Paccheri with Tomato, Burrata and Basil

🧾 General Information

• Category: First course
• Servings: 4
• Target food cost: 22–30%
• Service time: 4 minutes
• Difficulty: low

⚖️ Portion Sizes

• Dry pasta: 100 g
• Tomato sauce: 90 g
• Burrata: 60 g
• Parmesan: 8 g
• Extra virgin olive oil: 10 ml
• Fresh basil: as needed

🧾 Total Ingredients (4 servings)

• 400 g paccheri
• 360 g tomato sauce
• 240 g burrata
• 30 g grated Parmesan
• 40 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 12–16 basil leaves
• salt
• pepper

⚙️ Basic Preparations (Prep)

Tomato Sauce (service base – maximum shelf life 48h)

Cook the tomato with oil and salt until a smooth, concentrated sauce is obtained. Cool rapidly. Store at +4°C.

Burrata

Drain well. Keep out of the refrigerator for 20 minutes before service.

👨‍🍳 Service Procedure

Reheat the tomato sauce. Cook the paccheri in standard salted water. Drain and finish in a pan with the sauce. Add Parmesan and a small amount of cooking water to create shine. Plate the dish. Finish with hand-opened burrata, fresh basil, and raw extra virgin olive oil.

🔑 Critical Control Points (CCP)

• Sauce: it must be glossy and not overly reduced.
• Pasta: maintain precise cooking, avoiding broken paccheri.
• Burrata: add only off the heat.
• Thermal contrast: hot dish, warm/fresh burrata.

🍽️ Plating

Use a white or gray deep plate. Arrange the paccheri with central volume. Place the burrata on top or slightly opened.

Finishing:

• hand-torn fresh basil
• black pepper
• drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Premium Optional Additions

• tomato powder
• confit cherry tomatoes
• Cantabrian anchovy

💰 Estimated Food Cost

• Cost per serving: ~€1.15
• Recommended selling price: €9–13 depending on the venue

🔄 Menu Adaptability

• Bistro: immediate and recognizable Italian first course.
• Mid-range restaurant: vegetarian dish with strong perceived value.
• Gourmet: base dish to enrich with shellfish, raw seafood, or specialty tomatoes.

🧠 Professional Logic

Dish designed for:

• high execution speed
• strong visual appeal
• controlled cost with premium perception

The key is maintaining balance between the acidity of the tomato and the richness of the burrata.