Bertie's Lemon Curd and Mascarpone Meringues, with Raspberries

Velvety, buttercup-yellow lemon curd and mascarpone make a meringue filling so rich and decadent that only a greedy, fat boy like Bertie would eat more than one.

This is Bertie. I chose him to illustrate a point in a presentation I gave at last week's South African Food and Wine Bloggers' Indaba.

Not satisfied to appear on just one Power Point slide, he insinuated himself into a whole lot more, while making impertinent comments about my speech. I was quite surprised by how much hilarity Bertie caused at the conference, and so I've decided to dedicate this recipe to him. (Bertie comes, by the way, from this photo archive; I've been unable to find an email address for the owner of the album so I can thank him).

These meringue nests are not made by me. I have a disastrous history with regular meringues, let alone beautiful little pure-white cups like the one in the picture. I buy them, plus pavlova cases and baby meringues, from my local Spar.

This filling, though lemony-sharp, is scandalously rich and unctuous. If you'd like a (slightly) lighter result, use whipped cream, or even thick Greek yoghurt. (What's that? Oh, Bertie says, 'No use yoghurt.' Shush, Bertie.)  If you don't fancy meringues, use this mixture to make a layered loaf  'cake' using vanilla wafers, and place it in the freezer for an hour or so before slicing.

I used frozen raspberries (which I love) to cut the sweetness of the filling and meringue, but this would also be good topped with Cape gooseberries, or some flaked, toasted almonds.

It helps to have a sugar thermometer when you are making lemon curd, but it's not essential.

The easy lemon curd recipe below is adapted from Preserved by Nick Sandler and Johnny Acton, my favourite book on the subject of jams, pickles and other preserved food.

Bertie's Lemon Curd and Mascarpone Meringues, with Raspberries

For the lemon curd:
2 large lemons, washed
2 large eggs
200 ml caster sugar
1 T (15 ml) cornflour [cornstarch]
140 g (140 ml) unsalted butter

1 tub (250 ml) mascarpone
8 meringue nests

To top:
Fresh or frozen raspberries, or similar
icing sugar

Using a microplane or fine grater, finely zest the lemons, taking care not to take off any white pith. Squeeze the lemon juice into a heavy-based saucepan and add the zest, eggs, sugar and cornflour. Whisk the mixture for a minute, until smooth but not frothy.  Cut the butter into little pieces and add it to the pan. Heat the mixture over a gentle flame, stirring constantly. After the butter melts, the mixture will take three or four minutes to thicken, depending on the heat of your stove.

If you have a sugar thermometer, the curd will begin to thicken as it reaches 70ºC. Allow the curd to cook for another minute after it's thickened, then remove from the heat. (If you don't have a thermometer, you'll have to go by texture: the curd is ready once it's just thickened, and has a velvety consistency. Remember, it will thicken more as it cools.)

Place a piece of clingfilm or a disc of waxed paper onto the surface of the curd and allow to cool.

Put the mascarpone in a bowl and beat with a whisk until smooth. (Or whip the cream, if you're using that instead). Fold one cup (250 ml) of the cooled curd into the mascarpone and mix until well combined. Spoon the mixture into the meringue nests, arrange the raspberries on top and dust with a little icing sugar. Serve immediately. Please don't put a mint leaf on top.

Makes enough to fill 8-10 meringue nests.

Note: If anyone would like a copy of the editorial style sheet, recommended reading list and Food Writers' Workshop notes I handed out at the conference, please email me (hobray at gmail.com).

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Sheet Mozzarella Rolls with Sorrel, Lemon, Anchovies and Capers

In the post before this one, I wrote about the interesting sheets of mozzarella I bought from Puglia Cheese in Cape Town, and showed you some beetroot, rocket, lemon and marjoram rolls. Here's the second batch I made, which contain fresh sorrel leaves, lemon zest, white anchovies, capers, garlic and pepper.

As you can see, these rolls don't have the nice circular shape the beetroot ones had. I was going for a pinwheel look, but I found it really difficult to achieve a nice, tight roll when the entire sheet was covered with leaves. (I covered only one edge of the sheet with leaves in the first batch I made; here's a picture). Still, they were delicious, and tasted even better the next day, when the flavours had had a chance to develop. You could blanch the leaves, I suppose, to make them more flat and pliable, but they would lose their fresh bite (and perhaps become slimy in the fridge).

I used red-vein sorrel leaves from my garden, which have a lovely sour bite, but you could use any similar fresh green leaf.

Sheet Mozzarella Rolls with Sorrel, Lemon, Anchovies and Capers

a sheet of fresh mozzarella
the finely grated zest of a lemon
2 large cloves of garlic, peeled
a pinch of flaky sea salt
3 T (45 ml) capers
6 white Italian anchovy fillets, or 4 of the brown, tinned kind
3 T (45 ml) olive oil
salt and freshly milled black pepper
fresh sorrel, beetroot or rocket leaves

To serve:
olive oil
extra capers
crusty bread

Place a sheet of clingfilm or baking paper on your kitchen counter and smear it with some olive oil. Sprinkle with a little salt and freshly milled black pepper. Pat the mozzarella sheet quite dry using kitchen paper, and place it on the clingfilm.

Put the lemon zest, garlic and salt in a mortar and pound to a coarse paste. Finely chop the capers and the anchovies and stir them into the paste, along with the olive oil.  Smear the mixture evenly all over the mozzarella sheet. Season generously with freshly milled black pepper, and a little more salt, if necessary. Arrange the sorrel leaves all over the top; don't worry if they overlap slightly. Now pick up the edge of the clingfilm and nudge the sheet into a roll, as you would do if you were making sushi. Roll, away from you, into a neat sausage. Wrap clingfilm round the roll and tightly twist the ends in opposite directions to make a tight 'salami'.

Place in the fridge to firm up for two hours (or longer). Now, using a very sharp knife, slice directly through the plastic to make discs. Place on a plate for half an hour to bring to room temperature. Just before serving,  drizzle with olive oil and scatter with extra capers and a few grinds of black pepper. Serve immediately with plenty of fresh crusty bread for mopping up the juices.

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Sheet Mozzarella Rolls with Beetroot, Rocket, Lemon and Marjoram

I was intrigued to come across these beautiful sheets of mozzarella, which are produced in Cape Town by Puglia Cheese, a little family firm that has taken the local foodie community by storm. Puglia provided a selection of their exquisite (and I mean drop-dead delicious) cheeses for tasting at the second Neill Anthony Masterclass (more about that soon), which I organised with my friend Judy.

While Judy was at the factory picking up the cheeses, she bought a kilo of this fabulous sheet mozzarella, and we shared it.

Quite apart from the fact that this is authentic Italian mozzarella of the highest quality,  this product is very special because it is so versatile; its delicate, milky deliciousness is a perfect foil for punchy flavours. You can add just about anything you like to a mozzarella roll: the classic Caprese combination of tomato and basil, or fresh herbs of your choice, or garlic, lemon, olives, capers, anchovies, roasted peppers, chillies and other singing flavours of the Mediterranean. I've just make a second roll, which is firming in the fridge as we speak, containing fresh sorrel and beetroot leaves, lemon zest, white anchovies, capers, garlic and pepper.

Making  these canapes took me just a few minutes, although I did put the roll in the fridge for an hour to firm up. (And no, I didn't matchstick the beetroot myself! I took them, and the rocket,  from a packet of Woolworths's new beetroot and cranberry salad.)

Do leave the rolls, once you've sliced them, at room temperature for half an hour or so, to lose their chill, and place them on the biscuits or crostini just before serving them, as the cheese tends to weep.

You can spread the filling all over the cheese to achieve a pin-wheel effect, but I found that this made the 'sausage' of cheese difficult to roll neatly.

Sheet Mozzarella Rolls with Beetroot, Rocket, Lemon and Marjoram

a sheet of fresh mozzarella
the finely grated zest of a small lemon
a large clove of garlic, finely crushed
3 T (45 ml) olive oil, plus more for topping
salt and freshly milled black pepper
2 T (30 ml) fresh marjoram leaves (or oregano)
fresh rocket leaves
fresh beetroot, cut into matchsticks

To serve:
olive oil
crackers or crostini

Place a sheet of clingfilm or baking paper on your kitchen counter and smear it with some olive oil. Sprinkle with a little salt and freshly milled black pepper. Pat the mozzarella sheet quite dry using kitchen paper, and place it on the clingfilm.

In a small bowl, mix together the lemon zest, garlic and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Smear the mixture evenly all over the mozzarella sheet. Arrange the marjoram leaves, rocket leaves and beetroot sticks  along the edge of the mozzarella sheet closest to you. Now pick up the edge of the clingfilm and nudge the sheet into a roll, as you would do if you were making sushi. Roll, away from you, into a neat sausage. Wrap clingfilm round the roll and tightly twist the ends in opposite directions to make a tight 'salami'.

Place in the fridge to firm up for an hour. Now, using a very sharp knife, slice directly through the plastic to make discs. Place on a plate for half an hour to bring to room temperature. Just before serving, arrange the discs on biscuits or crostini and drizzle with olive oil. Serve immediately.

Makes about 15.

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Luxurious Cauliflower Cheese with Bacon and Leeks

It always surprises me how many kids love cauliflower cheese because, face it, this is not the most attractive of vegetables. I make a big dish of this perennial family favourite once a fortnight or so, and although there are sometimes moans from the teens, there is never a morsel left in the dish.

If your kids turn up their noses at this humble dish, try my souped-up version, which is packed with flavour and many calories, containing as it does butter, bacon, wine, Parmesan and cream.

Do you notice how unapologetic I sound about this? I am, because life would be very miserable indeed, in my opinion, if it weren't for butter, bacon and cream. Do cut the strips of fat off the bacon rashers, though, as the fat will make the sauce oily.

The decadent topping of butter-fried breadcrumbs was suggested to me by someone on Twitter, who told me that this is a traditional Polish topping. If this is just too rich for you, sprinkle the top of the dish with equal quantities of dried breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan.

Luxurious Cauliflower Cheese with Bacon and Leeks

2 small cauliflowers, broken into florets
4 Tbsp (60 ml) butter
8 rashers back bacon, fat removed, diced
4 medium leeks, white parts only, finely sliced
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
a bay leaf
a large sprig of fresh thyme
½ cup (125 ml) white wine
100 ml flour
700 ml milk
2 tsp (10 ml) Dijon mustard
juice of half a lemon
1½ cups (about 150 g) grated Cheddar
3 Tbsp (45 ml) grated Parmesan
½ cup (125 ml) cream
salt and white pepper

To top:
1 cup (250 ml) fresh breadcrumbs
100 g butter
a little paprika or cayenne pepper

Heat the oven to 180 ºC.

Cook the cauliflower in rapidly boiling salted water for about 7-8 minutes, or until just tender. Drain well and set aside.

Heat the butter in a large saucepan and add the bacon bits. Fry for 2 minutes, then tip in the sliced leeks, garlic, bay leaf and thyme sprig. Turn down the heat and cook gently for about 7 minutes, or until the leeks are soft. Add the wine, turn up the heat, and bubble briskly until almost all the liquid has evaporated.

Now sprinkle the flour over the leeks and stir well. Add the milk, a little at a time, stirring continuously as the sauce thickens. Allow to bubble gently for a few minutes to cook away any floury taste.

Stir in the mustard and lemon juice, and remove from the heat. Fish out the thyme and the bayleaf and discard. Now add the grated cheddar and Parmesan, and continue stirring until the cheese has completely melted. Finally, stir in the cream.

Season to taste with salt and white pepper.

Pile the cooked cauliflower into a greased ovenproof dish and pour the sauce evenly over the top, nudging the florets so that the sauce seeps between them.

To make the topping, heat some butter in a frying pan and add the breadcrumbs. Fry until golden. Pour the butter/breadcrumb mix all over the top of the cauliflower cheese.

Dust very lightly with paprika or cayenne pepper and bake at 180º C for 20 minutes, or until golden and bubbling

Serve with a crisp green salad.

Serves 6 - 8

If you like this, try my Cauliflower with Butter, Lemon, Parsley and Crispy Breadcrumbs

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