Earlier, I (Celine) was randomly checking an old post on this blog. While admiring the picture of liege waffles on the homepage, I realized…woah! It’s been over a year since we’ve posted here.

A lot has happened this past year. Leah and I both graduated from college. I’m currently in a full-time volunteer program at a high school in New York City, and Leah is in grad school in Philadelphia pursuing a Master of Public Health degree.

One of our greatest delights living in cities is the access to spectacular food. Though volunteer programs and grad school may hamper the complete exploration of certain restaurants in our respective cities, the hobby of experiencing food is still very much a source of everyday enjoyment for us. Philly’s food scene is compact but stellar. A smaller host of well-executed restaurants abounds. New York’s culinary sites sprawl, just like the city itself, across boroughs and encompass just about every food that humanity imagines. It’s overwhelming but exciting.

One of my favorite places to go, when I can, and in spite of the crowds, is the Union Square Greenmarket, a massive outdoor farmers market. It was especially refreshing in the early spring, as New Yorkers crawled out of the dreary hibernation of winter in the city toward the fresh produce of the market. One weekend in early June, I tasted a perfect snap pea and ordered a pound.

I made this great appetizer from Smitten Kitchen.  Decadent but still somewhat light, this would be welcome at any summer gathering. Please pardon the hidden burrata; promise it’s under there. Enjoy!

Burrata with Snap Peas

Recipe from Smitten Kitchen

Serves 4 as an appetizer/side

Ingredients

1 8 oz. ball of burrata

Olive oil

Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

1/2 a lemon

1 lb. sugar snap peas

1-2 thick-cut slices of crusty bread

A handful of mint/basil leaves, roughly torn

Red pepper flakes to serve

Directions

Drain burrata of its liquid and gently dry with a towel. Place it on a serving platter. You’ll now “butterfly” your burrata to open it up. Start to cut in half vertically, but stop as you reach halfway and turn your knife sideways. Cut nearly to the edge of the burrata but not through it. Flip the side of the burrata open. Do the same on the other side. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sea salt. Let sit at room temp while you prep the rest of the ingredients.

Trim your snap peas and place them in a bowl. Drizzle with 1 tblsp of olive oil, black pepper, and sea salt to taste and toss to coat. Use your hands to shred bread into coarse crumbs, aiming for a bit under a cup.

Heat a frying pan over medium heat and add a bit of olive oil. Add in your breadcrumbs & season with salt. Cook until crispy. Zest half of a lemon over them and toss. Set aside until you’re ready for assembly.

Heat a large frying pan over high heat. Add half of the sugar snaps and cook until charred, 3-5 minutes. Add them to the bowl with the remaining raw sugar snaps.

Top the burrata with the sugar snaps & breadcrumbs. Drizzle with more olive oil and sea salt, and scatter with mint/basil. Add a dash of red pepper flakes. I also juiced the half lemon across the top.

Enjoy!