Читать книгу Wild Garlic, Gooseberries and Me: A chef’s stories and recipes from the land - Denis Cotter - Страница 30

This recipe works with any strongly flavoured greens. Gougères are usually baked choux pastries, but in this instance the dough is deep-fried.

For the gougères, put the flour and hazelnuts in a food processor. Put the water and butter in a pan and bring to a boil. Start the food processor and pour in the hot water and butter, beating it in for 30 seconds. Add one egg and beat until fully incorporated, then add the second egg and repeat. Finally, beat in the cheese and some salt and pepper. Transfer the batter to a bowl.

Heat some vegetable oil in a deep-fryer or heavy-based saucepan to 170°C(325°F). If using a pan, test the oil by dropping in a little of the batter. If it floats and begins to colour in a minute or so, turn the heat down to hold the temperature.

Meanwhile, in a large wide pan, heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil over a medium heat. Add the cime di rapa, red pepper, garlic and ginger, and fry for 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Add the sherry and the 2 tablespoons of water and simmer for 5-7 minutes more, until the greens are tender. Add a little more olive oil and water at the end to ensure that the dish is moist. Season with a little salt and pepper.

Serves 4
2 tbsps olive oil, plus an extra splash
600g(1 1/4 lb) cime di rapa
1 red pepper, quartered, seeded andthinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 tbsp fresh root ginger, thinly sliced
2 tbsp sweet sherry
2 tbsp water, plus an extra splash

FOR THE GOUGÈRES
110g (4OZ) strong white flour
25g (1OZ) hazelnuts, roasted and finelychopped
170ml (6fl oz) water
60g (21/4oz) butter
2 medium eggs
80g (3 1/2) Gabriel, cheddar or otherhard cheese, grated
salt and pepper
vegetable oil for deep-frying

While the vegetables are cooking, take a heaped teaspoon of the gougère batter and, using a second spoon, slide it into the hot oil. Repeat with some more batter, to cook as many gougères as possible without overcrowding the oil. Fry them for 4-5 minutes, turning once if necessary, until the gougères are browned. Keep the cooked ones warm while you fry more batches.

Serve the cime di rapa in its juices, surrounded by some of the fried gougères.