Bancone is at the forefront of the UK’s new wave of Italian restaurants – casual, quick, affordable and brilliant. Chef Ben Waugh shares four of his favourite dishes for spring with subtle twists and clever little techniques that – dare we say it – improve on the originals
Burrata with croutons and nettle and basil pesto
Serves 6-8 Hands-on time 15 min Oven time 8-10 min
KNOW-HOW
Wear thick gloves and pick young nettle leaves away from paths and roads. Once the plants are blanched in boiling water they lose their sting, but until then, handle with care. Don’t fancy a forage? Replace the nettles with the same amount of basil leaves for a classic pesto.
DON’T WASTE IT
Keep leftover pesto in the fridge for up to a week – pour a thin layer of olive oil on top.
• 8 very thin slices ciabatta, ideally stale
• Olive oil to fry and drizzle
• 6-8 burrata (depending on servings)
For the pesto
• 25g nettles
• 25g pine nuts
• 1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
• 25g parmesan
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• Tiny pinch chilli flakes
• 25g basil, plus plenty of extra leaves to serve
• 70ml olive oil
1 Heat the oven to 150°C fan/gas 3½. Line a baking tray with baking paper, then put the ciabatta slices on it. Drizzle with oil, add salt, then put another sheet of baking paper on top. Top with another baking tray (this keeps the croutons flat) and bake for 8-10 minutes until golden and crisp. Set aside.
2 For the pesto, bring a small pan of water to the boil and fill a bowl with iced water. Wash the nettles, then cook (blanch) in the hot water for 1½ minutes. Drain, then instantly submerge in the iced water. Toast the → pine nuts in a dry frying pan until golden brown (about 3 minutes).
3 Put the pine nuts in a blender with the garlic, parmesan, lemon juice and chilli flakes. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, then whizz into a coarse paste. Drain the nettles by squeezing them in your hands (they won’t sting) to get rid of as much water as possible, then add to the paste with the basil and oil. Pulse a few times until you have a thick pesto. Taste and season.
4 To serve, heat a dash of olive oil in a frying pan over a high heat. Once shimmering hot, add the remaining basil leaves and fry for a minute until crisp, then drain on kitchen paper. Put a burrata on each serving plate, slightly off centre, then add 3 neat dollops of pesto alongside. Snap the croutons into smaller pieces and arrange between the dollops of pesto, followed by the fried basil leaves. Finish with a crack of black pepper and a final drizzle of oil.
Per serving (for 8) 451kcals, 36.3g fat (17.2g saturated), 14.5g protein, 16g carbs (2.2g sugars), 0.8
