Burrata, Summer Herbs & Asparagus on Toast

This is a quick, but really-quite-fancy, lunch. Whip it up just for yourself (YES, it is ok to eat a whole ball of burrata), or it’s ideal if you’re having people over and want a delicious mouthful before the main event kicks off. 

If you can’t find burrata, mozzarella with a few tablespoons of creme fraiche is a very worthy stand-in. And once our dear friends asparagus have gone, try this with juicy tomatoes, grilled courgette or even peach would be pretty epic.

ingredients

serves 4

• 4 large pieces of sourdough

• 400g asparagus, tough end discarded

• 2 x 150g burrata or mozzarella, at room temp

• 3 tbsp olive oil

• A squeeze of lemon juice

• A small handful each of mint, parsley, basil or marjoram leaves, or whatever you have, roughly chopped, a couple of leaves reserved to finish

• ½ small garlic clove

• 3 tbsp small black olives, de-stoned and roughly chopped

instructions

Get the bread toasting. Bring a pan of lightly salted water to the boil and cook the asparagus for 3-4 minutes, depending on their thickness. You want them JUST tender.

Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, break up the burrata roughly with a spoon and whisk in the oil, lemon juice, herbs and some seasoning to make a creamy sauce. Add a splash of cold water to loosen it. 

Rub the hot toast very lightly with the garlic clove to infuse it with its goodness.

Spread the burrata on top of your garlicky toast, then sit the asparagus on top of the delicious burrata pillow. Scatter over the olives and a few pinches of herbs, drizzle with a little extra oil, then serve.