This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Mortadella gets folded, skewered, and seared until the edges char and the fat blisters, then goes straight onto cold stracciatella while it’s still hot from the pan, warm meat against cool creamy cheese. Honey and crushed red pepper bring sweet heat underneath. The pistachio sauce goes on top, bright and full of texture. You’ll find the rest of my tartines in the Tartine Recipes Collection.
Table of Contents
Homemade Stracciatella
What Is Stracciatella? It’s the good part of burrata, the creamy filling that spills out the second you cut into it. Fresh mozzarella gets shredded into fine strands and soaked in cream until it turns spoonable instead of stretchy. On this tartine it’s doing real work, mild and cool against the seared mortadella, and something for the honey and pistachio sauce to actually cling to instead of sliding straight off the bread.
Why Make It From Scratch? A ball of burrata gets you the same interior, but you’re paying for a shell you’re just going to tear off and toss. Stracciatella alone costs less, and most grocery stores don’t even carry it separately, only inside a whole burrata. Homemade is two ingredients: shred the mozzarella by hand, a knife tears it into clumps instead of strands, and clumps don’t soak up cream the same way. Mix in the cream, cover, and let the fridge do the rest. Give it at least 3 hours, longer if you have it, it only gets creamier. It holds up to 3 days, though it rarely lasts that long.
Want to save this recipe?
Save it to your account
or email it to yourself
Searing the Mortadella
Mortadella comes fully cooked, so this sear isn’t about safety, it’s about giving it a blistered, almost-charred crust while the inside stays soft. Fold each slice in half, then in half again into a triangle, and thread a few onto skewers so they hold their shape instead of curling up in the pan. Lay the skewer flat and leave it alone, don’t move it while it sears. That’s what actually gets you deep char at the fold edges and real blistering on the visible fat squares running through the meat, moving it around just gives you an even, boring brown. About 5 minutes a side over high heat. One thing I noticed researching this: the fat that renders off in the pan is flavorful enough that some cooks toast their bread in that same pan right after, picking up the porky drippings. Worth trying if you want to push it further, though it’s not how the recipe’s written now.
Ingredient Swaps
- Mortadella: Prosciutto or pancetta both work if you want a different protein.
- Pistachios: Walnuts, cashews, or almonds all work in the sauce if pistachios aren’t your thing.
- Stracciatella: Buy burrata instead if you’re short on time. Tear it open and use the creamy center the same way, it costs more but it’s faster.
If you want a seafood option that is still filling, the Smoked Salmon Tartine is a good one to try instead.
Similar Tartine Recipes
Here is a collection of my favorite tartine recipes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not really, even though bologna took its name from mortadella’s hometown. Real mortadella is coarser, silkier, and packed with visible fat and often pistachios, nothing like the smooth stuff from a school lunch. It’s like comparing fresh mozzarella to string cheese, technically related, not the same experience.
A lot of modern versions do, though it’s a newer addition, not part of the original recipe. If yours already has them, you’re just doubling down, not overdoing it.
Close, but not quite. It’s chunkier and more lemon-forward, and it skips the pine nuts and garlic you’d expect in a traditional pesto.
It’s best served fresh. The stracciatella, pistachio sauce, and seared mortadella can all be made ahead, but once it’s assembled, it gets soggy fast.
Equipment
- large bowl
- griddle, or skillet
Ingredients
Stracciatella
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella
- ¾ cup heavy cream
Pistachio Sauce
- ¼ cup pistachios
- 1 lemon, zest only
- 2 tsp champagne vinegar, adjust this to taste
- ¼ cup parmigiano reggiano
- 10-12 basil leaves
- 3 tbsp chives
- salt and pepper, to taste
- ⅓ cup olive oil
Tartine
- 1 baguette, cut to about 13 inches long
- olive oil, for drizzling on the baguette
- 8-12 oz mortadella
- 1 garlic clove
- Honey, to taste
- crushed red peppers, to taste
- 1 lemon, zest only
- Chive blossoms and edible flowers, optional
Instructions
Stracciatella
- Shred the fresh mozzarella with your hands into very fine strands. Add to a bowl with heavy cream and let it sit covered in the fridge for at least 3 hours but up to 3 days.
Pistachio Sauce
- To a food processor add the pistachios, zest of 1 lemon, vinegar, parm, basil, chives, salt, pepper and olive oil. Pulse until chunky but spreadable. Add more olive oil as needed. Taste and adjust the vinegar here, it should taste pretty bright because you want it to cut the richness of the mortadella and cheese. You don't want it too salty because the mortadella will add saltiness.
Tartine
- Slice the baguette in half lengthwise. Drizzle with olive oil and set aside.
- Fold the mortadella in half and then in half again into little triangles (as seen on the video) and skewer them onto 2 long skewers that is about the length or your baguettes.
- Now it's time to sear – you can sear your mortadella in a skillet but I am doing it in the love of my life, aka my griddle. I seared them for about 5 minutes per side or until VERY golden.
- Toast or sear your baguette until golden.
- To assemble, rub garlic on your baguette, add the stracciatella, plenty of honey, crushed red peppers, the seared mortadella, pistachio sauce, lemon zest and a combination of chive blossoms and edible flowers (optional). Cut the Tartine into holdable pieces and enjoy!
Kitchen Cam
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thank you for all the great recipes 😊. I love watching your videos your an amazing chef.
Thanks so much Witt! ♥️