Crema di Burrata con Acciughe del Cantabrico, Limone Candito e Bottarga (Italian Burrata Hors d'Oeuvre) A burrata hors d'oeuvre lives on one ingredient and on the restraint of everything beside it. The stracciatella inside the burrata becomes a cold, glossy cream, and three accents sit on top: a Cantabrian anchovy fillet, a few cubes of lemon peel candied at home, and a veil of bottarga grated at the last second. Nothing here is cooked except the lemon, and nothing is hidden.

Story of the Dish Ricotta gelato belongs to a very Italian idea of dessert: richness without heaviness. Fresh ricotta brings milk sweetness, gentle acidity, and a naturally creamy body, while ripe figs, honey, and walnuts build a flavor profile that feels rooted in the countryside rather than in an ice cream laboratory. The combination is especially convincing at the end of summer, when figs are soft, aromatic, and almost jammy. The key to making this gelato taste refined is

Crema Catalana, the Catalan stovetop cream under a sugar crust burnt with a hot iron Crema catalana is Catalan, not Italian, and it appears in writing long before crème brûlée. It is milk scented with lemon peel and cinnamon, thickened on the stove with yolks and cornstarch, chilled in shallow clay dishes and finished with a crackling crust of burnt sugar. Yield: 6 servings in 4 1/2 inch (11 cm) cassoles. Prep: 20 minutes. Infusion: 30 minutes. Cook: 15 minutes. Chill: 4 hour