Pasta with gorgonzola, pine nuts and sage (above)
Serves 4
750ml double cream
100g gorgonzola
125g parmesan, grated
A handful of fresh sage leaves, roughly chopped
Sea salt and black pepper
400g spaghetti or linguine
Extra virgin olive oil
80g pine nuts, lightly toasted
1 Set a large pan of salted water over a high heat and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, pour the cream into a large frying pan and set over a medium heat. Reduce by half and then add the gorgonzola, half the parmesan and the sage. Season with a little salt and some black pepper. Leave the cheese to slowly melt in the residual heat.
2 Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions, then drain in a colander, reserving 100ml of the cooking water.
3 Add the water to the cream and gorgonzola sauce and turn on the heat. Toss the pasta with some extra virgin olive oil and transfer to the cream. Stir the pasta into the cream using some tongs, ensuring all the pasta is well coated in the rich sauce, and then toss in the pine nuts.
4 Divide the pasta between four bowls. Finish each dish with the remaining parmesan.
Salt-baked sea bass
Serves 4
800g coarse rock salt
2 egg whites
1 large sea bass, gutted and scaled
200g unsalted butter
Zest and juice of 1 large lemon
4 stalks of rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped
Sea salt and black pepper
1 Heat the oven to 200C/Gas 6. Mix together the salt and egg whites along with a splash of water to form a firm sand-like paste that holds when pressed with the hands. Make a layer of salt crust on a baking tray, top with the fish and then pack around the rest of the crust so it’s totally sealed, except for the head.
2 Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. The crust will have slightly browned. Leave to rest for 5 minutes before pulling the crust away from the head to reveal the fish.
3 While the fish is cooking, prepare the butter by slowly melting in a saucepan along with the zest, chopped rosemary and seasoning. When it starts to bubble, pour in half the lemon juice and turn off the heat. Stir and taste, adding more lemon juice or seasoning if you like.
4 Serve the whole fish at the table with the butter on the side to be spooned over.
Slow roasted pork with bay, cinnamon, cloves and fennel
Serves 4-6
2.5kg pork shoulder, bone in and skin on
2 large heads of fennel, each cut into three lengthwise
4 banana shallots, halved but not peeled
2 cinnamon sticks
6 cloves
6 bay leaves
6 cloves garlic, crushed
600ml vegetable or chicken stock
Sea salt and black pepper
Olive oil
1 Heat the oven to 230C/Gas 8. Score through the skin and fat (but not the meat) of the pork with a sharp knife at 1cm intervals. Season well, rubbing the salt into the cuts and then drizzle over some olive oil. Place the pork, skin-side up, on a roasting tin in the oven and cook for 30 minutes or until the skin starts to puff and crackle.
2 Turn down heat to 170C/Gas 3, cover pork with a double layer of foil and roast for 3½ hours.
3 Remove the pork from the oven, remove the foil and baste the meat with the fat from the tray. Remove to a board and drain away most of the fat from the roasting tin.
4 Place the fennel, shallots, cinnamon, cloves, bay and garlic into the roasting tin and season well. Place the pork back on top and then put back in the oven. Roast for another hour or until the pork is meltingly tender and the vegetables are soft.
5 Carefully remove the pork from the tin and leave to rest in a warm spot. Remove any fat from the roasting tray with a spoon and then pour in the stock. Place the tray on the hob and bring to the boil, scraping the bottom with a spoon to release the sediment. Reduce until you have a dark, rich and aromatic gravy. Serve the pork with the braised fennel and shallots and pour the gravy through a sieve and serve on the side.
Pear, almond and polenta cake
Serves 6-8
8 pears
200g butter
150g sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
3 eggs
100g ground almonds
100g polenta
100g self-raising flour
1 knob butter
1 tbsp sugar
Mascarpone, to serve
1 Peel, core and chop 5 of the pears. Place in a saucepan with a few tablespoons of water and cook gently, until they collapse. Purée with a hand-held blender and leave to cool.
2 Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. Line a 23cm cake tin with a removable base with butter and greaseproof paper.
3 In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Stir in the vanilla essence and then the eggs one by one. Fold in the almonds and polenta. Sieve in the flour and fold in. Finally, fold in the pear purée.
4 Pour into the cake tin. Bake on the centre shelf for 50-60 minutes, until golden brown. If it starts to brown too soon, cover loosely with baking paper. Rest and allow to cool.
5 Meanwhile peel, core and cut the remaining pears into thick slices and fry in the butter and sugar until slightly caramelised and softened. Divide the pear slices over the cake and serve with mascarpone.
Marsala poached figs with zabaglione
Serves 4
400ml marsala wine
140g brown sugar
2 star anise
1 stick cinnamon
8 large figs
For the zabaglione
4 large egg yolks
1 tbsp light muscovado sugar
½ tsp cornflour
150ml marsala wine
Icing sugar, to serve
1 Place the wine, 150ml water, sugar and spices in a medium saucepan and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Prick the figs all over with a fork and poach in the liquid for 15 minutes, covered with a piece of greaseproof paper, until soft and the liquid has turned syrupy. Let figs cool in the syrup.
2 To make the zabaglione, place a pan of water on the heat to boil. Place the yolks in a heatproof bowl along with the sugar and cornflour and place the bowl over the boiling water, making sure it doesn’t touch the water. Whisk the yolks rapidly with an electric whisk until they start to thicken and double in volume. Now add the marsala wine and continue to whisk until fully incorporated.
3 Divide the figs and some of the syrup between four bowls and then top with a spoon of the zabaglione. Dust with icing sugar before serving.
Advertisement
Roasted goose, walnut gremolata and braised figs
Serves 4
1 small oven-ready goose (3½-4kg), skin pricked all over with a fork
3 shallots, peeled
Half a bunch of thyme
1 lemon, zested
Sea salt and black pepper
50ml runny honey
For the figs
6 figs, halved
50g muscovado sugar
Half a stick cinnamon
50ml red wine vinegar
200ml full-bodied red wine
For the gremolata
75g roasted walnuts, chopped
1 tbsp picked and chopped fresh thyme leaves
½ tbsp chopped flat parsley
Zest and juice of 1 orange
100ml extra virgin olive oil
1 Heat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. Place the goose on a roasting tray and stuff the cavity with the shallots, thyme, lemon flesh and seasoning. Season the breasts, sprinkle over the zest and honey and then lay over some foil and scrunch at the sides to seal in.
2 Roast the goose for 90 minutes. Remove the foil, pour off the fat and roast for another 90 minutes, or until the skin is browned. Rest for 30 minutes before serving.
3 While the goose is cooking, prepare the gremolata and figs. For the gremolata, mix all the ingredients together and season to taste. Reserve.
4 For the figs, heat a frying pan over a low-medium heat and place in the figs, cut-side down, along with the sugar and cinnamon. Leave to caramelise for 2 minutes and then turn the figs and add the vinegar and wine. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and cook until the figs are soft and the wine is syrupy.
5 Serve goose alongside the figs and spoon over the gremolata.
Fennel and potato gratin (pictured above)
Serves 4-6
600ml double cream
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tsp fresh thyme, leaves only
700g fennel, trimmed
400g désirée potatoes, peeled
50g unsalted butter
100g taleggio cheese
50g parmesan
1 Place the cream, garlic and half the thyme in a saucepan and gently heat to allow the flavours to infuse. Season and reserve.
2 Slice the fennel and potatoes very finely with a sharp knife.
3 Rub some of the butter around the oven dish and then add a layer of overlapping potatoes. Season and then follow with a layer of overlapping fennel and season. Add a few knobs of taleggio and then pour over a little of the infused cream. Repeat this process until all the vegetables, cream and taleggio are used. Press the layers down carefully with your hands and cover the top with foil.
4 Heat an oven to 180C/Gas 4 and cook for 45 minutes or until the layers are very tender, and the cream is thick and bubbling.
5 Sprinkle the parmesan and remaining thyme over the top and finish under a grill until golden brown. Leave to cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Veneta, 3 Norris Street, London SW1 (saltyardgroup.co.uk)