7 minute read
TASTE OF THE SEASON
by Dales Life
taste of the SEASON Seasonal food is fresher, tastier and more nutritious. These easy recipes showcase ingredients at the height of their flavour
CRAB GNUDI WITH BUTTER-BAKED CHERRY TOMATOES & TARRAGON Dumplings by any other name, gnudi are sensational
BLACKBERRY & BAY BROWNIES MADE WITH RYE More than just a pretty picture, these are flavours that flatter one another very well
Dumplings by any other name, gnudi are sensational – featherlight and only just holding their form. Start this the day before you want to serve. Two days is better: the gnudi sit, and wait, and wait some more, under a duvet of semolina, gently leaching out moisture, crystallising, creating a very, very tender shell for the ricotta and more. I’ve added brown crab meat, keeping the white meat to warm through and serve. Butter, lots of it, to cook the tomatoes, makes for a sauce so sublime the gnudi will be well at home.
SERVES 2 AS A RICH MAIN, OR 4 AS AN APPETISER
1350g coarse semolina flour 300g ricotta cheese, strained 2 tbsp brown crab meat 1 egg yolk 2 tbsp type ‘00’ flour or plain flour 30g parmesan or pecorino, grated 100g unsalted butter 150g ripe cherry tomatoes, halved 100g white crab meat salt and freshly ground black pepper ½ small bunch of tarragon, leaves picked, to serve ½ tsp chilli flakes, to serve
METHOD
Spread half the semolina (cream of wheat) in a baking dish big enough to hold 16 walnut-size gnudi, but small enough to fit in your fridge. In a bowl, mix the ricotta with the brown crab meat, egg yolk, flour and parmesan or pecorino. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Use your hands to roll the mixture into 16 walnut-size balls and transfer these to the baking dish. Gently roll the gnudi in the semolina to completely coat each ball. Refrigerate, with the gnudi submerged in the rest of the semolina flour and the dish uncovered, overnight.
To cook, bring a large saucepan of well-salted water to a boil.
Melt the butter in a wide pan over a moderate heat and add the cherry tomatoes. Cook for 3–5 minutes, until softened. Add the gnudi to the boiling water. Wait until they rise to the surface (about 3 minutes), then continue to gently cook for 1 minute to heat through.
As each gnudi is ready, scoop it straight into the pan with the butter and tomatoes. Very gently mix through the white crab meat to warm it through in the juices.
Season with salt and plenty of pepper and divide between 4 shallow bowls. Scatter with the tarragon and a pinch of chilli flakes to serve.
Tart, fruity flavours work beautifully alongside duck. I’ve used blackcurrant jam here, adding good red wine vinegar for balance. Cooked rare but rested a decent amount of time in the fruity, gingery juices makes this dish an especially succulent and worthwhile one to master. You’ll need a bit of time to sort the pommes Anna (sliced potatoes cooked in butter), but really, while this recipe sounds flash and restaurant-y, it’s a pushover to make.
SERVES 2
FOR THE POMMES ANNA 600g small, waxy new potatoes (such as Charlotte), cut into 2mm slices and put into cold water 50g melted unsalted butter or duck fat ½ tbsp thyme leaves salt and freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE DUCK 2 duck breasts 2 tbsp finely chopped stem ginger 1 shallot, finely chopped 1 tbsp runny honey 80g blackcurrant jam 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, plus more for the watercress salt and freshly ground black pepper
TO SERVE a few handfuls of watercress walnut or hazelnut oil flaky salt
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 190°C/fan 170°C/gas 5. Line a baking tray with some baking paper. Start with the pommes Anna. Drain the potatoes from the water and pat very dry, then coat in the butter or duck fat, sprinkle with the thyme leaves and season with salt and pepper. Using the potato slices, make a circle of potatoes on the tray, add another, slightly smaller circular layer on a different rotation. Build up a further 4 layers, each slightly smaller and each on a slightly different rotation, so that slices roughly look like the petals of a flower. Bake for 30–35 minutes, until the potatoes are golden brown at the edges and tender. Using a sharp knife, score the fat side of the duck breasts in a crosshatch pattern all over. Season well with salt and pepper. Place the breasts, skin-sides downward, in a cold, ovensafe or cast-iron frying pan (skillet). Place the pan over a moderate heat and cook for about 8 minutes, or until much of the fat has rendered and the skin is crisp and brown all over. Turn over the duck breasts and transfer the pan to the oven. Cook for 5–6 minutes, or until rare in the middle (a meat thermometer should read about 55–60°C. Transfer the duck breasts, keeping the fat in the pan for the time being, to a plate and rub all over with the chopped stem ginger. Rest somewhere warm, while you prepare the sauce.
From the pan, pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the duck fat. Place the pan over a moderate heat and add the shallot. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring briskly, then add the honey, blackcurrant jam and, finally, the vinegar. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has reduced to a bubbling, syrupy consistency. Season well with salt and pepper. Return the duck breasts to the pan, skin-sides downward, reducing the heat to medium–low. Spoon or brush the sauce over the breasts to coat evenly. Turn the duck breasts skin-sides upward, spooning the sauce over the top of the breasts for about 30 seconds, then remove from the heat. Let the duck breasts rest for a final 5 minutes in the pan before slicing. While the duck is resting, dress the watercress leaves with walnut oil and some red wine vinegar, to taste. Sprinkle with flaky salt. Serve the duck with the sauce from the pan, the pommes Anna and the dressed watercress.
BLACKBERRY & BAY BROWNIES MADE WITH RYE
More than just a pretty picture, these are flavours that flatter one another very well; sweet and bold, as if the blackberries and rye are meant to be together. Add the aromatic, spicy menthol notes of bay leaves and fruity, dark chocolate, both of which bring with them an intensity that suits very well these flavours of the earth, of autumn, and of wild brambly hedgerows (poetic licence, pick your own or buy the blackberries), and these are remarkably good brownies. As with all brownies, the trick is to almost under-bake them, leaving the brownies to firm up in the tin, with the chocolate then dreamily recalibrating with the blackberries from a melted mass to a dense and deeply rich form.
SERVES 8–10
200g 70% dark chocolate, broken into small pieces 125g unsalted butter at room temperature, plus more for greasing 3 eggs, beaten 250g light brown soft sugar 3 tbsp cocoa powder 100g rye flour (or use spelt or plain flour, if you like) 200g blackberries 5 bay leaves, scrunched a little
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4. Line a 20cm square cake tin or 25 x 15cm rectangular tin with baking paper. Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water or in a microwave on low (the defrost setting), gently stirring every now and then.
Put the eggs and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the beater attachment and beat together until light and fluffy, then, using a spoon, fold in the cocoa powder and flour, until combined. Carefully stir in the melted chocolate mixture and half the blackberries.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared tin, dot with the remaining blackberries and the bay leaves and bake for 20–25 minutes, or until just firm to the touch and cracks have appeared at the edges. Remove from the oven and leave the brownies to cool to room temperature in the tin, until they have set. Cut into squares and serve.
Recipes are taken from Home Cookery Year: Four Seasons, Over 200 Recipes for All Possible Occasions by Claire Thompson with photography by Sam Folan. Hardcover published by Quadrillle, RRP £30.
