform this into a heartier meal, you can adopt an idea of Skye McAlpine, and serve the courgettes and burrata ….plus the garlic, oil and mint, as below…. and serve atop a bed of pappardelle. More than satisfying!

Recipe for courgette carpaccio with blousy burrata

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 large courgette or two small ones
• a few stems of mint leaves
• a few stems of basil
• 2 tbsp black sesame seeds
• 90g/ thin sliced Milano salami – NB get ready-sliced, not the type in a sausage block (optional)
• 200g/7 oz burrata
• 5 tbsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• juice and zest of a lemon
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed with one tsp smoked salt
• generous amounts of freshly ground black pepper, or, if you have them, some Urfa pepper flakes… or some Spanish smoked paprika
• 2 tbsps honey
• four large slices sourdough bread

Method

1. Slice the courgettes into ribbons using a potato peeler.
2. Mix the dressing, (the olive oil, lemon juice and zest, the garlic, 1 tbsp of honey and salt and pepper) ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.
3. Tear over the majority of the leaves of both the herbs. Cut the salami into bite-sized pieces, and add in and mix.
4. Move onto a serving platter.
5. Scatter over the sesame seeds and the remainder of the torn herb leaves.
6. Place over the burrata. Drizzle over a little more oil and the rest of the honey.
7. Toast the ciabatta, or griddle it; drizzle over a bit more oil, and add over a few Urfa pepper flakes or the smoked paprika.
8. Just before serving, cut the burrata into four and more gently apart… it is soft inside and it will spill out.