Crostini with Serrano Burrata and Hot Honey

Is it just me or hot honey has becoming a trend recently? I kept seeing it online and on the menus of many fancy restaurants. Luckily, it's so easy to put together and works really well as a dressing for finger food, like the crostini we're going to make here.

Crostini with Serrano burrata and hot honey - 

Ingredients?

• 1 medium baguette
• 10 slices Serrano ham
• 1 ball/2-4 oz burrata cheese
• 1/2 tomato
• 1 garlic clove
• Some olive oil
• Some chopped flat leaf parsley

Hot honey:

• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon Thai sweet chili sauce
• Some red chili flakes (optional)

How?

Add all the ingredients under the "hot honey" section to a small saucepan. Use medium low heat to bring it to a simmer. Keep it warm for about three minutes then remove from heat for later use.

Usually you won't see Thai sweet chili sauce used in hot honey recipe, it's more like a variation of my own. Also some people will add a little bit vinegar in the end. Considering the crostini I'm going to put together, vinegar won't be necessary. 

Slice the baguette and arrange on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Drizzle some olive oil over then transfer to the oven. Turn to high heat and wait till the edges look slightly darkened and crunchy. Take it out before the slices over-hardened.

Peel and halve the garlic. If using whole tomato, cut in half because we're going to use the cut side to rub against the baguette slices.

Rub the cut side of garlic to one side of baguette slices, the side with olive oil drizzled on. Make sure to apply some force while doing so, after few slices you'll notice that the garlic really gets smaller and smaller.

Once done with garlic, use cut side of the tomato to rub the baguette slices, like adding on top of garlic. 

Drain the liquid from the burrata container. Finely chop the flat leaf parsley. 

To assemble, take one prepped baguette slice and top with small chunk of burrata cheese.

Top the cheese with 1 slice of Serrano ham and drizzle some hot honey over. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve immediately. 

This recipe is not hard to make and pretty delicious, at least I enjoyed it a lot. It got that savory umami from the high quality ham and luscious cheese from the burrata. These two further bound together by sweet and spicy hot honey with added pop of herbal touch from parsley. I mean, as good as it sounds, no way it doesn't taste yummy right?  

Extended reading:

• Irresistible garlic bread

Maple Glazed Salmon (No Oven Involved)

Looking for a way to utilize maple syrup at home? You know there's more than just maple syrup and pancakes right?

In fact, I was amazed how this recipe turned out. Putting maple syrup together with fish? That sounds absurd at first. But think of it as a slightly more aromatic source of sugar. You won't really notice that maple syrup was used, and it's hard not to fall for such luscious sweet and savory salmon dish.

Maple glazed salmon (no oven involved) - 

Ingredients (for two fillets)?

Marinade - 

• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons green lemon juice (can be substitute with yellow lemon or lime)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped garlic (about 2 cloves)

Others - 

• 2 salmon fillet
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Some chopped cilantro
• Some toasted white sesame seeds

How?

Mix all the ingredients under the "marinade" section to a medium container. Transfer salmon fillets over and make sure both sides are coated with the seasonings. Cover and store in the fridge.

Let the salmon marinate for 15 minutes first. Flip to the other side and continue to marinate for another 15 minutes. When ready to cook, remove from fridge and let it rest under room temperature for few minutes.

Use a non-stick pan and drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Turn to medium heat and wait till the surface temperature rises. Take out the salmon and try to wipe out the garlic bits. Add to the pan and leave the fillets untouched first.

Sear till the bottom seems to set, about couple minutes. You can now move around the salmon if needed. Cook till the bottom turns slightly browned then flip to the other side. Continue to sear till colored.

Still using the same pan, now it's time to pour in all the remaining marinade along with garlic bits. Flip the salmon one or two times, making sure all sides are coated with the sauce.

Add 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter and wait for it to melt. Tilt the pan and keep scooping the melted butter and the sauce to the top of both salmon fillets. Keep basting the fish till the sauce has been reduced and can't really scoop up enough sauce anymore.

Plate and garnish with toasted white sesame seeds. Also add some chopped cilantro on top.

I would recommend to serve this dish with steamed rice. The sweet and savory sauce is even better when enjoying together with it. 

Extended reading:

• Oven-baked gochujang salmon fillets