Let’s aperitivo & open the holiday food palate with our Festive Burrata Pomegranate Plate!
Life is full & fast again, it seems, and DadChef and I spend most of our “down time” being Mom/Dad-Uber to our older two who have more of a social life than we do 😉, but last weekend we intentionally found a few fleeting moments to slow in between the drive-around and savour this Festive Burrata plate. Serve as a beautiful addition to your holiday party tables as an aperitivo, or enjoy with your festive sidekick for a date night at home. Sink into the belle of all the fresh mozzarella balls, pause & appreciate the buttery crema ooze out, slather it with pomegranate glaze on a bed of mixed greens surrounded by your favourite Italian condiment accents and top with fresh pomegranate arils. This festive food plate takes just 5 merry minutes to make and no cooking required! Buon appetito! More no-cook festive food ideas shared below!
Impress without the stress – this Festive Burrata Pomegranate Aperitivo Plate takes just 5 merry minutes to make!
What is Aperitivo? How is it Different from Antipasto?
Prior to my student exchange experience living in Milano I always associated antipasto as the starter to the Italian food fare experience, but quickly learned aperitivo is a whole vibe in Italy (and social tradition in Spain too!) with local bars offering a spread of “snacks” to accompany the night’s first round of drinks (alcoholic or non, the most popular of the alcoholic aperitivo cocktails including Aperol or Campari) to stimulate the appetite. While antipasto is always the starter “course” to an Italian feast (and usually heavier), aperitivo can be an experience in and of itself (a full meal doesn’t necessarily proceed it), nibblers tend to be lighter, can include snacks + drinks or one or the other. DadChef & I have enjoyed this Burrata plate as a start to a date night meal and also on it’s own with our homemade crostini.
The amount of Italian condiments & spring mix to use will depend on the size of your serving dish! Add/reduce as needed.
About the Ingredients for a Festive Burrata Pomegranate Aperitivo Plate
Burrata: Burrata is considered the Queen of fresh mozzarella varieties. The combo of the mozzarella fresca outside and the luscious, creamy insides (crema) that ooze out of each belle of the balls makes it live up to it’s high praise. Some of the best, authentically produced Burrata is sold at specialty Italian food shops, but for this food share, we simply used whatever our grocer had on hand. Burrata is best served at room temperature, making this platter a perfect one to leave out a while for holiday entertaining.
Leafy base: the first layer of the plate should have some leafy texture. We used spring mix, but fresh arugula would work as well.
Tasty Italian Jarred Condiment Accents: I used whatever complimentary Italian jarred condiments I had in the fridge and pantry to surround the burrata – marinated artichoke hearts, julienne sundried tomatoes, stuffed green olives & jarred roasted red peppers. Use whatever you love best – no rules here!
Pomegranate: The juicy pops of pomegranate arils give this burrata plate it’s festive punch. Getting all those lovely arils out is a true test of patience, but my little chef side-kick referred me to this food-torial hack on how to cut a pomegranate & it helped. It was still a merry mess, though, and pomegranate stains, so wear an apron!
Balsamic Glaze: we’ve used a regular balsamic reduction on our burrata plates before, but if you want to level this one up a notch, a pomegranate flavour-infused version is buonissima! No matter which type of balsamic glaze you choose to drizzle on your burrata plate, know that the very best of the bunch will say Made in Modena or Aceto Balsamico di Modena.
How to Make a Festive Burrata Aperitivo Plate
The platter is super simple to make and begins with the leafy base drizzled with some quality olive oil, followed by the placing of the burrata, Italian condiments, pomegranate arils, & (my favourite part) the balsamic reduction drizzle (in that order). Choose your platter dish based on the size of your gathering & add/reduce quantities of the ingredients accordingly.
Using a pomegranate-infused balsamic glaze gave this burrata platter a festive flavour upgrade!
Festive Burrata Pomegranate Aperitivo Plate | La Cucina di Kerrs
Equipment
- Platter
Ingredients
- Spring Mix *used about 3/4 of a 152 g package for this food plate; add more if making a bigger platter*
- 2 balls Burrata *we used 2 250 g balls of Bella Casara*
- Marinated artichoke hearts *jarred; as many as you like*
- Roasted Red Peppers *homemade or jarred - as many as you like*
- Julienne Sundried Tomatoes *Jarred in olive oil - as many as you'd like*
- Stuffed Green Olives *as many as you'd like*
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil *enough to drizzle on top of the burrata & greens to taste*
- Mediterranean Salt & Ground Black Pepper *to taste*
- 1/2 Pomegranate *we used approx. 2 tbsp of the arils for this food plate; add more if using a bigger platter*
- Balsamic Reduction *to taste; use a pomegranate flavour to elevate the burrata plate*
Instructions
- Add your spring mix base layer to your platter, drizzle with olive oil & sprinkle some salt + pepper. Place the burrata balls on top of the spring mix with some space in between them.
- Add your condiments to the spring mix & around the burrata balls, staggering evenly.
- Sprinkle the pomegranate arils over top of the burrata plate. If serving at a later time, cover in saran wrap & refrigerate. If serving immediately, drizzle with the balsamic glaze and offer crostini as the accompaniment to your Festive Burrata Pomegranate aperitivo! Buon appetito! *Note: Burrata is best served at room temperature, so don't worry about leaving it out a while for your holiday entertaining. Tag us on social @House_of_Kerrs if you try! #LaCucinadiKerrs
Notes
Tag us on social if you try our Festive Burrata Pomegranate Aperitivo @House_of_Kerrs!
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The best part – slicing into the burrata and watching the crema ooze out!
What to Serve with a Burrata Plate
Serve this Festive Burrata Pomegranate Aperitivo with thinly sliced Italian bread (like ciabatta) or our homemade crostini!
Holiday Aperitivo Drink – Campari Spritz
I’m not sure if this would be recognized as aperitivo-official in Italy, but I made this last Christmas using two of my favourites – Asti MARTINI (comparable to a Moscato vino bianco) + Campari (a bitter-sweet Italian liqueur) – then dropped some of the leftover pomegranate arils into it & she’s a lovely way to toast the holidays! If you don’t like the sweetness of Asti , you could substitute with prosecco & add some soda water. I don’t really have a “recipe” for this, but I’d say I fill my glass 3/4 with Asti, 1/4 Campari.
To make a merry mocktail, soda water (or Bubly for kids) splashed with a pom-cran juice is fabulous.
More No-Cook Festive Food Ideas
If you want to impress minus the stress this holiday season, here are some of our fave easy festive food ideas from years’ past:
Holiday Crostini Wreath Appetizer
Spicy Red Pepper (Peperoncini Piccanti) + Brie Bites
Prosciutto Fig & Arugula Crostini
We hope you enjoy this Festive Burrata Pomegranate Aperitivo food share. We love seeing you create in your Cucinas so please share a pic or tag us at @House_of_Kerrs if you try! Cheers to some no-fuss festive food prep this holiday season! Buon appetito!
Keep well, eat well,
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