u/rexcasei

To make this I cut a burrata in half, scooped out the stracciatella (the creamy insides), and mixed that with natto and a little Dijon.

I dressed some arugula in a vinaigrette sauce made of blended cherry tomatoes cooked with balsamic (then thoroughly chilled), and added some capers. I then placed the hollowed out shells of the burrata on top and filled them with the stracciatella and natto mixture. Topped with black pepper and some finishing olive oil and then sprinkled generously with crisped garlic (great product from Trader Joe’s).

Finally served alongside some homemade sourdough crisps (basically a big crouton).

The last two pictures are from a slight variation I made a few days later with leftovers, here instead I simply poured all the sauce into the bottom of the bowl and topped with undressed arugula, and instead put the capers on top.

This was fantastic and I’d definitely make it again. I’ve made basically the same dish before without the natto, and it’s also great that way, but the natto is a nice subtle addition that works well with all the flavors involved without overpowering anything.

A thick slice of sourdough toast, seasoned natto mixed with sweet onion and Oaxaca cheese, topped with cherry tomatoes. Baked until nicely melted. Topped with black pepper and eaten with yuzukoshou.

I wish I could’ve gotten some prettier pictures of this, but the topping quickly ran off the sides of the toast when it was baking and there wasn’t much I could do. But I assure you every bite was utterly delicious. The natto mixes with the melted cheese in a way where it just amplifies the gooey cheesiness without feeling slimy. The yuzukoshou hot sauce was the perfect condiment that added a nice bit of contrastive acidity to bring the whole thing together.

Would definitely make again, but might need to figure out a better plating. More surface area of bread would help.

I could also see this working well by instead bringing it together over low heat and then pouring on top of the toasted bread, but you might still want to broil the top a little before serving.

I used the Instant Pot method with storebought as a starter, basically following this video exactly.

I used small natto soybeans purchased from Laura Soybeans.

In the pictures here it’s a little liquidy, but after a day in the refrigerator the texture is great and there’s plenty of nice thick strands.

This was 5 days ago and I’ve been incorporating it into almost every dinner since, with great results each time. Excited to share some of that later!

I don’t live near an Asian market so whenever I’ve had natto in the past I’ve had to treat it preciously and try not use it up so quickly. But now I’ve never felt such freedom to experiment with it before, and everything I try with it tastes good. I’ve nearly eaten the entire half I’ve been keeping in the refrigerator and will need to get some out of the freezer soon enough… and then just make a whole new batch.

If you’re looking to try it yourself, this was very easy and results in some top-notch slimy beans.

I have made this brown soda bread recipe from ATK before and it’s great. I was wondering if there would be an easy way to translate it into scones. Could I use the same ratio of dry ingredients and just substitute the wet ingredients for the right amount of butter and buttermilk from a scone recipe?

Any advice or ideas is appreciated, thanks!