BURRATA WITH LEEKS VINAIGRETTE AND MUSTARD BREAD CRUMBS

Steps:

• To prepare the bread crumbs, adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 275°F.
• Put the mustard seeds in a small skillet and toast them over high heat, shaking the pan and taking care not to let them smoke or burn, until they begin to smell fragrant and toasty like popcorn and brown slightly, about 2 minutes. Set the mustard seeds aside to cool slightly.
• Stir the mustard seeds, mustard, wine, salt, and pepper together in a medium bowl. Drizzle in the oil, whisking constantly. Add the bread and use your hands to massage the marinade into the bread so that all the marinade is absorbed. Scatter the bread on a baking sheet and toast it in the oven for about 1 1/2 hours, until the croutons are crunchy and toasted all the way through, but not browned. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and set aside to cool the croutons to room temperature. Transfer the croutons to a food processor and grind them until they are the consistency of coarse crumbs; you want them to have some texture, not to be powder.
• To make the mustard vinaigrette, spoon the mustard into a medium bowl and slowly pour in the Lemon Vinaigrette, whisking to keep it emulsified. The mustard should be spoonable, but not as thick as mayonnaise. If it is too thick, add more vinaigrette. Use the vinaigrette or transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate it for up to three days. Bring the vinaigrette to room temperature and whisk to recombine the ingredients before using.
• To serve, lay two leek halves side by side, root sides together, on each of six salad plates or in pairs on one long serving platter and sprinkle them with the sea salt. Spoon 1 1/2 tablespoons of the mustard vinaigrette on the leeks close to the root ends and, using the back of the spoon, smear the vinaigrette over the length of the leeks. Cut the burrata into six equal-size segments and lay one segment of burrata on each serving of leeks, closer to one end or the other rather than in the center. Pile 2 tablespoons of the bread crumbs on each serving of burrata, and sprinkle with the parsley.
• Braised Leeks
• Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Peel away and discard the outer layer of each leek and trim and discard the hairy roots, leaving the very ends of the roots attached. One at a time, place the leeks on the cutting board and, with the white end pointing away from you, remove the dark green part of the leek, cutting it at an angle and rolling the leek a quarter-turn to repeat the same cut. Continue rolling and cutting in this manner until the tapered pale green ends resemble a sharpened pencil. Discard the dark green trimmings. Cut the leeks in half lengthwise, rinse to remove the fine grit, and pat dry.
• Place the leeks in a shallow baking dish just large enough to hold them in a single layer, such as a 9 by 13-inch Pyrex dish. Drizzle the leeks with 1/4 cup of the olive oil, sprinkle them with the salt and several turns of pepper, and toss to coat the leeks with the seasonings. Arrange the leeks cut side up in a single layer in the baking dish and pour in the stock, adding more if necessary for it to come three-fourths of the way up the sides of the leeks. Drizzle the remaining 1/2 cup of olive oil over the leeks, and lay the lemon slices and scatter the thyme sprigs over them. If you have industrial-strength plastic wrap, which does not melt in the oven, cover the pan tightly with the plastic. In any case, cover the pan tightly with foil and place the leeks in the oven for 45 minutes. Remove the leeks from the oven and increase the temperature to 400°F. Remove and discard the foil, and plastic if you used it; remove and discard the lemon slices and thyme sprigs, and return the leeks to the oven until they are glazed and golden brown and the liquid has evaporated, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool to room temperature and serve, or wrap them in a single layer with plastic wrap, and refrigerate them for up to two days. Bring the leeks to room temperature before serving them.
• Suggested Wine Pairing
• Ribolla Gialla (Fruili)