Last week, I sat down to a lunch that included a fresh goats’ cheese, as white as chalk and mousse-like in texture. We spread it on thin rye biscuits and added nothing more than a few flecks of black pepper from the mill.
We don’t always make enough of the lightness of cheese in cooking. The barely solid curds of a milky buratta; the open texture and hint of sharpness of ricotta in a pancake; the silken quality of mascarpone when used in place of custard as a cake or trifle filling. Cheese dishes that celebrate the subtleties of the ingredient rather than its oozing, melting butteriness.
So, this month, a collection of ideas for ricotta, buratta and mascarpone – light, gentle cheeses matched to citrus zests and nut oils, crisp bitter leaves and sharp fruits. Oh, and I have included the mother of all cold-weather warmers – potatoes, cream and cheese for those ice-cold days that this time of year can throw at us.
Buratta, chicory and toasted walnuts
As good as the classical marriage of buratta, tomatoes and olive oil can be, this gentle, milky textured cheese can hold its own with other ingredients too. Hot and bitter leaves – rocket, chicory, frisee and radish sprouts – work happily with the cool, delicately flavoured cheese. Toasted croutons or walnuts contrast its exceptional softness, and walnut or pumpkin oil make a pleasing change of step from the knee-jerk olive. I have suggested figs, too. Not the luscious autumn globes with their deep crimson flesh, but the pale, rose-fleshed varieties around at the moment. They have a freshness all of their own.
For 2
walnut halves a handful
chicory handful of leaves
figs 4
buratta 1
For the dressing
lemon juice of 1
walnut oil 3 tbsp
chopped mint leaves 1 tbsp
Toast the walnut halves in a shallow pan set over a moderate heat. Shake the pan from time to time so the nuts do not burn. Wash and dry the chicory leaves and tear the figs in half.
Make the dressing: pour the lemon juice into a small bowl, whisk in the walnut oil with a fork then stir in the chopped mint leaves. Place the buratta in the centre of a serving plate or dish, surround it with the leaves and torn figs, then break the buratta open with a spoon to reveal the soft interior. Trickle the dressing over the cheese and leaves, then scatter the walnuts and serve.
Rhubarb cream cheese trifle
Fond as I am of the traditional trifle, there is no reason the dessert should stand still. I have dispensed with the usual custard in favour of an almost mousse-textured cream of mascarpone, eggs and vanilla. And yes, I know bought sponge cakes are easier, but a home-made sponge base has a better flavour and texture, especially when introducing a grating of citrus zest. Trifle, like so many other layered dishes, improves for a night in the fridge, though it is important to cover it tightly with cling film. This version is a study in softness, but you could include a layer of crisp contrast with toasted nuts, sugared violets or rose petals or sesame snaps, crushed to a coarse, glistening dust.
Makes 6 servings
For the sponge
butter 100g
golden caster sugar 100g
eggs 2
orange 1
self-raising flour 100g
For the rhubarb
rhubarb 800g
water 200ml
sugar 50-60g
For the ‘cheesecake cream’
mascarpone 250g
cream cheese 200g
eggs 3
vanilla extract a few drops
double cream 200ml
To decorate
edible flowers
You will need a shallow 20cm sponge tin, lined on the base with baking parchment, and 6 small dessert dishes about 12cm in diameter.
Set the oven at 180C/gas mark 4. To make the sponge, cut the butter into large pieces and place in the bowl of a food mixer. Add the sugar, then beat till light and fluffy. Break the eggs into a small bowl and beat them lightly with a fork, then add them, a little at a time, to the butter and sugar. If there is any sign of curdling, introduce a little of the flour. Grate the zest of the orange and mix into the cake batter. Lastly, gently fold in the flour.
Scrape the mixture into the sponge tin and smooth the surface flat. Bake for about 20-25 minutes till lightly springy and starting to come away from the sides of the case. Remove from the oven and set aside for a few minutes. Turn the cake out onto to a cooling rack and leave to cool.
For the rhubarb, chop the stems into short lengths and place in a stainless steel saucepan with the water and sugar. Bring to the boil then lower the heat and leave to simmer for 5-10 minutes till the rhubarb is soft and just short of collapsing. There should be plenty of brightly coloured syrup. Set aside and leave to cool, then transfer to a bowl and chill in the refrigerator.
Make the cheesecake cream: put the mascarpone and cream cheese in the bowl of a food mixer, add the lightly beaten eggs and the vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk the cream until it sits in soft folds, then stir into the cheese.
To assemble, tear the cake into pieces and place snugly in the base of the dessert dishes. Pour over some of the chilled rhubarb syrup, then divide the rhubarb between the dishes. Spoon the cheesecake cream on top, then refrigerate for at least 3 hours, longer if you can.
Spoon the reserved rhubarb juice over each trifle just before serving. Decorate with a few edible flowers if you wish.
Ricotta and pistachio pancakes with lemon and lemon-thyme syrup
Ricotta is among the lightest of cheeses, and is one of the few I feel has an affinity with lemon. The cheese’s clean, lactic note makes it a suitable candidate for stuffing sweet pancakes, (it is less cloying than the traditional pastry cream filling) and needs very little in the way of embellishment. In these lemon pancakes, I introduce a crunchy note with pistachios (toasted flaked almonds would work nicely, too) and add a surprising hint of heat with a subtle addition of flecks of black pepper. Entirely optional, of course.
Makes 6
For the pancakes
butter 30g, plus a little extra for cooking
plain flour 100g
caster sugar 1 level tbsp
egg 1 large
egg yolk 1
milk 350ml
For the filling
shelled pistachios 4 tbsp
ricotta 500g
caster sugar 2 tbsp
orange zest of 1
lemon zest of 1
black pepper a little
For the syrup
honey 4 tbsp
lemons juice of 2
lemon thyme 4 sprigs
Melt the butter in a small pan, then remove from the heat and allow to cool. Put the flour into a large bowl. Break the eggs into a smaller one then mix in the milk with a small whisk or fork. Pour the egg and milk into the flour, together with the cooled butter and mix to a thin batter. A few lumps won’t hurt. Let the batter rest for half an hour.
Melt the butter for cooking, then remove from the heat. Warm a non-stick frying pan over a moderate-to-low heat then pour in a tablespoon of the butter. Pour a ladleful of the batter into the pan and twist the pan left and right and back and forth until the base is covered with a thin layer of batter.
Cook the pancake over the heat until it is golden on the underside then, with the help of a palette knife, flip the pancake over and cook the other side. Slide out onto a warm plate. Add a little more butter to the pan then repeat until you have six thin pancakes.
Make the filling by roughly chopping the pistachios, then stir them into the ricotta with the caster sugar, and the zest of the orange and the lemon. A very little ground pepper is fun to add at this point, but it is not essential.
Make the syrup: in a small pan, warm the honey, add the lemon juice and stir in a teaspoon or two of lemon thyme leaves. Set side.
Place a pancake on the work surface, spread a sixth of the filling over it, then fold into four. Place on a serving plate and continue with the others.
Spoon the warm lemon syrup over the pancakes together with a little lemon thyme and serve.
Carta de musica with cheese and coppa
The rustle of wafer-thin carta de musica has become synonymous with the squeak of a wine cork in our house. Despite its featherweight lightness, the sheets of Italian yeast-free bread are strong enough to take a fine layer of melted cheese and maybe even a few slices of air-dried ham. It’s a snack rather than a meal, but I have started to include it on the table when we are having a soup lunch, and it disappears in minutes. Avoid the temptation to overload the bread. Restraint with the cheese will keep the wafers crisp and stay true to the bread’s humble origins.
Enough for 2
banana shallots 2
olive oil 3 tbsp
gruyere 200g, grated
carta de musica 4 sheets
coppa 80g, thinly sliced
Peel the shallots and chop them very finely. Warm the olive oil in a shallow pan, then add the shallots and cook over a low-to-moderate heat. Stir regularly until they are translucent and soft. Put the carta de musica on a grill pan or oven tray, scatter thinly with the grated gruyere, then add the shallots evenly over the cheese. Place under a heated grill and continue cooking till the cheese has melted and the onions have turned lightly golden. Place the coppa over the surface and eat immediately.
Potato, camembert and dill
In total contrast to the ethereally light carta de musica, this is an unapologetically bolstering affair. A cold-weather dish, heavy with starch, cream and cheese, that takes its inspiration from tartiflette – the ski-resort stalwart.
We ate this with finely cut speck, but the inclusion of dill – always happy in the presence of waxy-fleshed potatoes – would make it just as suited to thickly cut smoked salmon. One for a bone-cold day.
Serves 4
new potatoes 700g, yellow fleshed
double cream 250ml
camembert or similar cheese 400g
dill small bunch
Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6. Cook the potatoes in boiling, lightly salted water for about 20 minutes till just tender. Drain the potatoes, then put them in a baking dish. Press firmly onto each potato, lightly crushing them and opening them up.
Season the cream with salt and pepper. Chop half of the dill and stir into the cream. Slice the cheese thickly and break into large pieces.
Tuck the cheese among the potatoes, then pour over the dill cream. Cover with a lid and bake for 25 minutes, then remove the lid and continue baking for a further 20 until the surface is appetisingly browned. Scatter with the remaining dill and serve.
