Rich, decadent mascarpone puddings
This is a much faster way to enjoy many of the same flavours (though eat too many of these puddings and you may become Duomo-shaped yourself).
cup hazelnuts
1 tablespoon icing sugar
1 cup ricotta
1 cup mascarpone
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
1-2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice or Cointreau
cup crystallised ginger, finely chopped
100g dark chocolate (I use Whittaker’s Madagascan Sambirano Extra Dark Chocolate), broken into pieces
Put the hazelnuts in a small frying pan set over medium heat. Sprinkle over the icing sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the hazelnuts are toasted. Tip them on to a board and chop roughly. Set aside.
Put the ricotta, mascarpone, orange zest and juice (or Cointreau) in a bowl and beat together until smooth.
Fold through most of the ginger, chocolate and nuts, reserving a little of each for garnishing.
Divide between six small glasses and scatter the reserved chocolate, ginger and nuts on top. Cover and refrigerate until serving.
Serves 3-4 Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 12 minutes
This is so good, so fast and so thoroughly satisfying that if you’re not careful you’ll end up turning to it on a regular basis.
If you want to add something green, rattle some frozen peas into the pasta water a minute or two before it’s done.
And if you don’t eat pasta, the sauce is also good eaten out of the bowl on its own, with or without the aforementioned peas.
1 clove garlic, crushed to a paste with 1 teaspoon plain salt
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons cup freshly squeezed lemon juice cup mascarpone cup finely chopped fresh parsley
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
400g dried spaghetti
1 tablespoon butter
Freshly grated parmesan cheese, to serve
Set a large pot of water for the pasta on the heat while you prepare the sauce.
Put the garlic paste, lemon zest and juice into a bowl and stir well.
Add the mascarpone and parsley, and beat to combine. Season generously to taste with salt and pepper, and set aside.
When the water is boiling, add a generous scoop of salt and the spaghetti. Cook until al dente (about 10-12 minutes, depending on the pasta), then drain, leaving about a tablespoon of cooking water in the pot.
Return the pasta to the pot and stir through the butter, followed by the sauce. Toss well and divide between serving bowls.
Allow diners to help themselves to freshly grated parmesan cheese at the table.