I tend to rely largely on pulses and other dry-store ingredients as winter has its curtain call, but as keen as I am on soft Italian overstewed vegetables, here I have taken a fresher approach – hinting at my longing for food with spring in its step.
Without using anything more exotic than the contents of my winter veg box – beetroot, carrots, potatoes – I have injected the flavours with new life: almost acidic winter tomatoes, a kick of horseradish, the punch of some good vinegar to awaken and restore.
I love the combination of tomato and horseradish; something I learned from Elizabeth David and have used here in a simple beetroot salad.
Potatoes and pork
I described this idea to a friend; he beat me to making it and convinced me to include it here. Salty, savoury and heady from herbs and juniper, this makes a strong side or simple supper with a salad.
Serves 4
bay leaves 5, fresh
rosemary 1 sprig
parsley 1 sprig
juniper berries 7
red potatoes 800g
pancetta 400g or 2 thick slices
olive oil
chillies 2, fresh
mustard seeds 1 tbsp
garlic 2 cloves, peeled and chopped
Carefully remove the centre rib out from the bay leaves and grind the leaves to dust in a mortar with a pinch of salt. This will take a bit of patience. Then add the other herbs and the juniper berries and grind.
If you like, peel the potatoes, just in strips will do, otherwise just chop them into 5cm thick random shapes. Boil them in lightly salted water until soft but not mushy. Drain.
Heat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6.
Cut the pancetta into 2cm cubes and fry over a medium heat in a tablespoon of olive oil. They will eventually crisp once much of the fat has rendered.
At this point roughly chop the chillies and add to the pan, with the mustard seeds – they will pop in a satisfying way. Then add the potatoes and garlic, turning them over and coating with all the flavours and not minding if they get bashed up a bit. Then stir in the ground herbs and enjoy the aroma.
Move to a roasting dish and roast in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, until the potatoes are crispy.
Beetroot salad
I like to make this refreshing salad with beets cold from the fridge. The order in which to make this tries to mitigate against the beetroot massacre (blood bath) that will inevitably happen.
Serves 4 as a starter or a side
winter tomatoes 300g, or another type
oregano 1 tsp, dried
horseradish root ⅓, around 60g
beetroot 2 medium, around 350g
lemon ½, juiced
parsley 1 small bunch, roughly chopped
olive oil
crème fraîche optional
Cut the tomatoes into pieces. Place them in a large bowl with a good pinch of salt and oregano. Leave them alone for a bit. Peel and grate the horseradish. I use a microplane, but if you don’t have one, maybe chop the horseradish for a finer finish after you have grated it.
Peel the beetroot and slice them into matchsticks a couple of millimetres thick. Place them on to the tomatoes with the horseradish. Add the lemon juice, parsley and a really good glug of olive oil – around 6 tbsp. Combine.
Eat with a spoonful of crème fraîche if you find the horseradish too hot.
Braised vegetables
This is simple cooking that requires a bit of precision to be truly great. We ate it for lunch with a poached egg and a slice of rye bread.
Serves 4 as a starter or a side
fennel 1 large bulb
carrots 4
endives 2
garlic cloves 4
black olives 3 tbsp
olive oil 4 tbsp
artichokes 2, peeled and quartered, optional
thyme 3 sprigs
vinegar 2 tbsp
honey 2 tbsp
dry vermouth 200ml
butter a good knob
Trim the base of the fennel bulb and slice into 4 thick 3cm or so slices. Wash and peel the carrots. If large, slice into two across the middle on the bias, or lengthways if quite thick. Cut the endives in half lengthways, peel the garlic cloves and halve, removing the inevitable green shoots they have at this time of year. Pit the olives (or don’t).
In a large, heavy frying pan, heat 2 tbsp of the oil and begin with the fennel, searing a little on both sides over a medium heat, with a pinch of salt, adding the endives once the fennel has been turned. Try and give everything its own place – if this is not possible, cook in batches. Add the garlic, carrots and artichokes, if you are including them. Pick the thyme leaves and sprinkle over the top. Arrange it all then add the vinegar, honey, olives and remaining oil. Quite quickly follow with the vermouth and enough water to just cover everything.
Place a lid on the pan, but leave a small gap so that the vegetables can stew while some steam escapes. Allow to tick away over a medium-low heat, checking regularly, for 35-45 minutes, until some of the endive leaves are translucent, the carrots are just softened enough, and the liquid has largely reduced.
Turn the heat down low and carefully remove the vegetables to a warm serving dish. Turn the heat up on the liquid and reduce to a couple of tablespoons worth, then add the butter and swirl the pan around as it disappears, forming a glossy sauce. Pour this over the vegetables, add fresh black pepper and eat quickly.
Frittelle di San Giuseppe
There are several versions of these fritters eaten on St Joseph’s Day, 19 March. This is Father’s Day, Festa del Papà, in Italy and as such I reserve the right to change the recipe by adding rhubarb – they work with apple, too. They taste like childhood, even if they weren’t part of yours.
Makes about 20
risotto 150g, or other short-grain rice
milk 500ml
cinnamon ½ stick, split
lemon peeled rind of 1
forced rhubarb 300g
caster sugar 70g, plus extra for dusting
plain flour 75g
baking powder 1 tsp
egg 1
sunflower oil 1 litre
In advance, bring the rice to the boil in equal parts water and milk with the split cinnamon, the peel from the lemon and a pinch of salt. Simmer over a low heat for an hour until the rice is overcooked and the consistency is mega-creamy. Remove the cinnamon and allow to cool completely. Chop the rhubarb into 5mm pieces and toss with 30g of the sugar.
Then mix together the flour, baking powder, the rest of the sugar, egg, cold rice and rhubarb.
Heat the oil on a high heat in a pot that can hold at least three times its volume. If you have a stable wok, I find it good for deep frying. When hot, test with a small piece of batter to see if it sizzles. When it does, you’re ready to start.
Fry in tablespoon-sized nuggets in batches. Use 2 spoons to scrape pieces into the oil, taking great care you do not come into contact with the hot oil. Once the fritters have cooked on one side, turn using a slotted spoon. They should turn fully golden in about 5 minutes. Remove to a plate lined with kitchen paper and dust with sugar before enjoying.
Joe Trivelli is co-head chef at the River Café
