Gray Rose - River Cafe Cook Book Easy

Frozen Sculpture by Marc QuinnIntroduction The Italian food in this book is easy to cook. Each recipe emphasises the things we value at the River Cafe freshness, subtlety and quality while being short, easy to shop for and easy to serve. Simple, delicious food relies on its ingredients. Here youll find a useful guide of what to keep in your store cupboard and in your fridge: olive oil, capers, balsamic vinegar, organic eggs, pancetta and more. Each recipe begins with a shopping list to make it easier to buy the things youll need, and weve shown you where short-cuts can be taken. We want you to feel inspired and confident in cooking Italian food.

In chapters such as to show how in Italian cooking each suggests a different type of sauce. Youll see that Gnocchi neednt be as hard to make as you think and that Carpaccio can mean beef or fish. Most of the recipes serve four and many are very quick to prepare, including a 15-minute Chocolate Cake. Where we think it will be helpful we have added notes on ingredients, methods and equipment. There is a section at the end of the book which will provide you with the fundamentals of Italian cooking like peeling tomatoes and preparing salted anchovies and recipes for the sauces we use most. We have included a list of suppliers, though most of the ingredients are widely available.

Easy food doesnt have to mean unsophisticated food. Although the cook book concentrates on simplicity, theres always some surprise element, some little twist that comes from what weve learnt over the years, both at the River Cafe and when cooking with Italians in their kitchens. We hope you take as much pleasure in cooking these easy recipes as we do. Rose Gray & Ruth Rogers, London 2003

Bruschetta Basic bruschetta Grill a generous piece of sourdough bread on both sides. Lightly rub one side with peeled garlic, season and pour over olive oil. Asparagus Parmesan Boil the asparagus until tender.

While still warm, season and toss with olive oil and lemon. Add rocket, toss and then put on bruschetta with Parmesan shavings.

Asparagus prosciutto Boil the asparagus until tender. While still warm, season and toss with olive oil and red wine vinegar. Add rocket, toss and then put on bruschetta with slices of prosciutto. Tomato borlotti Toss cherry tomatoes with olive oil and pieces of peeled garlic and season.

Roast in a 200C/Gas 6 oven for 15 minutes. Season warm borlotti beans and mix with olive oil and red wine vinegar. Combine with tomatoes. Place on bruschetta with an anchovy fillet.

Broccoli olives Boil purple-sprouting broccoli until tender. Season and toss with olive oil and lemon.

Put on bruschetta with stoned black olives and toasted pine nuts.

Roast zucchini Cut zucchini lengthways into 5mm slices. Place on baking sheet, season, drizzle with olive oil and bake in a 200C/Gas 6 oven until just crisp. Put on bruschetta with chopped fresh red chillies and mint, and drizzle with olive oil. Fennel olives Slice fennel bulb lengthways into 2cm pieces and boil until tender. Season and toss with olive oil and lemon.

Add rocket and then put on bruschetta with chopped fresh red chillies and stoned black olives.

Fig rocket Cut figs into quarters or eighths, depending on size. Season and toss with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Add rocket, put on bruschetta and drizzle with olive oil. Prosciutto spinach Boil spinach until tender. Drain and press out the water.

Season and toss with a generous amount of olive oil. Put on bruschetta with slices of prosciutto.

Mozzarella olives Cut mozzarella into 1cm slices. Toss rocket with olive oil, lemon juice, and season. Put on bruschetta with stoned black olives, mozzarella, and marjoram. Mozzarella chillies Cut mozzarella into 1cm slices. Mozzarella chillies Cut mozzarella into 1cm slices.

Toss rocket in olive oil, lemon juice, and season. Put on bruschetta with mozzarella, fresh red chillies and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil.

Borlotti prosciutto Combine the warm borlotti beans with red wine vinegar, olive oil, and season. Place on bruschetta with slices of prosciutto. Fennel prosciutto Slice the fennel lengthways into 1cm pieces. Fennel prosciutto Slice the fennel lengthways into 1cm pieces.

Reserve the leafy tops. Boil the pieces until tender. Toss while warm with olive oil, lemon juice, and season. Put on bruschetta with salami, prosciutto and scatter with the leafy fennel tops.

Cavolo nero prosciutto Remove stalks from the tender leaves of cavolo nero and boil leaves until soft. Drain, season and toss with olive oil.