Antipasti
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
2¼ cups (500g) bufala ricotta
½ cup (120ml) heavy cream
2 eggs
5 ounces (150g) Parmesan, freshly grated
12 black olives, pitted and chopped
Ricotta al Forno is one of our favorite recipes. A flourless Italian soufflé, when it is ready the top should still wobble.
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
Using a little butter and some grated Parmesan, coat the bottom and sides of a 12-inch (30cm) round springform pan. 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 pan 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 center. Serve after 5 minutes.
Serves 8
8 small Violetta artichokes with their stalks
juice of 2 lemons
3⅓ pounds (1.5kg) each peas and young fava 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
½ cup (120ml) extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve
8 slices sourdough bread
1 garlic clove, peeled and cut in half
Prepare the artichokes (see Marinated Artichokes, this page), 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 fava beans from their pods.
In a large pan, heat the olive oil and gently sauté the onions and chopped garlic until starting to soften. Add the artichokes and continue sautéing gently until the onions are translucent. Stirring, add the peas and fava beans. Season and pour in enough water to come about ½ inch (or about 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 ½ cup (120ml) 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 halves. Pour on more extra virgin olive oil, then serve the vignole warm or at room temperature with the bruschetta.
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
The previous Polaroid was taken for one of our earlier books to explain the preparation of an artichoke.
To prepare each artichoke, first cut off some of the stalk, leaving about 2 inches (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 center. 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.
Serves 6
6 small Violetta artichokes with their stalks
juice of 3 lemons
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
3½-ounce (100g) piece Parmesan, very thinly shaved
We make this salad only when the artichokes are so fresh you can hear the leaves snap off.
Prepare the artichokes (see Marinated Artichokes, this page) 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.
Serves 2
2 medium Violetta artichokes with their stalks
juice of 1 lemon
7 ounces (200g) white crabmeat
2 teaspoons brown crabmeat
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
We were all together in Venice one summer and had this antipasto at Da Ivo.
Cut the artichokes finely and season them well.
To prepare each artichoke, first cut off some of the stalk, leaving about 2 inches (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 center. Trim the pointed top of the artichoke straight across, which will reveal the choke. Remove the choke with a teaspoon. Slice the artichoke vertically as thinly as possible. As each artichoke is prepared, drop it into a bowl of cold water with half of the lemon juice.
Combine the white and brown crabmeat with the parsley, remaining lemon juice and the extra virgin olive oil. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Drain the artichokes and stir lightly through the crab to combine.
Season again and finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Serves 6
3½ cups (750ml) Prosecco
3 garlic cloves, peeled
10 ounces (300g) Swiss chard
2 fennel bulbs, cut into 6 wedges
6 medium carrots, peeled and cut in half lengthwise
3 celery hearts, quartered
12 salted anchovies
9 ounces (250g) unsalted butter, softened
¼ cup (50ml) olive oil
Put the Prosecco into a saucepan, add the garlic and boil until the Prosecco has reduced to about 7 tablespoons (100ml) and the garlic is soft. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Bring two saucepans of salted water to the boil. In the first pan, blanch the Swiss chard, making sure the stalks are softened before draining. Add the fennel, carrots and celery hearts to the second pan, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until tender. Drain.
Rinse the anchovies well under cold running water to remove all the salt, then gently remove the spine bones and heads. Pat dry. Separate the anchovies into fillets.
To finish the sauce, return the saucepan with the reduced Prosecco and softened garlic to the heat, and add the anchovy fillets. Allow them to melt into the mixture. Gently whisk in the softened butter, little by little—remove the pan from the heat after the first addition of butter. When all the butter has been incorporated, add the olive oil and black pepper to taste.
Arrange the warm vegetables on a serving plate. Pour on the sauce and serve immediately.
Ed Ruscha
Serves 2
7 ounces (200g) washed spinach leaves
1 large ball mozzarella, about 9 ounces (250g)
2 slices sourdough bread
1 garlic clove, peeled
2 ripe tomatoes, cut in half
7 fluid ounces (200ml) extra virgin olive oil
1 ounce (28g) picked mixed fresh summer herb leaves, to include marjoram and basil
1–2 olives, optional
In our private dining room at The River Cafe, we put antipasti on large plates to pass around the table. Put the bruschetta on one plate, with others for spinach, tomatoes and mozzarella, or other seasonal vegetables.
Blanch the spinach in a pot of boiling water for about 1 minute or until wilted. Drain well, pressing out excess water.
Tear the mozzarella onto two plates.
Grill the bread over charcoal or on a char-grill/griddle pan until nicely browned on both sides. Remove from the grill and rub generously with the garlic clove.
Squash the tomatoes onto the bruschetta (discard the tomato skin), then season well with sea salt and black pepper. Drizzle with olive oil. Put the bruschetta on the plates.
In a bowl, season the drained spinach. Toss with ¼–½ cup (50–100ml) extra virgin olive oil.
Arrange the spinach on the plates alongside the mozzarella and bruschetta. Drizzle with any remaining olive oil and add the herbs—plus an olive or two if you have them.
Serves 4
32 white asparagus spears
3½ ounces (100g) Sardinian bottarga from grey mullet roe
9 ounces (250g) unsalted butter, softened
juice of 1 lemon
We love the contrast between the delicate taste of the asparagus and the rich salty bottarga. Unlike with green asparagus, you need to be ruthless when peeling the stalks of white ones.
Snap the tough ends from the asparagus spears. Peel the stalks (up to the tips) using a potato peeler.
Grate about three-quarters of the bottarga stick on the finest holes of a cheese grater (reserve the remainder of the bottarga stick for adding at the end).
Beat the softened butter with the grated bottarga. Add the lemon juice and black pepper to taste. Check for seasoning and add a little sea salt, if required.
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add the asparagus and simmer for about 4 minutes, depending on the thickness of the spears, or until a knife tip can gently pierce the stalk. Drain the asparagus and arrange on four warm plates.
Put a dessertspoonful of the bottarga butter on top of each serving of warm asparagus. Grate the remaining bottarga over the plates and season with a little more black pepper. Serve immediately.
Serves 4
4 large firm and fresh porcini
7 tablespoons (100ml) extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
juice of ½ lemon
7 ounces (200g) arugula leaves
6 branches of fresh thyme leaves
This is a simple recipe we make only with very fresh porcini. The mushrooms should be pristine with wide, white stalks and brown, unbroken caps. If the undersides of the caps are yellowish brown it means the mushrooms are overripe. Never wash porcini.
Keeping the porcini whole, wipe the caps with a damp cloth and peel the stems, cutting off the base. Slice the porcini thinly lengthwise.
Combine the extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice with some sea salt and black pepper.
Wash and dry the arugula. Toss with the dressing and divide among four plates. Put the porcini on top. Season and sprinkle with the thyme leaves. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and serve.
Serves 6–8
21 ounces (600g) agretti
1 stale ciabatta loaf
olive oil
½ recipe of Slow-cooked Tomato Sauce (see this page)
When we first discovered agretti, it was impossible to source, but today it is available and worth searching for. Its dark grassy taste is brilliant with a rich slow-cooked tomato sauce, salty bottarga or with just olive oil, salt and pepper.
Snap off the bottom stalks from the agretti, just below the long leafy tops.
Pulse-chop the ciabatta into bread crumbs in a food processor. Heat some olive oil in a frying pan and toast the bread crumbs until they are golden. Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain well on paper towels.
Warm the tomato sauce.
Blanch the agretti in a pot of rapidly boiling salted water for 3 minutes or until tender. Drain and dry on paper towels to remove all the excess water.
Put the agretti on a plate and spoon the tomato sauce over it. Sprinkle with the bread crumbs and serve.
Serves 6
12 small zucchini, trimmed
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
½ cup (125ml) boiling water
a handful of fresh mint or basil leaves, roughly chopped
prosciutto di Parma or mozzarella, for serving
In the River Cafe kitchen, we all have our way of cooking this—some like the zucchini with more color, others paler—but we all agree that the most important thing is that all the water is absorbed into the zucchini.
Cut each zucchini at an angle into 3–4 slices.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, add the garlic and then the zucchini, and cook slowly for 15–20 minutes. When brown on all sides, add the boiling water and stir, scraping up the mixture that will have formed on the bottom of the pan. Cook until all the water has been absorbed and the zucchini are soft.
Add the mint or basil, season with sea salt and black pepper, and serve with prosciutto di Parma or mozzarella.
Serves 6
12 ripe figs (black or green)
7 fluid ounces (200ml) extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch of fresh green basil
1 bunch of fresh purple basil
1 bunch of fresh mint
a selection of soft summer salad leaves, including arugula (about 3½ ounces [100g] per person)
10 ounces (300g) cooked cannellini beans (see this page), kept in their cooking liquid
juice of 2 lemons
We often serve this with prosciutto di Parma.
Slice the figs and spread out on a large plate. Season with sea salt and black pepper and half of the extra virgin olive oil.
Pick the herbs and gently wash with the salad leaves. Spin dry and put aside.
Warm the cannellini beans in their cooking liquid, then drain and season.
In a large bowl, combine the seasoned figs and warm cannellini, stirring well. Gently toss through the salad and herb leaves. Season with the lemon juice, remaining extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and black pepper.
Put onto individual plates to serve.
Serves 6–8
4¼ cups (about 1 liter) warm water
1¼ cups (300g) Italian chickpea flour
7 tablespoons (100ml) extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for the pan
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons fennel seeds, or chopped fresh sage or rosemary leaves
Farinata is the street food of the coastal area of Liguria. We used to think it was only possible to make in a wood-burning oven, but discovered it comes out perfectly in our ovens at home.
Put the water in a large bowl and sift the flour into it. Whisk to combine, then add the extra virgin olive oil and salt. Cover and leave in a warm place for at least 2 hours, or overnight in the fridge.
Preheat the oven to 500°F (250°C).
Skim the foam from the top of the batter. Pour enough olive oil into a farinata pan or cast-iron skillet to generously coat the bottom. Pour in the batter (it should be about ¾ inch [1–2cm] deep). Top with the fennel seeds or herbs and some black pepper and stir a little.
Bake for 20–30 minutes or until the surface has bubbled and become crisp.
Serves 6
3½ ounces (100g) salted capers
3½ ounces (100g) salted anchovies
2 stale ciabatta loaves
2¼ pounds (1kg) fresh plum tomatoes
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed to a paste with a little sea salt
extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 red bell peppers
3 yellow bell peppers
2 fresh red chiles
5 ounces (150g) black olives, pitted
1 large bunch of fresh basil leaves
Put the capers in a sieve and rinse under cold running water. Soak in cold water for 40 minutes, then rinse again.
Rinse the anchovies under cold running water to remove all the salt, then gently remove the spine bones and heads. Pat dry. Separate the anchovies into fillets.
Remove the crusts from the bread, cut the bread into thick slices and place in a large bowl.
Skin and quarter the tomatoes, remove the seeds into a sieve set over a bowl to retain the juices. Season with the garlic and black pepper, then add 1 cup (250ml) extra virgin olive oil and the red wine vinegar.
Pour the tomato juices over the bread and toss until the bread has absorbed the liquid. Depending on the staleness of the bread, more liquid may be required, in which case add a little more olive oil.
Heat the grill or a char-grill/griddle pan to high. Grill the whole peppers until blackened all over, then remove the skin and seeds (see Red and Yellow Peppers, Anchovies and Capers, this page). Cut each pepper into eighths lengthwise. Grill the chiles until blackened, then skin, seed and chop finely.
In a large dish, make a layer of some of the bread. Top with some of all the other ingredients, then cover with another layer of bread. Continue until all the ingredients have been used. The final layer should have the peppers, tomatoes, capers, anchovies, olives and basil visible. Let it sit for an hour at room temperature. Drizzle with more extra virgin olive oil before serving.
Susan Elias
Serves 6
2 ounces (50g) salted capers
3½ ounces (100g) salted anchovies
6 red bell peppers
6 yellow bell peppers
3 garlic cloves, peeled and cut into slivers
a handful of fresh basil leaves or picked marjoram
extra virgin olive oil
red wine vinegar (optional)
3 slices sourdough bread, cut in half
1 garlic clove, peeled and cut in half
Put the capers in a sieve and rinse under cold running water. Soak in cold water for 40 minutes, then rinse again.
Rinse the anchovies well under cold running water to remove all the salt, then gently remove the spine bones and heads. Pat dry and separate into fillets.
Heat the grill or a char-grill/griddle pan to high. Grill the whole peppers until blackened on all sides. Place in a plastic bag and seal. When cool, remove the blackened skin by rubbing the peppers in your hands or by scraping gently with a small knife on a board. Do not worry if they fall apart. Then remove the seeds and cores. Resist the temptation to clean the peppers under running water.
Layer the peppers in a large dish with slivers of garlic, capers, anchovies, basil or marjoram, black pepper and a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil. If you like, drizzle some red wine vinegar over the top. The final layer should have all the ingredients visible.
To make the bruschetta, toast the bread on both sides, then gently rub the garlic over one side only. Serve the peppers with the bruschetta.
Serves 2
10 ounces (300g) podded fresh borlotti beans
2 garlic cloves, peeled
6 fresh sage leaves
¼ cup (50ml) olive oil
7 tablespoons (100ml) extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
juice of 1 lemon
12 langoustines, cooked and peeled
1 fresh red chile, seeded and finely chopped
1 small bunch of fresh marjoram leaves, chopped
This is our favorite antipasto at Harry’s Bar in Venice. The simple combination of creamy, fresh borlotti and delicate langoustines is perfection. Be generous with the olive oil you add at the end.
Put the borlotti beans in a large pot and cover with water. Add the garlic cloves, sage leaves and olive oil. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 40 minutes or until the beans are softened and edible.
Drain off any extra liquid from the pot. Add the extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and peeled langoustines to the warm beans and toss gently over a low heat until the langoustines are just warmed through. Check the seasoning.
Transfer to serving plates, add the chile and marjoram, and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.
Serves 6
2¼ pounds (1kg) fresh anchovies
2 teaspoons crumbled dried red chile
1 bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
juice of 2 lemons
1 cup (250ml) extra virgin olive oil
Fillet the anchovies by pulling the head and spine away from the fish, then cut off the tails and fins. You will have two fillets from each fish.
In a serving dish, arrange a layer of anchovies side by side, not overlapping. Sprinkle with a little sea salt, black pepper, chile and parsley. Add a generous amount of lemon juice and some extra virgin olive oil. Repeat the layers, making sure that the top layer is covered with oil and lemon.
Leave to marinate for about 2 hours before serving with either salad or bruschetta.
Jonas Wood