large handful of baby spinach leaves
5 tablespoons Giorgio’s vinaigrette (see page 243)
5 slices of salted ricotta cheese
sea salt and freshly ground black peppe
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6. Wash the red onion but don’t peel it. Rub it with a little olive oil and place in a small roasting tin. Cover the tin tightly with foil and roast for 1 hour, until the onion is soft. Leave to cool, then carefully remove the skin and slice the onion into rings.
Mix the red wine vinegar with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a non-metallic dish and add the onion rings. Cover and leave to marinate for about 1 hour, until ready to serve.
Toss the spinach leaves with the vinaigrette. Sit one or two of the onion rings on each serving plate and pile the spinach leaves on top, leaf by leaf, to give a ‘flower’ shape. Break up the ricotta slices and sprinkle them on top of the spinach. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil, grind over some black pepper and then serve.
Slow-roasted belly pork with apple sauce and baked cabbage
Pancetta di maiale arrosto lentamente con salsa di mele e cavolo al forno
Belly pork has a lot more going for it than the traditional roasting cuts. For a start, there is a nice flat expanse of rind to turn into much-loved crackling, while the layers of fat mean that the meat is virtually self-basting as it cooks. Tony
Serves 6-8
1.25kg/5 lb piece of boned belly pork
2 carrots, sliced lengthways into quarters
1 large onion, thickly sliced
2 celery stalks, thickly sliced
1 large leek, thickly sliced
800ml/1½ pints chicken stock
600ml/1 pint white wine
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the apple sauce:
6 dessert apples, peeled, cored and sliced
50g/2 oz caster sugar
large knob of butter
juice of ½ lemon
For the baked cabbage:
1 small Savoy cabbage
1 streaky bacon rasher
large knob of butter
Score the rind of the pork with a very sharp knife (a Stanley knife does the job well), being careful not to cut right through the fat to the meat. Place the pork in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 40 minutes, then drain and pat dry well.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6. Place the carrots, onion, celery and leek in a large roasting tin and put the pork on top, skin-side up. Pour 100ml/3½fl oz of the chicken stock into the tin, place in the oven and roast for 10 minutes. Turn the oven right down to 140°C/275°F/Gas Mark 1 and cook for 3 hours. If the crackling browns too quickly, cover loosely with a sheet of foil.
For the apple sauce, place the apple slices in a saucepan with a few tablespoons of water, then cover and cook gently until soft and pulpy. Beat them to make a smooth sauce, adding the sugar, butter and lemon juice to taste.
For the cabbage, remove the outside leaves and trim the core. Cut out a small piece from the top of the cabbage and insert the bacon, butter and a little seasoning. Wrap tightly in foil and place in the oven with the pork for the last hour of cooking.
When ready to serve, remove the pork from the roasting tin and leave to rest in a warm place (if the crackling hasn’t crisped up, raise the oven temperature to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6 and give it another 5-10 minutes first). Place the roasting tin on the hob. Heat gently, scraping up all the caramelised vegetables and meat from the bottom of the tin. Add the white wine and simmer rapidly until reduced by half. Pour in the remaining stock and simmer for a further 5 minutes, pressing the vegetables to a pulp, to make a gravy. Strain though a fine sieve and adjust the seasoning.
Slice the pork, cut the cabbage into wedges and serve with the apple sauce and
gravy.
Pappardelle ai fegatini di pollo, salvia e tartufo nero
Pappardelle with chicken livers, sags and black truffle
Some people, like my good friend Vincenzo Borgonzolo who owns the restaurant, Al San Vincenzo, in London, cook with a natural Italian accent. Whatever he cooks it’s going to taste and feel Italian. Whenever I make something like this pappardelle dish with its honest Italian flavours combined with the luxurious aroma truffle, it reminds me of Vincenzo’s wonderful approach to food.
The best time to buy truffles is in late autumn and early winter, when you’ll find them in the larger food halls and Italian delis. Even without truffles, this dish tastes great. Giorgio
Serves 4
350g/12 oz pappardelle
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
6 chicken livers, cut into 1.5cm/⅔in dice
6 small sage leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon brandy
25g/1 oz butter, melted
4–5 thin slices of fresh black truffle
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Cook the pappardelle in a large pot of boiling salted water for about 8 minutes, until al dente – tender but still firm to the bite.
Meanwhile, place a heavy-based frying pan over a high heat to warm up. Add the olive oil, then the chicken livers and chopped sage. Season,
