The Broken Record (Fresh Pea & Bean Bruschetta)

I know I sound like a broken record, but I cooked another Jamie Oliver recipe. I realize that pretty much everything I've written about so far was straight out of a Jamie book, but I will put forward two excuses. First, I only own two cookbooks, and that's Jamie's Italy and Jamie at Home, so I don't exactly have much to work with. Second, it's like the guy can read my mind. The type of food he makes is exactly the type of food I really like to eat: fresh, seasonal, simple. As if that wasn't enough, Mr Oliver has done exactly what I've been dreaming of: he's created a garden where he can just pop out and get any fresh herb he wants, fresh vegetables, everything. The very thought of being able to step outside and pick climbing beans right off the stalks makes me want to buy a house in Italy.

Jamie's food is all about letting the produce talk for itself, just adding the right amount of spices, and most recipes are very rustic in their nature, making them suitable for cooking in a kitchen which you have to share with 11 other people (I live in a student dorm). This time of year, when fresh produce is appearing on the markets, Jamie's recipes are to die for. And so it came to be that I went shopping at the Viktualienmarkt for my and Angelica's Saturday dinner, and just as I had hoped, came upon fresh peas and broad beans. Speaking of which, at last the blog named after them shall see some beans.

This dish is delicious with a capital D, the flavour of raw peas and broad beans makes it taste green, for lack of a better word, and it is indeed the perfect thing to enjoy when the leaves have just appeared on the trees, the birds are building their nests, and the world is so alive.


Before moving on to the recipe, I thought I'd show some inventive plating. I found this picture on my desktop, obviously saved from the internet at some point, no idea where it's from. It's cute, though. I like birds.



Jamie Oliver's Smashed Peas and Broad Beans on Toast
Serves 4. No, seriously, it does serve 4. At least as a starter, we made about 3/4 recipe for 2, and it almost filled us right up.

Ingredients
150 g fresh shelled peas (ca 500 g in pods)
250 g fresh shelled broad beans (ca 700 g in pods)
mint leaves
salt, pepper
extra virgin olive oil
50 g finely grated pecorino
juice of 1 lemon
4 slices of a good Bruschetta bread
1 clove of garlic, halved
ca 500 g buffalo mozzarella
possibly pea shoots to dress, we had none

Instructions
This recipe is really simple, but it certainly helps if you've got a large mortar and a good hand with it. I had a small mortar, and it took some work (which Angelica performed, thanks honey), but it works with that too. Don't use a food processor, the texture was amazing.

Pod your peas and beans if necessary, and keep separate. Bash half the mint with some salt and the peas in a mortar, then bash in the broad beans a few at a time. Do it in batches if necessary, but keep some goo in the bottom when adding another batch, it'll help stop the peas from jumping out of the mortar. Don't overwork it, the texture is wonderful when there's a mixture of sizes of bits enveloped in the smooth creaminess of the really mashed part.
Add olive oil carefully until you get a spreadable yet firm consistency, then add pecorino and most of the lemon juice. Taste it, and season with salt and pepper, and maybe some more lemon juice or oil if necessary.
Grill the bread slices and then rub them gently just a couple of times with the garlic halves, not too much, just so you get a hint of garlic there. Distribute the pea and bean mash on the bread, rip up the mozzarella and place over it, dress with some olive oil and possibly pea shoots, maybe a small pinch of pepper, and finish with some grated pecorino.

When life hands you lemons...

... jump up and down and clap your hands! At least if your lemons look anything like these organically produced babies that I picked up at a steal of €0,40 a piece.


When I found these lemons at Feinkost Spina, a large and slightly wholesale-ish Italian food shop in the area, I immediately bought five, and then one day later bought another three similar ones at the Viktualienmarkt. Of course, I didn't have a clue as to what to do with them, all I knew was that these lemons made me smile, and I wanted to bring them home. Luckily, just a week or so before, I'd found the lovely food blog Orangette, and browsed through all the summer recipes. One of these was a lemonade that looked very interesting, so I set to work making the syrup. I changed the recipe slightly, using green mint instead of basil, partly because I had just bought a bunch of green mint, and partly because, well... citrus and mint, need I say more? Since I didn't really modify it much, I'm not going to post the recipe, it's available at Orangette's above.

I've tried the syrup mixed with cold water and the juice of a lemon, and while it is delicious, my preferred way of consuming it is the way me and Angelica drank it on a warm afternoon: syrup, a dash of water, loads of lemon, and a good shot of Cachaça. This should really be served on ice, of course, but when you live in a student dorm, you just have to do without.


What could be a better accompaniment to a lovely drink such as this than Jamie Oliver's limoni di amalfi cotti al forno (baked lemons)? After having tried it, I can assure you that there is nothing better. These baked lemons are filled with buffalo mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, anchovies and basil, and seasoned with just a little bit of dried chili, salt and pepper. Once baked in the oven to a lovely bubbly brown, simply place the cheese filling on a piece of crostini or bruschetta, and enjoy, but don't eat the skins, they're just there for flavour (and to look great, of course). The warm and smooth mozzarella, infused with all those lovely flavours, is so dead simple, yet so damn delicious. I am salivating just thinking of them; this recipe is definitely a keeper, it is so simple to make, tastes great, and is absolutely beautiful. One of those recipes that make you look like a great cook with no effort at all.

But the best thing about this recipe is that it only calls for the lemon skins, meaning that you're left with the flesh and juice for other purposes, such as a lemon sorbet, or a sallad dressing, or some drinks... perfect!