Burrata with Tonka Meringue

You can make wonderful things with burrata. In his new cookbook Vet, culinary journalist Bas Robben explains step by step how to use this ultra-creamy, mozzarella-like cheese in a filling dessert with roasted pears, meringue and buttermilk granita. 

Bas: ‘If you want to make things easier for yourself, use cloudy pear juice from a bottle instead of fresh pears. If you can’t get tonka beans, use the seeds from a vanilla pod.’

Making the granita
Mix the buttermilk with the honey and whisk until the honey has dissolved. Pour into the largest dish that will fit in your freezer and place it in the freezer. Ideally, scrape it with a fork once every hour until a snow-like texture forms. But if you have a sturdy fork, you can also let the mixture freeze completely (this takes about 4 hours) and make the snow with a fork just before serving. It takes a little more strength, so let one of your guests do it while you prepare the rest.

Preparing the meringue
To do this, mix the sugar with 60 ml water in a saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat. Measure the temperature with a sugar thermometer and heat the sugar syrup until it reaches 118 °C. Meanwhile, beat the egg whites in a scrupulously clean bowl with an electric hand mixer until quite stiff. Then, with the mixer running, pour in the hot sugar syrup. This is easier with an extra pair of hands. Keep beating until the mixture has cooled again.

Preheat an oven to 80 °C. Line a baking sheet with baking paper and spread the Italian meringue over it. Finely grate the tonka bean over the meringue and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Leave the meringue to dry in the oven for 4 to 5 hours.

Roasting the pears
Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Place the pears close together in a small baking dish. Insert the star anise between them. Bake the pears for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. Remove them from the oven and leave to cool completely. Put 4 pear halves without the star anise in a tall beaker with 50 ml water and blend until smooth with a stick blender. Pour through a fine sieve; you should have about 200 ml juice.

Serving
Right, that was a lot of work. But now it all comes together and becomes a fantastic dessert. Remove the string from the burrata balls and carefully tear the balls in half. Divide among four plates with a rim. Pour 50 ml pear juice around each serving. Arrange the remaining pear halves around them. Carefully break the meringue into large shards and use them to cover the burrata. Spoon some of the buttermilk granita over it.

Title: Vet
Author: Bas Robben
Publisher: Good Cook B.V.
Price: €24,95

Image: Jeroen van der Spek