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WHERE THE DISHES FLOW

Down by the Thames, Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers serve a steady stream of Italian specialities, from roasted sea bass, pork and pigeon to traditional desserts like grilled peaches with Amaretto. Our final extract from their book tells you how to make them

Saturday 15 April 1995 23:02 BST
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ROASTED MARINATED

SEA BASS

BRANZINO ARROSTO

In this, a favourite River Caf recipe, the grilling of the skin before baking gives the sea bass a distinctive and interesting flavour.

Serves 4-6

1 x 5lb/2.25kg sea bass, scaled and cleaned but not filleted

2 tablespoons fennel seeds

sea salt

coarsely ground black pepper

2 red onions, peeled and sliced thinly

2 lemons sliced

a few parsley stalks

2 fresh fennel bulbs, trimmed and sliced

juice of 1 lemon

5 tablespoons olive oil

212 fl oz/75ml white wine

To prepare the fish, scaled and cleaned as described, first of all snip off the side and back fins with a strong pair of scissors. Then, with a fish scaler or a large, strong knife, scrape off the scales. This is best done by holding the fish by the tail in a sink and scraping downwards. It is essential to do this thoroughly. Next, gut the fish by running a sharp knife up from the base of the belly to the head. Remove the guts and wash the fish well.

Preheat the oven to 375F/190C/Gas 5. Preheat the grill. Put half the fennel seeds and some salt and pepper inside the cavity of the prepared fish, brush the skin with a little olive oil and grill for about five to six minutes on each side until the skin is lightly charred.

Place half the onion and lemon slices, the parsley stalks, the fennel slices and the remaining fennel seeds in a large ovenproof dish, lay the fish on top and cover with the remaining onion, lemon, parsley and fennel. Pour over the lemon juice, the olive oil and the white wine, and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until the flesh of the fish is firm to the touch. Serve either hot or cold with green sauce (Salsa Verde), made as follows.

GREEN SAUCE

SALSA VERDE

1 large bunch flat-leaf parsley

1 bunch fresh basil

1 handful fresh mint leaves

3 garlic cloves, peeled

4oz/100g salted capers

4oz/100g salted anchovies

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

Salted capers and anchovies, an essential ingredient in this recipe, can be bought from specialist Italian shops and should be prepared in advance as follows. Place the capers in a sieve and rinse under cold running water to remove the salt. Rinse salted anchovies in the same way, and gently remove the spine bones and heads. Pat dry and use immediately, or they will turn brown and lose their flavour. If not using them straightaway, cover them in olive oil.

If you are using an electric food processor, pulse-chop the parsley, the basil, the mint, the garlic, the capers and the anchovies until they are roughly blended. Transfer the resulting paste to a large bowl and add the vinegar. Slowly pour in the olive oil, stirring constantly, and finally add the mustard. Check for seasoning. This sauce may also be prepared by hand, on a board, ideally using a mezzaluna (a two-handled moon blade cutter).

PORK ROASTED WITH

BALSAMIC VINEGAR

MAIALE ARROSTO CON ACETO BALSAMICO

In this recipe the meat is first grilled to give a burnt flavour which contrasts with that of the sweet balsamic vinegar.

Serves 6

1 x 4-5lb/2kg boned loin of young organic pork, with rind and most of the fat removed

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 red onions, peeled and cut into eighths lengthways

4oz/100g butter

1 tablespoon roughly chopped fresh rosemary

12fl oz/350ml balsamic vinegar

2fl oz/60ml red wine

Preheat the oven to 425F/220C/Gas 7. Season the meat to taste, then grill it on all sides to seal. Ideally, this should be done on a barbecue or on a cast-iron griddle.

Place a baking dish over a medium to low heat. Soften the onion in the butter for about five minutes, then stir in the rosemary. Add the grilled pork and half the balsamic vinegar. Turn the pork so that it is well coated, then put into the preheated oven.

Roast for about 40 minutes: after the first l0 minutes or so, turn the pork over and stir the onions once. About five minutes before the end of the cooking process, add the remaining balsamic vinegar.

Put the pork on a board on one side to relax for a couple of minutes. Deglaze the juices and onion in the dish with a little wine, until they make a concentrated juice. Slice the pork thinly, and serve with the juices.

PAN-ROASTED PIGEON STUFFED WITH COTECHINO

PICCIONE RIPIENO CON COTECHINO

Serves 6

6 Bresse pigeons, plucked and cleaned

1fl oz/25ml olive oil

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

8fl oz/250ml red wine and/or chicken or veal stock, preferably home-made

For the stuffing: 2 small red onions, peeled and chopped

4 celery stalks, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cotechino sausage

20 sage leaves, shredded

8fl oz/250ml red wine

Preheat the oven to 450F/230C/Gas 8.

To make the stuffing: first, soften the onion and celery in the oil for 10 minutes over a low heat. Remove the skin of the cotechino sausage and crumble the meat with your hands. Add the cotechino and roughly half the shredded sage leaves to the onion and celery, and fry for about 10 minutes.

Pour off the fat from the pan, add the red wine and boil to reduce by at least half. Season with pepper and allow to cool before stuffing into the birds.

Heat 1fl oz/25 ml of oil in a roasting pan over a medium to high heat, and brown each bird all over. Season with pepper and the rest of the sage, place in the top of the preheated oven and roast for 20 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven, and take out the pigeon. Keep the birds warm. Pour any excess oil out of the pan, then place over a medium heat and add the red wine and/or stock. Over a high heat, reduce the liquid in the pan by about half, then season with salt and pepper. Pour the sauce over the pigeon.

MARINATED GRILLED LAMB

AGNELLO MARINATO ALLA GRIGLIA

When we grill lamb, we choose the whole leg because it has such a definite taste and texture. Only spring lamb is suitable for this method of cooking.

Serves 6

1 leg of spring lamb 5lb/2.25kg in weight, boned and butterflied

5 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

2 tablespoons chopped rosemary leaves

1 good pinch coarsely ground black pepper

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon sea salt

Mix the crushed garlic, rosemary, and pepper in a bowl, and rub into the cut side of the meat. Place the meat in a shallow dish and pour over the lemon juice and olive oil. Turn the meat over a couple of times to make sure it is coated, then cover. Leave to marinate at room temperature overnight, or for at least four hours, turning the meat occasionally.

Preheat grill to very high. Remove the meat from the marinade and pat dry. Season with salt. Carefully place the meat on the grill and seal on both sides. Lower the heat and continue to grill to the desired degree of pinkness, turning once. Allow at least eight minutes per side.

PEAR AND ALMOND TART

TORTA DI PERE E MANDORLE

Serves 10-12

For the sweet pastry: 12oz/350g plain flour

a pinch of salt

8oz/175g unsalted cold butter, cut into cubes

4oz/100g icing sugar

3 egg yolks

For the filling: 12oz/350g unsalted butter, softened

12oz/350g caster sugar

12oz/350g blanched whole almonds

3 eggs

6 ripe Comice pears, peeled and halved

For the sweet pastry, pulse-chop the flour, the salt and the butter in a food processor until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, then the egg yolks, and pulse.The mixture will immediately combine and leave the sides of the bowl. Remove, wrap in clingfilm and chill for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350F/180C/Gas 4. Coarsely grate the pastry into a 12in/30cm loose-bottomed, fluted flan tin, then press it evenly on to the sides and base. Bake blind for 20 minutes until very light brown. Cool, and place the pears in the base, face-down. Reduce the oven temperature to 300F/150C/Gas 3.

For the filling, cream the butter and sugar until the mixture is pale and light. Put the almonds in a food processor and chop until fine. Add the butter and sugar and blend, then beat in the eggs one by one. Pour over the pears and bake for 40 minutes.

LEMON TART

CROSTATA DI LIMONE

Serves 10-12

1 quantity sweet pastry (see recipe above)

For the filling: finely grated zest and juice of 7 lemons

12oz/350g caster sugar

6 whole eggs

9 egg yolks

10oz/300g unsalted butter, softened

Preheat the oven to 325F/160C/Gas 4. Press the pastry into the flan tin as for Pear and Almond Tart (above), bake blind, then leave to cool.

Meanwhile, make the filling. Put all the ingredients except the butter in a large saucepan over a very low heat, and whisk until the eggs have broken up and the sugar has dissolved. Add half the butter and continue to whisk. At this point the eggs will start to cook and the mixture will coat the back of a spoon. Add the remaining butter and continue stirring until the mixture becomes very thick. It is important to continue whisking throughout the cooking process to prevent the mixture from curdling. Remove from the heat, place on a cold surface and continue to whisk until lukewarm.

Raise the oven temperature to 450F/230C/Gas 8. Spoon the lemon filling into the pastry base and bake until the top is brown. This should take about five to eight minutes.

ZABAGLIONE ICE-CREAM

GELATO ALLO ZABAIONE

Serves 10

10 egg yolks

11oz/200g caster sugar

4fl oz/120ml Bristol Cream sherry

3fl oz/85ml Jamaica rum

15fl oz/450ml double cream

Place the egg yolks and sugar in an electric mixer and beat until light and fluffy, at least l0 minutes. Add half the sherry and rum, and transfer the mixture to a bowl that will fit over a large saucepan of boiling water. The water should not touch the bowl. Whisk continuously until the mixture comes to the boil - this will take at least 30 minutes.

Stir in the remaining sherry and rum and leave to cool. If using an electric ice-cream machine, add the cream and churn. If using the freezer, beat the cream to soft peaks, fold into the mixture, and freeze in a suitable container.

GRILLED PEACHES WITH AMARETTO

PESCHE GRATINATE CON AMARETTO

Serves 6

8 ripe peaches

1 vanilla pod

2 tablespoons caster sugar

4fl oz/120ml Amaretto

To serve: crme frache

Preheat the oven to 375F/190C/Gas 5. Preheat the char-grill or griddle pan (a ridged grill pan available from specialist kitchen shops, which you place on top of the stove until it is evenly hot). A conventional grill can be used if you have neither of these.

Slice the peaches in half and remove the stones, trying to keep the cut as clean as possible. Carefully place the peach halves, cut side down, and grill until each peach half has become slightly charred.

Thinly slice the vanilla pod lengthways and put into a mortar with the sugar. Pound with the pestle until broken up and combined.

Place the peach halves face-up in a shallow, ovenproof baking dish. Scatter the vanilla sugar over them and pour in some of the Amaretto. Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 10 minutes, or until the peaches are soft.

Pour over the remaining Amaretto, and serve either hot or cold with the crme frache.

CHOCOLATE NEMESIS

Serves 10-12

112Ib/675g bitter-sweet chocolate, broken into small pieces

l0 whole eggs

1lb 5oz/575g caster sugar

1lb/450g unsalted butter, softened

Preheat the oven to 325F/160C/Gas 3. Line a 12in x 2in/20cm x 5cm cake tin with greaseproof paper. Grease and flour it. Beat the eggs with a third of the sugar until the volume quadruples (at least l0 minutes in an electric mixer).

Heat the remaining sugar in a small pan with 8fl oz/250ml water until the sugar has completely dissolved to a syrup. Place the chocolate and butter in the hot syrup and stir to combine. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

Add the warm syrup to the eggs and continue to beat, more gently, until completely combined - 20 seconds, no more. Pour into the cake tin and place in a bain-marie of hot water. It is essential, if the cake is to cook evenly, that the water comes up to the rim of the tin. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, or until set. Test by placing the flat of your hand gently on the surface. Leave to cool in the tin before turning out. !

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