Crab and Raw Artichoke Salad

We were all together in Venice one summer and had this antipasto at Da Ivo.

Serves 2

2 medium Violetta artichokes with their stalks

juice of 1 lemon

200g white crabmeat

2 teaspoons brown crabmeat

2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle

Cut the artichokes finely and season them well.

To prepare each artichoke, first cut off some of the stalk, leaving about 5cm attached. Cut or break off the tough outer leaves, starting at the base, until you are left with the pale inner part. Then peel the stalk with a potato peeler, leaving only the pale tender centre. Trim the pointed top of the artichoke straight across, which will reveal the choke. Remove the choke with a teaspoon. Slice the artichoke vertically as thinly as possible. As each artichoke is prepared, drop it into a bowl of cold water with half of the lemon juice.

Combine the white and brown crabmeat with the parsley, remaining lemon juice and the extra virgin olive oil. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Drain the artichokes and stir lightly through the crab to combine.

Season again and finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Bagna Cauda with Prosecco

Serves 6

750ml Prosecco

3 garlic cloves, peeled

300g Swiss chard

2 fennel bulbs, cut into 6 wedges

6 medium carrots, peeled and cut in half lengthways

3 celery hearts, quartered

12 salted anchovies

250g unsalted butter, softened

50ml olive oil

Put the Prosecco into a saucepan, add the garlic and boil until the Prosecco has reduced to about 100ml and the garlic is soft. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Bring two saucepans of salted water to the boil. In the first pan, blanch the Swiss chard, making sure the stalks are softened before draining. Add the fennel, carrots and celery hearts to the second pan, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until tender. Drain.

Rinse the anchovies well under cold running water to remove all the salt, then gently remove the spine bones and heads. Pat dry. Separate the anchovies into fillets.

To finish the sauce, return the saucepan with the reduced Prosecco and softened garlic to the heat and add the anchovy fillets. Allow them to melt into the mixture. Gently whisk in the softened butter, little by little – remove the pan from the heat after the first addition of butter. When all the butter has been incorporated, add the olive oil and black pepper to taste.

Arrange the warm vegetables on a serving plate. Pour over the sauce and serve immediately.

Bruschetta with Mozzarella and Spinach

In our private dining room at The River Cafe, we put antipasti on large plates to pass around the table. Put the bruschetta on one plate, with others for spinach, tomatoes and mozzarella, or other seasonal vegetables.

Serves 2

200g washed spinach leaves

1 large ball mozzarella, about 250g

2 slices sourdough

1 garlic clove, peeled

2 ripe tomatoes, cut in half

200ml extra virgin olive oil

25g picked mixed fresh summer herb leaves, to include marjoram and basil

1–2 olives, optional

Blanch the spinach in a pan of boiling water for about 1 minute or until wilted. Drain well, pressing out excess water.

Tear the mozzarella onto two plates.

Grill the bread over charcoal or on a char-grill/griddle pan until nicely browned on both sides. Remove from the grill and rub generously with the garlic clove.

Squash the tomatoes onto the bruschetta (discard the tomato skin), then season well with sea salt and black pepper. Drizzle with olive oil. Put the bruschetta on the plates.

In a bowl, season the drained spinach. Toss with 50–100ml extra virgin olive oil.

Arrange the spinach on the plates alongside the mozzarella and bruschetta. Drizzle over any remaining olive oil and add the herbs – plus an olive or two if you have them.

White Asparagus with Bottarga Butter

We love the contrast between the delicate taste of the asparagus and the rich salty bottarga. Unlike green asparagus, you need to be ruthless when peeling the stalks of white ones.

Serves 4

32 white asparagus spears

100g Sardinian bottarga from grey mullet roe

250g unsalted butter, softened

juice of 1 lemon

Snap the tough ends from the asparagus spears. Peel the stalks (up to the tips) using a potato peeler.

Grate about three-quarters of the bottarga stick on the finest holes of a cheese grater (reserve the remainder of the bottarga stick for adding at the end).

Beat the softened butter with the grated bottarga. Add the lemon juice and black pepper to taste. Check for seasoning and add a little sea salt, if required.

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the asparagus and simmer for about 4 minutes, depending on the thickness of the spears, or until a knife tip can gently pierce the stalk. Drain the asparagus and arrange on four warm plates.

Put a dessertspoonful of the bottarga butter on top of each serving of warm asparagus. Grate the remaining bottarga over the plates and season with a little more black pepper. Serve immediately.

Raw Porcini Salad

This is a simple recipe we make only with very fresh porcini. The mushrooms should be pristine with wide, white stalks and brown, unbroken caps. If the undersides of the caps are yellowish brown it means the mushrooms are overripe. Never wash porcini.

Serves 4

4 large firm and fresh porcini

100ml extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle

juice of ½ lemon

200g rocket leaves

6 branches of fresh thyme leaves

Keeping the porcini whole, wipe the caps with a damp cloth and peel the stems, cutting off the base. Slice the porcini thinly lengthways.

Combine the olive oil and lemon juice with some sea salt and black pepper.

Wash and dry the rocket. Toss with the dressing and divide among four plates. Put the porcini on top. Season and sprinkle over the thyme leaves. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and serve.

Agretti with Tomato and Pangrattato

When we first discovered agretti, it was impossible to source, but today it is available and worth searching for. Its dark grassy taste is brilliant with a rich slow-cooked tomato sauce, salty bottarga or with just olive oil, salt and pepper.

Serves 6–8

600g agretti

1 stale ciabatta loaf

olive oil

½ quantity of Slow-cooked Tomato Sauce (see here)

Snap off the bottom stalks from the agretti, just below the long leafy tops.

Pulse-chop the ciabatta into breadcrumbs in a food processor. Heat some olive oil in a frying pan and shallow fry the breadcrumbs until they are golden. Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain well on kitchen paper.

Warm the tomato sauce.

Blanch the agretti in a pan of rapidly boiling salted water for 3 minutes or until tender. Drain and dry on kitchen paper to remove all the excess water.

Put the agretti on a plate and spoon over the tomato sauce. Sprinkle with the breadcrumbs and serve.

Zucchini Trifolati