Acknowledgements
Georgia Kirsop
Vashti Armit
Matthew Barzun
Sarah Bennie
Jet de Boer
Daniel Bohan
Caroline Butler
Mary Dean
David Douglas Duncan
Tom Downer
Bassam El Jundi
Alice Fisher
Matthew Freud
Roger Guyett
Lucy Harrison
Ian Heide
Laura Higginson
Joanne Holland
Ross Jasper
Norma MacMillan
Yoni Markman
Helen Marsden
Dave McCauley
David MacIlwaine
Caroline Michel
Magdalena Moores
Anya Paul
Charles Pullan
Nina Raine
Stefan Ratibor
Gail Rebuck
Kadee Robbins
Roo Rogers
Luisa Rosario
Linda Saunders
Rae Shirvington
Rebecca Smart
Stephen Spence
Alex Tidey
Pete Valenti
Barbara de Vries
Gary Waterston
Mark Williams
Georgie Wolton
John Young
Richard Rogers Tilly Trivelli
Jemi Vilhena
and all of the team at the River Cafe
In 1992, Ed Victor called and said Ruthie and Rose, write a cookbook.
This one is for you, Ed.
Recipe List
Ricotta al Forno
Ricotta al Forno is one of our favourite recipes. A flourless Italian souffl, when it is ready the top should still wobble.
Serves 6
unsalted butter and grated Parmesan for the dish
2 handfuls of fresh basil leaves
a handful of fresh mint leaves
a handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
500g bufala ricotta
120ml double cream
2 eggs
150g Parmesan, freshly grated
12 black olives, stoned and chopped
Preheat the oven to 190C.
Using a little butter and some grated Parmesan, coat the bottom and sides of a 30cm round springform tin. Shake out any excess cheese.
Put the herbs into the bowl of a food processor and put half of the ricotta and cream on the top. Blend until bright green. Add the remainder of the ricotta and cream and turn on the machine again. While blending, add the eggs, one by one. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Finally, fold in the Parmesan.
Spoon the mixture into the tin and spread the olives over the top. Bake for 20 minutes. The torte should rise and have a brown crust, but still be soft in the centre. Serve after 5 minutes.
Ricotta al Forno
Vignole
Serves 8
8 small Violetta artichokes with their stalks
juice of 2 lemons
1.5kg each peas and young broad beans in their pods
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium red onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
8 slices prosciutto
2 large handfuls of fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
100ml extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve
8 slices sourdough
1 garlic clove, peeled and cut in half
Prepare the artichokes (see Marinated Artichokes, ), but leave them whole. Remove the choke with a teaspoon, then cut each artichoke vertically into eight segments. Drop immediately into a bowl of cold water with the lemon juice.
Remove the peas and broad beans from their pods.
In a large pan, heat the olive oil and gently fry the onions and garlic until starting to soften. Add the artichokes and continue frying gently until the onions are translucent. Stirring, add the peas and broad beans. Season and pour in enough water to come 1cm above the top of the vegetables. Bring to the boil. Lay the slices of prosciutto over the top, cover with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes.
Remove the lid. Lift out the prosciutto and cut into pieces, then return to the pan with the chopped mint and 100ml of extra virgin olive oil. Check for seasoning.
To make the bruschetta, toast the bread on both sides, and gently rub one side only with the garlic. Pour on more extra virgin olive oil, then serve the Vignole warm or at room temperature with the bruschetta.
Vignole
Marinated Artichokes
The polaroid was taken for one of our earlier books to explain the preparation of an artichoke.
Serves 6
12 small Violetta artichokes with their stalks
juice of 3 lemons
a handful of picked leaves from mixed fresh herbs, to include marjoram, thyme and/or oregano
4 garlic cloves, peeled and thickly sliced
extra virgin olive oil
To prepare each artichoke, first cut off some of the stalk, leaving about 5cm attached. Cut or break off the tough outer leaves, starting at the base, until you are left with the pale inner part. Then peel the stalk with a potato peeler, leaving only the pale tender centre. Trim the pointed top of the artichoke straight across, which will reveal the choke. Cut the artichoke in half vertically. Remove the choke with a teaspoon. As each artichoke is prepared, drop it into a bowl of cold water with the juice of 2 lemons.
Blanch the artichokes in boiling salted water for about 5 minutes or until the heart is tender. Drain.
Layer the artichoke halves in a large bowl with the herb leaves, garlic and some sea salt and black pepper. Cover completely with extra virgin olive oil and add the remaining lemon juice. Leave to marinate for a minimum of 3 hours.
Raw Artichoke Salad
We only make this salad when the artichokes are so fresh you can hear the leaves snap off.
Serves 6
6 small Violetta artichokes with their stalks
juice of 3 lemons
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
100g Parmesan in the piece, very thinly shaved
Prepare the artichokes (see Marinated Artichokes, ) but leave them whole. Remove the choke with a teaspoon, then finely slice the artichokes vertically and immediately place in a bowl of cold water with the juice of 2 lemons. Set aside.
Make the dressing with the remaining lemon juice and the extra virgin olive oil, season with sea salt and black pepper.
When ready to serve, drain and dry the artichokes and pour the dressing over them. Cover with thin shavings of Parmesan and drizzle over more extra virgin olive oil.
Raw Artichoke Salad