Gnudi with peas, shoots, mint and butter

Yet again there has somehow been a gap of a few weeks since my last recipe. Recently I’ve been running around like a headless chicken working on various projects, and I just haven’t been able to sneak over to the computer and jot down a few words. Thankfully, I’ve got a window of free time ahead, so my posting can hopefully get back to the usual frequency. There are some cracking recipes in the pipeline; brill, summer stews, baby beetroot and more. 

 
The best thing about this recipe is that it marks my annual love-in with peas. Any regular readers will know that I’m borderline obsessed with the little sweet green orbs of joy. Memory and food is an important connection, and peas take me right back to childhood dinners. Then they would be served to provide some nutrition alongside a breaded chicken escalope, or they would be jammed, hiding inside penne or pasta shells. As a supposedly responsible adult, I have tried on occasion to grow them. The idea of a plentiful and replenishing supply of peas at my fingertips is too good to resist. Alas, unfortunately I am constantly reminded that my gardening prowess leaves a lot to be desired. And any few miracle peas that made it were engulfed in seconds, without hope of even nearly making it into the kitchen.
 
So peas are wonderful, but very much in a safe kind of way. You know what you’re getting with peas. They’re Mr Reliable; sweet, with that satisfying pop. Yet at a recent dinner the excellent Pidgin, local to me in Hackney, my eyes were opened when whole pods of peas were served to me grilled. They proved a total revelation and made perfect sense, the charred exterior adding a wonderful smokiness. I just had to give that a go.
 
This dish is a celebration of the humble pea. But the soft and rich gnudi are certainly not the bridesmaids. These soft, hot, balls of melted cheese are total crowd pleasers, and something that I don’t nearly make often enough. The long preparation time is a bit of a commitment, but as is so often the way, when it’s actually time to cook they are ready in a flash.
 
Serves 2
 
Ingredients:
 
For the gnudi:
 
250g ricotta 
25g parmesan, finely grated 
500g semolina, for rolling
 
For the pea puree:
 
250g frozen peas 
½ a lemon 
A small bunch of mint, leaves picked 
1 large knob of butter
 
For the grilled peas:
 
10 fresh peas in their pods
 
For the fresh peas and shoots:
 
2 handfuls of fresh peas 
1 handful of pea shoots
 
To finish:
 
1 large knob of butter 
A few mint leaves 
A few gratings of parmesan


Start by making the gnudi. Tip the ricotta into a bowl and combine with the grated parmesan and a good pinch of seasoning. Carefully form the mixture into small balls. Line a large plate or tray with the semolina and roll each gnudi in it until coated all over. Space the gnudi out on the tray in one layer, and scatter a little more of the semolina over the top. Cover the tray with cling film and refrigerate for 24 hours. 

 
Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and salt the water well. Fill a large bowl with very cold water (iced ideally) and have it standing to the side ready. Blanche the shoots for 20 seconds before transferring to the cold water with a spotted spoon. Repeat with the two handfuls of fresh peas, blanching for 1 minute. Once cool, drain the water away and shell the peas, and set aside in a bowl with the shoots for finishing later.
 
Tip the frozen peas into the now empty pan of boiling water and cool for 2-3 minutes, until tender. Drain and shake dry, then pour into a food processor. Add the lemon juice, mint leaves and butter and blitz until a puree is formed. Pass through a sieve, then taste and adjust the seasoning and lemon content if necessary. Pour into a small saucepan and cover. Keep warm.
 
Set the grill to high. Rub the whole peas with a little oil and season well. Scatter onto an oven tray and slide under the grill for a couple of minutes on each side, until slightly charred. 

 
Take the gnudi out of the fridge. The semolina will have formed a crust around the cheese. Gently brush off any excess grains.
 
Bring a large pan of water to the boil and salt the water well. Place a large frying pan over a medium-low heat and melt the butter. When the water is hot, drop in the gnudi and boil for a couple of minutes; they are ready as soon as they float to the surface. Transfer them to the butter pan with a slotted spoon and carefully roll around. Add the blanched peas and shoots and cook for a minute to warm through.

To plate up, spoon a good dollop of the puree onto each plate. Top with the gnudi, peas, shoots and a spoonful of the hot butter from the pan. Arrange some of the grilled peas in the gaps. Finish with a generous grating of parmesan and a scattering of mint leaves.

Lamb’s neck fillet with gnudi, fresh peas and olive crumb

After writing reviews for the last couple of posts, it feels good to finally have got some cooking done again. Although I love having chilled out days off, I also love filling them experimenting with new things. Over the past few weeks I have been really getting into Italian cooking, having watched Simon Hopkinson and Theo Randall on the television and bought the River Cafe cookbooks. I just love the attitude to food that this type of cooking has, where it’s all about the flavours and quality of ingredients. Some of my best food memories are tucking into a bowl of pasta or a big rustic salad, so I’m excited to discover more!

It was whilst watching Simon Hopkinson that I found out about gnudi. These are small ricotta dumplings that are gently poached to form little hot cheesy domes. What more could you want! I was desperate to try these out, and thought that they would work perfectly in this dish. Ricotta is naturally quite a bland cheese that needs flavouring, and it balances the strong olive crumb and lamb sauce in this dish with it’s lightness. Although you have to make them the day before cooking, they only take 10 minutes and are really easy. They would be perfect for making in bulk when cooking for numbers, and only need minutes to finish on the day. I will definitely be trying out other recipes with them in the future. 

With Italian cooking in particular, the food is mostly really simple, placing emphasis on choosing the best quality ingredients possible. With things like mozzarella, olive oils and in this case, ricotta, there is a stark difference in taste from the cheap produce found in the supermarkets to what you can get from specialist shops and delis. To source my ricotta I went to my local cheese mecca, La Fromagerie in Highbury. I rarely need an excuse to visit and smell that intense waft as you walk through the door, and on this occasion they failed to disappoint. I got home with a ricotta with much better flavour, and important to this recipe, texture. The stuff you find in supermarkets seem to be on the wetter side, which will make it much more difficult when rolling the gnudi. 

Lamb neck fillet might not be top of everyone’s list when thinking of cuts to use, but it packs a lovely flavour and is quite reasonably priced. Ignore the slow cooking advice given on the internet and cook it quickly for a pink centre, which will give tender and succulent results. As is important with cooking most meats, allow time to rest properly. This will also give you time to finish all of the other elements to the dish before plating up. When buying the meat, ask your butcher for any lamb bones and trim. They will make your sauce so much better and won’t cost very much.

The use of charlock flowers might seem a bit weird or unnecessary, but they add to the dish both visually and with their subtle, mustardy taste. I came across them by accident at the Stoke Newington farmers market at the weekend, but if you can’t get hold of them then peashoots alone will be fine.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

For the lamb:

2 lamb’s neck fillets, excess fat removed

1 tbsp olive oil

30g butter

Salt and pepper

For the gnudi:

200g good ricotta

30g parmesan, finely grated

2 tbsp fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

2 tbsp fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped

1/2 lemon, zest only

Salt and pepper

Semolina, for dusting

For the sauce:

200g-300g lamb bones and trim, cut into small pieces

2 shallots, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled but kept whole

10 sprigs thyme

1 large glass dry white wine

500g lamb stock

30g butter

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

For the olives:

100g good black olives, stones removed

For the peas:

2 handfuls fresh peas, podded and shelled

30g butter

Salt and pepper

For the crispy mint leaves:

12 mint leaves

4 tbsp vegetable oil

To garnish:

Peashoots

Extra virgin olive oil

Charlock flowers

Make the gnudi 24 hours before needed. Mix the ricotta with the parmesan, herbs and lemon zest in a bowl and taste. Add seasoning if needed. Pour a good layer of semolina into a shallow tray. Carefully roll small balls out of the ricotta mixture that are slightly larger than a raspberry, then place them in the tray and dust with the semolina. Repeat until the mixture is rolled, then cover and put in the fridge. 

Also cook the olives in advance. Set to oven to 80ºC and scatter the pitted olives on a greaseproof lined oven tray. Put in the oven for 8-10 hours, or until dried through. When ready, blitz in a food processor until a fine crumb. Set aside until needed. 

To make the sauce, take the bones and trim out of the fridge and allow to come to room temperature. Heat up a large skillet pan to a hot temperature and add a little oil. Season the bones and sear all sides until very well browned. Turn the pan down slightly and add the shallot, garlic and thyme and fry again until coloured. Turn the heat back up and add the white wine, and allow to bubble and reduce by half. Pour in the lamb stock and slowly reduce until the sauce is thickened and about 150ml is left. Strain through a fine sieve into a small saucepan, cover and set aside for finishing later.

While the sauce is cooking, pod and shell the peas.

Heat up a small pan with the vegetable oil for the mint leaves. When hot, quickly fry the mint leaves for about 30 seconds, turning occasionally, then remove carefully and drain on kitchen paper. Set aside until later. 

Take the lamb out of the fridge to come to room temperature.

Fill a medium saucepan with well salted water and bring to the boil. When it is nearly boiling, heat up a dry large non-stick pan to a high heat for the lamb.

To cook the lamb, season on all sides and rub well with oil. When the pan is hot place the lamb in the pan and cook quickly on all sides until well browned. When the lamb is coloured, add the butter to the pan and baste. Carefully control the temperature of the pan to not burn the lamb, and keep touching the meat to tell how well it is cooked as you would when cooking steak. After about 5 minutes the lamb should be cooked, remove from the pan onto a board and allow to rest for another 5 minutes. Once rested, slice into thin rounds.

While the lamb is resting gently reheat the sauce and stir in the butter. Taste and season if needed. 

At the same time cook the gnudi in the boiling water. Carefully shake off any excess semolina and drop into the pan. Turn the heat down to a gentler boil and poach for 4-5 minutes, until they float to the surface. Remove with a slotted spoon onto a warm plate and keep warm until you plate up. 

Also cook the peas. Add the butter to the same pan as the lamb was cooked in with 2 tbsp water. When melted pour in the peas and cook for a minute or two on a medium heat until tender. 

Dress the peashoots in a small bowl with a little extra virgin olive oil. 

To plate up, arrange slices of the lamb onto the plate and put the gnudi amongst them. Spoon over some of the peas and them a good amount of sauce. Place the mint leaves, peashoots and charlock flowers around the edge of the meat and sprinkle over a good pinch of the olive crumb.