Sluggish, coffee-sipping mornings, lengthy lazy lunches and cooling drinks because the solar goes down – by the point August comes round everybody feels the necessity to decelerate a bit and in the event you’re fortunate sufficient to have day without work at dwelling, getting ready scrumptious, seasonal meals for pals, household and your self might be an effective way to spend it.
With that in thoughts, we reached out to pals of Nice Eating Lovers, cooks Michael Tusk (Quince and Cotogna, San Francisco) and Nina Compton (Compère Lapin, New Orleans), beneath, for his or her ideas.
Impressed by the Italian custom of Ferragosto, the August break throughout which Italy downs instruments for much-needed relaxation and recuperation, to spend time with family members, and naturally to eat nicely, these gifted cooks have put collectively easy however deliciously addictively recipes that can permit you to impress your nearest and dearest, hassle-free.
Nina Compton’s chilled cantaloupe and coconut soup
For Saint Lucia-born Compton, a mentor on the forthcoming S.Pellegrino Younger Chef Academy Competitors 2022-23 Grand Finale, summer time is all about nice components and nice vibes. “Summer time is my favorite season. Rising up within the Caribbean, the solar is at all times shining and persons are at all times completely happy and this dish, is happiness in a bowl. It is cool and refreshing showcasing candy melon and tomatoes which can be at their peak,” she says.
Serves 6.
Components
3 qt/2.8kg cantaloupe peeled and diced
14 oz/414ml coconut milk
3 oz/85g ginger peeled and chopped
2 tbsp salt
1/8 cup/30ml olive oil
Methodology
Puree every part and go by way of chinois.
For garnish: 3 cherry tomatoes per plate, minimize in half and wearing olive oil, pink wine vinegar, and chiffonade basil. Pickled cucumber: minimize into planks and salt and press. Then costume in rice wine vinegar and compress then medium cube.
To plate: toss the cucumbers and tomatoes with olive oil, micro cilantro, basil and mint, end with chilli oil and herb oil.
Michael Tusk’s raviolo di ricotta (high)
Photograph by Gary He
What could possibly be extra Italian than diving right into a scrumptious bowl of pasta at your Ferragosto-inspired feast? This recipe from Tusk (above) is for a basic ricotta-filled ravioli, from his restaurant Cotogna.
Makes 12 ravioli.
Components
Pasta dough
3.5 cups/450g 00 flour
325g/11.5 oz egg yolk (roughly 18 egg yolks)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Ravioli filling
6 cups/1.2kg of Bellwether (or comparable) ricotta (hung in a single day in a cheesecloth, and drained)
1 tbsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp finely floor black pepper
12 farm egg yolks (whites separated)
6 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup grana padano cheese, finely grated
Methodology
Pasta dough
Mix the kosher salt and the 00 flour.
On a big flat floor, kind a nicely with the flour. Pour the egg yolks into the centre of the nicely.
With a fork slowly stir within the flour little by little till it turns into too troublesome to proceed with a fork. At this level, start utilizing your fingers to knead the dough and incorporate the remaining flour.
Proceed to knead the dough for five minutes. When the dough is correctly kneaded it would slowly bounce again into its form when indented together with your finger.
Tightly wrap the ball of dough with plastic wrap and permit to relaxation for half-hour.
Photograph by Gary He
Filling
In a mixing bowl, mix the drained ricotta with the kosher salt and pepper.
Divide and roll the ricotta into 12 even-sized balls. Gently press the ball of ricotta in order that it flattens out to be roughly 1 inch thick.
Within the centre of the flattened ball, create one other divot together with your thumb (or with an egg) roughly 1 inch in diameter. That is the place the egg yolk will probably be positioned. Methodology: use a hoop mould to measure ricotta for constant dimension and weight. Prep a cookie sheet with parchment paper and a sprinkle of semolina flour to carry the ravioli within the fridge earlier than you prepare dinner them.