Roasted broccoli & green bean salad with burrata

I’ve discovered the absolute living best way to eat tender-stem broccoli and green beans. I love both these vegetables and am happy to eat them lightly steamed so they retain their crunch. A spritz of lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil with a simple seasoning of sea salt & pepper is enough to finish them off. However, roasting them in a hot oven with olive oil and nutritional yeast turns them into umami bombs of deliciousness.

They take on some char and shrivel a bit making them less than picture-perfect food subject matter, but I’ve put function before form here. I also wanted to combine them in a dish with something creamy for contrast so this salad idea of roasted broccoli, bean and burrata was born.

Burrata is a thing of beauty and I used one ball here but if you are making for a crowd and are feeling generous, go for two. I butterflied the ball to flatten it on the platter and spread it out. I seasoned it with lemon juice, salt & pepper, and really good olive oil.

With a salad like this and with the clean purity of creamy burrata, you really only want to use the best olive oil. I had recently been sent a bottle of a limited-release Tokara EVOO. It is a beautifully balanced, unfiltered, cloudy blend of Frantoio and Favolosa FS-17, both Italian olive oil varieties. The Favolosa is a fabulous oil of excellent quality for blending and on its own has a pleasant, fruity taste. Blended with the Frantoio, the oil smacks of tomato vine and butter lettuce with a pinch of rocket and ends with the nuttiness of walnut and lingering pepperiness. It was perfect for this salad.

The burrata came from a local Italian cheese producer Puglia. These elements combined with my favourite roasted broccoli and beans made for a very simple and super delicious salad that can be served warm or at room temperature making it perfect for winter.

I decided to finish it off with chopped parsley and fresh mint and a sprinkle of fried breadcrumbs seasoned with lemon zest and salt. If you fancied some heat, a dash of chilli would go really well here too. I settled on black pepper for the spice.

Here is my recipe but the quantities are just guidelines. The vegetables shrink quite a bit in the oven, so I suggest making more than you think. Either way, they will be devoured with gusto.

A long list of vegetables on the side for inspiration

Green bean & pea salad with lashings of Parmesan

Green & black bean stir fry with red pepper

More about Tokara extra virgin olive oil 

Roasted broccoli, bean and burrata salad with lemon.

A salad with the most delicious roasted broccoli and green beans on a bed of seasoned burrata with lemon, parsley & mint.

Print Recipe

Prep Time:10 minutes mins

Cook Time:15 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 1 good quality burrata
• Very good olive oil
• 200 gms tender stem broccoli
• 200 gms green beans
• Olive oil
• Nutritional yeast
• Sal& pepper
• Lemon wedges
• A small handful of parsley chopped
• A few mint leaves torn or roughly chopped

Fried crumbs:

• About 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• ½ clove of garlic crushed
• Salt & pepper
• Zest from half a lemon

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 200C and toss the vegetables in olive oil to lightly coat. Spread these out on one very large roasting sheet or two smaller ones. You don’t want to overcrowd the pan. If you have a fan oven, bake on this setting and roast the vegetables on two trays at the same time.

  Keep the 2 vegetables separate on the tray as they roast at slightly different times. Sprinkle generously with nutritional yeast, salt and pepper and toss to combine. Use the floret part of the broccoli to wipe up and oil and nutritional yeast on the tray.
• Roast the broccoli for 15 minutes and until they take on char and are starting to crisp then remove from the tray. Continue roasting the beans for a further 4 – 5 minutes. They take closer to 20 minutes.
• While the vegetables are roasting, place the burrata on a serving platter. Butterfly the cheese by cutting halfway down through the middle and then turning your knife to one direction to slice off the top and flap it open. Repeat on the other side. Drizzle the cheese with your very good quality olive oil and spritz it with lemon juice. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
• To make the crumb heat the olive oil in a small pan and fry the crumbs until golden. About halfway through add the garlic and allow stir to ensure it mixes with the crumbs and cooks to take the abrasive edge off. Add the lemon zest, salt and pepper.
• When the vegetables are a cooked arrange them across the platter on top of the burrata. Scatter over the mint and chopped parsley and fried breadcrumbs.  

Notes

The vegetables can be roasted in advance and this can be served warm or at room temperature.

Servings: 1 salad that will serve 4 as part of ameal with other dishes and a main

Author: Sam Linsell

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