roasted jerusalem artichokes with goat’s cheese, roasted tomatoes and agresto

 

i loved skye gyngell’s first recipe book and am now working my way through her second, finding many, many recipes which make my toes curl with pleasure.

my absolute favourite so far has been this roasted jerusalem artichokes with goat’s cheese, roasted tomatoes and agresto. as ever there are many layers of flavour – pungent garlic, the nutty sweetness of roasted artichokes, the tang of the tomatoes and wow, wow, wow, the magic that is agresto.

in skye’s words, “agresto is a soft, rounded pounded paste made with very fresh young creamy walnuts” but it also so much more. the walnuts (it’s too late in the year for wet walnuts but this was fine made with older fresh walnuts) are combined with anchovy, garlic, lemon, chilli, parsley and olive oil and result in a wonderfully fresh zingy paste with the base flavours of anchovy and nuts.

we ate this two days running and it is a serious contender for any festive meal which needs a starter. i am also really excited about trying the agresto in different forms. i love the idea of tossing it with pasta, perhaps replacing the anchovies with crumbled blue cheese.

Click to read more ...

broccoli and anchovy orecchiette

 

so, here it is, the broccoli pasta which i have been eating on alternate days for the past week…

the original recipe, which was recommended by a friend, uses anchovies to provide the savoury depth which balances the flavours of the dish. i also tried a vegetarian version and used capers and sundried tomato pesto in place of the anchovies. both options work really well and are truly delicious.

this dish is my contribution to presto pasta nights which, this week, is being hosted by ruth at once upon a feast.

Click to read more ...