Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A Taste of Spring, From Ruth Rogers - River Cafe London
A Taste of Spring, From Ruth Rogers - River Cafe London
A Taste of Spring, From Ruth Rogers - River Cafe London
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/apr/15/ruth-rogers-river-c...
Advertisement
Article history
Squid with peas and anchovies. Photograph: Romas Foord for the Observer
Broad beans, artichokes, peas, agretti, cicoria walk into any Italian trattoria in spring and you will be greeted with large plates overflowing with these beautiful, green vegetables cooked in various ways. Agretti (feathery green leaves that translate as "monk's beard") might be simply blanched then tossed with olive oil and lemon (at the River Caf, we have been serving it hot with a bottarga sauce), the peas might be slow cooked with prosciutto and garlic, the broad beans smashed with pecorino and mint and served on bruschetta. Rose and I ate this for the first time near Siena in the house of Giuseppe Mazzocolin, who makes the beautiful Felsina wine and olive oil. We came home and put it on the menu right away. Though some of these vegetables might be hard to find (agretti is available from specialist stores and sometimes from sites such as natoora.co.uk), we are lucky here to have an abundance of peas, broad beans and asparagus available soon. Fresh young broad beans are perfect eaten raw; often in Tuscany you will end a meal not with a sweet but with a plate of them still in their pods, with a chunk of local pecorino. As I write, my friend Julie, who lives in Florence, tells me the markets are filled with artichokes the morellino variety from Venturina in the Maremma region, which are wonderful braised with the herb nepitella (part of the mint family). Not only are these the most tender and tasty artichokes but the newly leafed nepitella has a fresher and more subtle flavour than it will later on. Artichokes are officially over in late spring but there are still some available from Sicily. At The River Caf, my head chefs Joseph Trivelli and Sian Wyn Owen and I like to cook them for as long as we can, roasted in foil (as below) or combined with the peas and broad beans to make the Roman stew vignole. So say goodbye to the broccoli, winter greens and dark vegetables of winter and celebrate the lovely vegetables of spring.
1 of 4
15/04/2012 19:06
A taste of spring, from Ruth Rogers | Life and style | The Observer
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/apr/15/ruth-rogers-river-c...
Serves 6 small globe artichokes with stalks 12 lemon garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced 4 fresh thyme, in sprigs 1 bunch Maldon sea salt freshly ground black pepper olive oil Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7. Prepare the artichokes by first trimming the stalks, leaving about 5cm. Peel each stalk down to the paler core. Next, break off the tough outer leaves until only the pale, tender leaves remain. Trim about 1cm off the top. Open the leaves and, with a spoon, remove the choke. If the artichokes are very tender this is not necessary. Rub the lemon over each artichoke to prevent discolouring. Put a couple of slivers of garlic, a sprig of thyme and a generous amount of salt and pepper into the small cavity in each artichoke. Lay each artichoke on a piece of foil large enough to fold around into a parcel, and drizzle with olive oil. Pour 2 tbsp of water into the bag and close tightly. Roast in a pre-heated oven for 30 minutes, or until tender.
2 of 4
15/04/2012 19:06
A taste of spring, from Ruth Rogers | Life and style | The Observer
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/apr/15/ruth-rogers-river-c...
Maldon sea salt freshly ground black pepper lemon juice of 1 For the bruschetta: Pugliese or other sourdough bread, cut 1cm thick 6 slices large garlic clove, peeled 1 extra-virgin olive oil mozzarella 1 ball Pound the broad beans in a pestle and mortar with the garlic and mint. When the texture is thick, remove and place in a bowl. Stir in the pecorino and the olive oil. Season with salt, pepper and the lemon juice. Toast the bread on both sides, then lightly rub with a cut clove of garlic. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil. Serve the smashed broad bean and pecorino bruschetta with to a ball of mozzarella.
2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
3 of 4
15/04/2012 19:06
A taste of spring, from Ruth Rogers | Life and style | The Observer
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/apr/15/ruth-rogers-river-c...
4 of 4
15/04/2012 19:06