Where I play with food...

[spacedlaw]

Or rather the idea of food.
Or even better: ideas of food.

It all started with a tiramisu. The recollection of how smooth and fluffy mascarpone can be.
Except I wanted it to be savoury.
Of course.
Why go the obvious way?
Now a couple of years back, I had created a pecorino and fava beans version for Easter. Seasonal and all. It had been a great success.
I realize now – looking for a post – that I'd never blogged the recipe. Naughty, naughty.
Alas, since it was an improvisation, the recipe might actually be lost in the meanders of my failing memory.

Oh well.
So this was the starting point.
I had guests on Saturday night and I wanted a show starter.
A seasonal show starter.
So no fava beans this time.

But it's puntarelle season and they are just a marvellous green.
Besides, they are absolutely Roman in essence.
And a welcome juicy crunch, a promise of spring in every bite.
Puntarelle are traditionally served with a sauce made of olive oil, lemon juice, anchovies, and garlic (sometimes, this is optional).
So the idea was – obviously – to recreate such sauce in the guise of a tiramisu, i.e. with a mixture of mascarpone and eggs.
Plus a biscuit base.

Ah. The biscuit base.
That could be a problem of course.
In the pecorino and fava beans version, I had done away with it, opting to replace it with raw and shelled fava beans instead, for a bit of crunch. But this time, I decided to use tiny croutons for added texture.

So there it is...



Puntarelle tiramisu

For 6 persons (as a starter)

250g mascarpone
2 large egg whites (not using the yolks makes for a lighter version)
Anchovy paste
A cup of small bread bits (tear off - or cut - some day old bread into small pieces)
Two good handful of puntarelle
Lemon juice
Olive oil

Whip the egg whites into stiff peaks.
Whisk the mascapone in a separate bowl and, still beating, add anchovy paste (inch by inch if it comes in a tube) until a decisive anchovy taste can be recognised.
Gently fold the egg whites into the mascarpone. Set aside in the fridge.

Dry roast the bread bits in a pan, until golden and crunchy. Let them cool off.

Pat the puntarelle dry (they are left in water to curl up and often retain much humidity).
Season them with a little salt, lemon juice, and a little olive oil.

At the last moment, drizzle a little oil over the croutons and spread 3/4 of the lot between the 6 plates.
Lay 2 large spoons of mascarpone mixture over, add the puntarelle, another 1 or 2 spoonful of mascarpone and garnish with the leftover croutons and a stray sprig of puntarelle or two (or three).

Serve and eat immediately.

If you can't get puntarelle, you could try to substitute strips of endive (witloof), radicchio, or frisée since they belong to the same chicory family.