Wednesday 11 September 2019

FRESH FIG & BURRATA LINGUINE



Summer may be inevitably coming to an end, let's be honest an Indian summer is looking increasingly unlikely considering the coat weather that has been hard to avoid in the last few days, but this time of the year does have some advantages, one of them being that it is officially fig season!

Figs are just one of those ingredients that add something a little luxury and indulgent to any dish, not only incredibly pretty to look at once cut them up, but so fragrant that they are hard to resist, especially when fresh, and work as well in savoury cooking as they do as part of desserts.

I spotted some gorgeous punnets of figs at my local greengrocer a few weeks ago and instantly knew I had to find a recipe that made them the star of the show and after a bit of Pinterest recipe research came across this pasta wonder!

It was not only super easy to prepare, being more of an "assemble using good quality ingredients" kind of cooking rather than all out elaborate preparation, looked gorgeous and impressive when served up, but also tasted fantastic, in fact one of my favourite homemade pasta dishes ever.

It's the perfect marriage of sweet and savoury flavours, all joined together by a silky and garlicky olive oil dressing, and I have been dreaming of making it again ever since I polished off my portion.

One to impress a crowd with, with no hard work involved and a recipe that has firmly been added to my regular recipe repertoire!


FIG & BURRATA PASTA

Serves 2-3

INGREDIENTS
350g linguine, cooked according to package instructions
1/2 cup of olive oil
1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar (this was a real flavour revelation as part of the pasta "dressing" and is an ingredient I will definitely be using again. I got mine from Sainsbury's)
2 tbsp garlic puree (again super easy to find at Sainsbury's and most big supermarkets, feel free to be a little more generous with measures if you like garlic and don't have a hot date planned after your meal)
2 lemons, finely sliced
3-4 cups of rocket
1 bunch of fresh basil, torn.
1-2 rounds of burrata, torn (Waitrose used to sell an amazing burrata but try your local cheesemonger if you cant find it there, avoid mozzarella if you can as it lacks the gooeyness of burrata)
Around 10 figs (depending on size), quartered

I free-styled a lot when it came to putting it all together so take the above as rough guide and of course feel free to add more or less of anything!


METHOD
  • Place spaghetti in a serving platter.
  • Whisk together olive oil, vinegar and garlic puree. 
  • Toss spaghetti with mixture, lemon slices, figs, arugula and basil. 
  • Arrange burrata atop pasta. 
  • Salt and pepper generously. 
  • Drizzle with a little more olive oil, if desired. Serve immediately.
  • Enjoy with an ice cold glass of white wine or rosé- I am currently loving the rose Sauvignon Blanc from Silver Moki that only costs around £7-8, perfect when you don't want to splash out on a bottle of Whispering Angel but still want a decent tipple! 

I told you, it couldn't be easier to make and the end result is seriously impressive and achievable for even the laziest of cooks!

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