Cadamom, rhubarb and ricotta treat

Puffy parcels that deliver gently sweet, tart and creamy fillings with a waft of green cardamom

THIS IS A LOVE story between sugar and spice.

Spice is often the party girl, the loud, bold, exuberant element in the mix. Yet there is also another art, more subtle yet equally seductive. Married with sugar, spice can provide a delicate fragrance, hard to put your finger on but one that gives backbone to a dish and deepens its allure.

Eleanor Ford is a food writer and a cook who uses food as a means to explore culture and understand the world. Her book A Whisper of Cardamom offers a whole world of inviting new flavours.

RHUBARB, CARDAMOM and RICOTTA PARCELS

These are very quick to make using readymade puff pastry. Shape the parcels in any way you want – fold squares into triangles, circles into half-moons, or go as I have with rectangles that fold into fat little pillows. Their stuffing is gently sweet, tart and creamy with a waft of green cardamom. Eat these parcels as a pastry with coffee or serve with lemony whipped cream to make into a dessert.

Ingredients

100g ricotta, drained

7 green cardamom pods, seeds ground 50g (1/4 cup) granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling

Pinch of fine sea salt

150g rhubarb, thinly sliced

320g sheet all-butter puff pastry

8 tsp ground almonds

1 egg, beaten

Method

Line a baking sheet with baking parchment.

Mix together the ricotta, ground cardamom, sugar and salt, then add the rhubarb.

Unfurl the puff pastry and cut into eight rectangles. Scatter each with a teaspoon of ground almond and top with a spoonful of the rhubarb mixture. Fold the pastries in half to make fat pillows and crimp the edges together using the tines of a fork (dust the fork with flour if it is sticking). Chill in the fridge for about 15 minutes or more. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan. Brush the parcels with egg, then sprinkle over sugar with lavish abandon. Bake for 20–25 minutes, until golden and puffed.

Serve warm or at room temperature, though they are best on the day they’re made.

Spice Switch

Use 8 ground juniper berries instead of the cardamom, which offer a similarly sweet, medicinal flavour with a suggestion of forest floor.