Mix all socca ingredients, except the rosemary, into a batter that has a texture like single cream. Leave for 30 minutes.
For
the soup, cook the chickpeas in water with a sprig of rosemary until
very soft (about two hours). Fry the onion in a generous amount of oil.
After a minute, add the garlic and the other sprig of rosemary, the
wine and tomatoes, and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add the chickpeas and
some stock and simmer for 30 minutes. Puree half of the soup, then mix
it all back together. It should be very thick. It will need some salt.
Drizzle over a slick of olive oil and more rosemary needles. Serve with
the socca.
To make the socca, heat two tablespoons
of olive oil in a frying-pan and, once it is hot, spoon in the batter
(about 2in/5cm in diameter) and cook until golden. Sprinkle with some
very finely chopped rosemary. Turn and fry the other side briefly, then
remove from the heat, roll and serve hot with the soup.
Leek and Fontina risotto
3 large leeks, finely chopped
4 baby leeks, trimmed
4oz/110g butter
8oz/225g arborio rice
1 glass of white wine
1˝-2 pints/750ml-1 litre stock
4oz/110g Fontina, cubed
5oz/140g Parmesan, grated
Pumpkin-seed oil
Stock
Parsley stalks
1 carrot, roughly chopped
2 leeks, roughly chopped
2 sticks celery, roughly chopped
Small head fennel, roughly chopped
Peppercorns
Small onion, chopped
Bay leaf
First
make the stock. Put all the ingredients in a pan and cover with about 4
pints/2 litres of water. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 30
minutes. Strain and set aside.
Blanch the leeks in boiling water for two minutes, then set aside. Heat the griddle and grill until stripy.
To
make the risotto, melt half the butter in a large pan. Finely chop the
leeks (use only a little green for colour), add to the butter and cook
very slowly until translucent. Remove and add a little more butter to
the pan. Turn up the heat, add the rice and turn until the rice is
coated. Add half a glass of wine and stir until almost absorbed. Then
add the warm stock bit by bit and stir until the rice is almost cooked.
Add the rest of the wine. Keep on the heat until the rice has just lost
its crunchiness. Now add the rest of the butter, the leeks, the Fontina
and the Parmesan. To serve, top with the griddled baby leeks and a
drizzle of pumpkin-seed oil.
Chocolate and amaretto sorbet
9oz/255g vanilla sugar
1˝ pints/750ml water
5˝oz/155g cocoa powder
4 fl oz/100ml amaretto
2 tsp vanilla essence
Dissolve
the sugar in the water. Bring to the boil. Add the cocoa powder and
simmer for 20-25 minutes. It will be very thick. Take off the heat and
leave to cool. Stir in the amaretto and vanilla essence, then churn in
an ice-cream machine for about 20 minutes. Freeze.
