Ricotta & herb gnudi with sage & brown butter

Radicchio & puntarelle salad with anchovy dressing

Puntarelle is a type of chicory in season at this time of year. The base of the inner stalks have a mildly bitter flavour and are eaten in this classic salad. The leaves and outer stalks can be used in stews and soups, but need to be cooked briefly in salted water first to lessen their bitter flavor. You’ll find both puntarelle and radicchio at ocado.com or nifeislife.com, but you can also use red and white chicory instead.

SERVES 6 PREP 30 mins plus 1 hr soaking COOK 10 mins EASY

1 head puntarelle

1 small head radicchio Trevigiano, sliced into thin strips For the anchovy dressing 150ml olive oil

1 large garlic clove, finely chopped 50g anchovies, drained if in oil 80ml chardonnay or white wine vinegar

1 To make the dressing, heat a little of the oil in a pan and cook the garlic briefly (don’t let it brown). Tip into a blender with the other ingredients and the remaining oil, and blitz to a smooth dressing.

2 Pull the stalks off the puntarelle to find the core, and cut the individual bulbs into thin shreds. Put straight in ice cold water to soak for an hour. Drain well, then toss with the radicchio and anchovy dressing.

GOOD TO KNOW 1 of 5-a-day • gluten free PER SERVING 264 kcals • fat 26g • saturates 4g • carbs 3g • sugars 1g • fibre 1g • protein 3g • salt 1.2g

Ricotta & herb gnudi with sage & brown butter

Large spinach leaves are best for this recipe. You could use frozen leaf spinach, but you’ll need to make sure all the excess liquid is pressed out of it.

SERVES 6 PREP 40 mins plus 1 hr

30 mins chilling COOK 4 mins per batch EASY

500g spinach, ends trimmed 500g ricotta (needs to be dry, so strain overnight if it’s wet) 75g egg yolks

75g dried breadcrumbs 50g plain flour whole nutmeg, for grating 125g Grana Padano, grated, plus extra for the sauce 50g butter

20g sage, sliced if the leaves are large

1 Pour boiling water over the spinach, then leave to cool a little before squeezing out any excess water. Chop it finely. Drain and squeeze out any excess water again. Put the spinach in a mixing bowl with the ricotta, egg yolks, breadcrumbs, flour, a grating of nutmeg, a pinch of salt and the cheese. Mix well.

2 Scoop up 24 equal-sized lumps of the mixture, using an ice cream scoop if you have one, and shape each one into a log by rolling it between your hands. Lay each piece on a baking sheet, then chill for 30 mins or until needed.

3 Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Lower the gnudi into the water, turn down to a simmer and cook for 3-4 mins (do this in batches if you need to). Meanwhile, heat the butter in a large frying pan and add the sage, frying until crisp. Drain the gnudi well, then tip into the pan with the sage, along with a good grating of cheese. Swirl everything together, in batches if it’s easier. Arrange four gnudi on each serving plate and finish off with more of the sauce and grated cheese on top.

GOOD TO KNOW calcium • folate • 1 of 5-a-day PER SERVING 406 kcals • fat 27g • saturates 15g • carbs 18g • sugars 2g • fibre 1g • protein 22g • salt 0.9g