Campanelle Pasta with Burrata Cheese and Broccoli Rabe

one bunch broccoli rabe or other bitter greens (escarole, dandelions, spinach)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 t crushed red pepper
2 T olive oil
1 T butter
7 oz campanelle pasta
one ball burrata cheese
salt to taste

Clean the broccoli rabe and steam it until just tender. Let cool.

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, add the garlic and crushed red pepper and saute until the garlic is soft and fragrant. Set aside.

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. While the pasta cooks, chop the broccoli rabe into bite-size pieces. Place the garlic oil and butter in a large bowl. Drain the pasta, return to the pot and add the broccoli rabe. Stir over low heat to warm the broccoli rabe. Pour into the bowl and mix. Add salt to taste. Divide pasta among plates. Top each plate with half the burrata cheese. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Makes 2 servings.

Notes:

Burrata cheese is an Italian cheese from the Apulia region of Italy. It is a skin of mozzarella cheese filled with sweet cream and more mozzarella cheese bits. I scoured the Internet for some ideas on how to prepare it but didn't find anything that I really liked or had the ingredients for. So I cobbled together a couple of recipes I found and came up with Campanelle pasta, broccoli rabe with a garlic and crushed red pepper dressing topped with burrata cheese. We were amazed at the variety of textures in the cheese, the slightly chewy outer skin and the soft creamy center. The broccoli rabe added a bitter component that perfectly offset the sweetness of the cream.