Simple, but Effective, and Delicious

Sometimes the simple dinners are the most satisfying.  Such as good bread and great cheese!

One my favorites happens to be semolina bread topped with something rich and creamy.  

Semolina bread is made with durum flour.  This is the same type of hard wheat that is often used for pasta.  It has a nutty flavor and a high level of gluten relative to the soft wheats generally used in pastry.   While pasta and semolina, such as the rosemary and sea salt one pictured here, are to my mind Italian  food items, there are other dishes from North Africa and the Middle East based on durum wheat too.  

In Algeria, semolina pancakes and bread (ghraif and kesra) come from the Berber culture in N. Africa.  Other Berber dishes using this wheat are flatbread (avrum) and dumplings (tikerbabin).  The culinary influence from North Africa extends into Sicily through semolina couscous similar to what we refer to Israeli couscous in North America.

But what to put on top of this wonderful bread? 

I say cheese!

 

Personally, I tend toward mild and creamy, especially if it is on a bread with extra savory elements like the rosemary sea salt.  Burrata and fresh ricotta are excellent all on their own.   However, bacon jam is a stellar addition to this pairing.

And what is burrata you ask?  They take fresh mozzarella and shred it, soak it in cream and then stuff that wonderful mixture inside a mozzarella ball.  This is usually done with a cows milk mozz rather than the buffalo milk one but you get all that moisture and rich flavor too!

I often use burrata for my cypress salad instead of mozzarella since the cheese holds the other elements together quite well.