Bruschetta with mortadella, burrata, and pistachio pesto

Bruschetta with mortadella, burrata, and pistachio pesto. This appetizer has summer written all over it. If you have never tasted burrata, then you are in for a real treat. An absolutely delicious combination of mortadella, creamy burrata, and that pesto, all nestled on the lovely crispy bread!

Song of the day: "Amare" by La rappresentante di lista.

Bruschetta with mortadella, burrata, and pistachio pesto

Any of you who are Italian, and those of you who are not and have tasted mortadella, can attest to my feeling for it. Many of our Italian recipes have mortadella incorporated in them. One of our all time favorites is Polpettone, the Italian meatloaf.

More so, mortadella brings back so many memories of my childhood.

We would always go to the Italian market on Saturdays, and fresh bread plus a plethora of Italian deli meats flourished from our fully packed grocery bags. The feeling of craving gave way to this frenzy of opening the mortadella and getting a slice of the pagnotta bread and smash, together it went. To this day, I always get the visual of my face and that feeling of pure satisfaction!

Today, Nicoletta and I are going to share with you our passion for Italian food. This appetizer is easy, quick, fresh, and so delicious, so let's get started, and make this Bruschetta with mortadella, burrata, and pistachio pesto.

Simply simple with incredible ingredients!

I love recipes this simple, very few ingredients, and take no time at all. This is what you will need:

• Good rustic Italian crusty bread (we used our homemade "almost no-knead bread")
• Mortadella
• Burrata
• Olive oil, extra virgin, of course
• Basil
• Pistachios
• Parmigiano Reggiano
• Pecorino

Utensils needed:

• Cutting board
• Bread knife
• Food processor or hand blender
• Saute pan
• Spoon
• Several ramekins
• Grater

Making pesto for this bruschetta

Making pesto is really easy to do, let me show you:

• Place basil, pistachios, and Parmigiano/Pecorino into a food processor. If using a hand held blender place these ingredients into a large narrow container. Usually your hand blender comes with one of these.
• Pulse three or four times, then slowly add the olive oil. Keep pulsing and adding the olive oil until the mixture is well blended.
• However, leave the pistachio a bit on the coarse side. This gives a nice texture to the mix. The consistency will be loose but not liquidy.

Time to make Bruschetta!

Literally bruschetta means toasted bread. And how do you pronounce bruschetta the correct way? Broo·skeh·ttuh is the answer, because in Italian ch is always k.

This is how we do ours:

• Cut bread into ¼ inch slices about 6 inches in length.
• Lightly brush both sides with olive oil, and place in a medium saute pan.
• Cook for a few minutes until you see the underside turn golden, then turn over and cook for another 2 minutes. Take out of pan and set aside. TIP: you could also toast the bread in the oven or in a toaster.

Time to assemble this Bruschetta with mortadella, burrata, and pistachio pesto!

This to me is the most fun part, assembling. Here are the steps, and don't be shy:

• Take the toasted bread (bruschetta) and lay a lovely piece of the mortadella on top.
• One thing before we use the burrata, we need to drain it. Do this by placing the burrata into a sieve and over a bowl. Let that sit for 5 minutes, then it will be ready to use.
• With a spoon, break off pieces of the burrata and place on top of the mortadella.
• Finish with a drizzle of pesto, and these appetizers are ready to serve.

Just love burrata!

Burrata is a soft, fresh cow milk cheese from Italy. It is a combination of fresh mozzarella, encasing the most rich buttery, creamy center, called Stracciatella (not the gelato, same name). You can say it is the best of both worlds. If I can offer any advice it would be this.

Burrata is a bit pricey, however, so worth it. Also make sure it is the real deal, a product made in Italy. I guarantee, you will be blown away with the texture and flavor of this wonderful cheese: solid on the outside, soft and creamy inside! There are some things that we should just splurge on sometimes and this is one of those times!

Presentation!

I am a rustic kind of guy, or maybe I have been inspired too much by Jamie Oliver! A wood board is my platter of choice for serving these bruschette. It just is the perfect color and texture to really highlight this Bruschetta with mortadella, burrata, and pistachio pesto.

Enough chit chat, time to taste these bad boys!

I am just so excited to try these. The aroma is incredible. The mortadella and its pungent sweetness. Wafts of that basil, olive oil, Parmigiano/Pecorino. My mouth is watering just from that, but here is the true test, the proverbial bite. CRUNCH! lol.

OMG! Wow, the bruschetta is perfect, crisp on the surface, airy in the middle. Then there is that tender luscious mortadella, salty, sweet, and peppery, paired with the buttery creamy rich burrata is just pure bliss. I love the pesto accent. Just enough brightness to balance the flavors, and give some spark to an already highly elevated appetizer. I am blown away. Sorry have to go, just want to sit and really savor this fantastic, wonderful Bruschetta with mortadella, burrata, and pistachio pesto!

Thanks for joining us, we really appreciate the love. Most of all, have fun in the kitchen and enjoy!

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