The Iconic Italian Dish That Deserves A Burrata Swap For The Cheesiest Bite

In the delightful world of Italian food, there are several dishes that stand out as iconic, or ones that pull at our appetite cravings but also our emotions because (when done well) they are faultless, delicious, satisfying, and maybe even conjure up fond memories. Of course, these dishes are subjective for every person, but things like pizza, lasagna, and chicken parmesan (which, ironically, is an Italian-American item and not from Italy at all) consistently make the list of Italian favorites. As for the latter, chicken parmesan is practically perfect just the way it is. But swapping burrata for the traditional mozzarella is a fantastic way to subtly change up the texture and add some luxury to the dish.

Chicken parm is pretty easy to pull off, although it involves a few steps. If you're making it from scratch, you would bread and fry chicken cutlets, then top the chicken with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese. You then bake the chicken until the cheese is melted and browned. Because burrata contains a creamy mixture of cheese curds and cream (it's called stracciatella) in the middle of a mozzarella shell, baking it in the oven could get very messy. For this cheese swap, it's best to tear the burrata into shreds or pieces and top the marinara-covered chicken right before serving it. This way, you'll still be able to enjoy the flavor of fresh mozzarella and that luscious, creamy center. Just like traditional iterations, you can even take non-traditional shortcuts in making this version of chicken parm, by using frozen chicken tenders and cooking them in the air fryer, and using an excellent store-bought marinara sauce.

The temperature contrast of using fresh burrata on your chicken parmesan is a nice surprise, especially if both the fried chicken and marinara sauce are still piping hot when you serve it. For appearance, after you've shredded the cheese over your chicken, try drizzling some extra virgin olive oil on top, followed by some hand-torn basil. You could also sprinkle on some cracked pepper, chili flakes, some toasted garlic slices, some sliced roasted sweet peppers, or some colorful heirloom cherry tomatoes.

For extra flavor, you can incorporate pesto sauce into this recipe by dropping small spoonfuls right onto the cheese. You can even play around with the type of tomato sauce you use. Vodka sauce is slightly less acidic because it's mellowed with cream. If you like some spice, try arrabbiata sauce. In the summer, this chicken parm would also be delicious with a homemade, seasonal roasted cherry tomato sauce. All it takes is roasting some cherry tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper in the oven until the tomatoes burst and get jammy. Use this in place of the store-bought marinara by spreading some right on top of the fried chicken.