Burrata with kale and anchovy pesto
Serves: 4 to share, with pesto left over
Prep time: 20 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Martin Poole
Burrata with kale and anchovy pesto
The rich, creamy taste of burrata pairs beautifully with this salty homemade pesto
Serves: 4 to share, with pesto left over
Prep time: 20 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
570Kcal
Fat
34gr
Saturates
14gr
Carbs
40gr
Sugars
9gr
Fibre
4gr
Protein
25gr
Salt
1.5gr
Robert Chambers
Robert is the head chef at Luca, one of London’s most-loved Italian restaurants, where his focus is on giving beautiful British produce a sprinkle of Italian magic
See more of Robert Chambers’s recipes
Robert Chambers
Robert is the head chef at Luca, one of London’s most-loved Italian restaurants, where his focus is on giving beautiful British produce a sprinkle of Italian magic
See more of Robert Chambers’s recipes
Ingredients
- 2 x 150g balls of burrata
- 1 x 270g loaf black olive ciabatta
- sea salt flakes
- basil leaves
For the pickled chilli
- 50ml white-wine or cider vinegar
- 25g caster sugar
- 1 red chilli, deseeded and sliced
For the kale pesto
- 2 shallots, diced
- 3 anchovy fillets, plus a drizzle of their oil
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- zest of ½ lemon, plus a squeeze of juice
- 250g whole-leaf kale
- 40g Parmesan, grated
- 150ml good extra-virgin olive oil (such as San Leandro), plus extra to serve
Step by step
Get ahead
Make the pickled chilli up to 1 week ahead and store in the fridge in a sterilised jar. The pesto can be made the day before and stored in an airtight container. Any pesto leftovers can be tossed through pasta or spread on bruschetta and topped with crumbled soft goat’s cheese.
- Start by making the pickled chilli: put the vinegar, sugar, 50ml water and a pinch of salt in a small pan, and bring to the boil. Add the chilli, take off the heat and set aside. This can be done well in advance; see ‘Get ahead’ tip, above.
- For the kale pesto, add the shallots to a small pan with a drizzle of oil from the anchovies. Cook for a couple of minutes then cover, reduce the heat and cook for 3-5 minutes to soften without colouring. Add the garlic and cook for 3 minutes, then add the anchovies and cook until they start to disintegrate. Squeeze in a little lemon juice and leave to one side.
- Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and tear the kale leaves off the tough stalks. Boil the kale for 3 minutes then drain and refresh in a bowl of iced water. Reserve a few leaves to dress the dish, then place the rest of the kale in a clean tea towel and squeeze out excess water.
- Finely chop the kale, then add to a food processor with the Parmesan, lemon zest and shallot mixture. Blitz together, gradually adding the oil until pesto-like. Season to taste.
- Remove the burrata from the fridge an hour before serving and bake the ciabatta to pack instructions. Place on a board, with a jug of olive oil. Spread about half of the pesto in the centre of a serving dish. Season both burrata with a good pinch of salt flakes and a twist of pepper, then place side by side on the pesto. Dress the plate with the blanched kale and pickled chilli (drained). Garnish with basil and set on the table to share, drizzled with extra oil.
