Recipes from Milk. Made, by Nick Haddow. Hardie Grant Books. $55.
RICOTTA GNUDI WITH BUTTERY PEAS
Serves 4
This recipe will make it look like you have spent the day cooking but really, you could pretty much make it in the ad breaks of your favourite soap opera. I have used mushy, buttery peas to accompany the gnudi, but ricotta is such a great vehicle for other flavours that you could use just about any pasta sauce.
100g salted butter
12 sage leaves
500g frozen peas
2 tbsp pure cream
1 tbsp lemon juice
Gnudi:
350g fresh ricotta
25g grated hard cheese, such as parmesan or similar grana-style cheese
1 egg yolk
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
225g fine semolina, plus extra for dusting
To make the gnudi, mix the ricotta, grated cheese, egg yolk and nutmeg in a medium-sized bowl. Tip the semolina into a shallow baking dish and dust a plate with a little extra semolina. Working quickly with damp hands, roll a tablespoon of the ricotta mixture in your hands to form a rough ball. Roll it in the semolina and then form into a smooth ball, about the size of a golf ball. Place on the plate and continue until all of the ricotta mixture is used – you should end up with about 12 dumplings. Cover the gnudi with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for an hour to firm up.
Melt the butter with the sage leaves in a heavy-based frying pan over medium heat. Remove from the heat just as the butter is starting to brown. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil and add the frozen peas. Simmer for five minutes until tender. Remove the peas with a slotted spoon and transfer to a food processor with the cream and lemon juice. Process until almost smooth. Add to the melted butter and stir to combine. Pour into a serving dish and set aside.
Bring the water to the boil again, then reduce to a simmer. Working in two or three batches, add the gnudi and cook for about 3 minutes, or until they float to the top. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain well and serve on top of the warmed buttery peas.
FIG, BRIE AND ROSEMARY TART
Serves 6-8
Sweet, fattened figs. Pungent, oozing brie. I blush to think what these two perfect bedfellows could get up to behind closed doors. Like figs themselves, this tart is neither very sweet nor very savoury. It could be served as a light lunch with a green salad or as a dessert with sweetened yoghurt.
200g brie, rind removed
2 eggs, beaten
35g caster sugar
150 ml thick cream
6-8 fresh figs, halved
8 small rosemary sprigs
Pastry:
110g unsalted butter, softened
110g caster sugar
¼ tsp baking powder
240g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 egg
To make the pastry, pulse the butter, sugar, baking powder and flour in a food processor until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg and keep pulsing until the mixture forms a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and rest in the fridge for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 190C.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough until it is 3-4 mm thick. Lay it over a 20cm tart ring set on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Patch-up any cracks or holes and trim the edge of any excess pastry. Line the tart base with baking paper and add some baking weights. Blind bake for 20 minutes then remove the baking weights and paper and continue cooking for a further 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
In a medium-sized bowl, mash the brie well with a fork. Mix in the beaten egg, sugar and cream and stir until well combined.
Arrange the fig halves in the tart shell cut side up. Carefully pour the brie custard around the figs, stopping about 2mm from the top of the pastry. Sprinkle the rosemary sprigs on top. Bake for about 40 minutes or until the custard is set and the top golden. Allow to cool completely before serving.
Recipes from Milk. Made, by Nick Haddow. Hardie Grant Books. $55.