Recipes
Put the best of the new season’s ingredients centre stage with these deliciously fresh and light Italian dishes from Sardinian-based food writer Letitia Clark
SALAD OF ENDIVE, SOFT EGG, TUNA, OLIVE AND P OTATO WITH CREAMY ANCHOVY DRESSING
This is a sort of hybrid of Niçoise and Tonnato salad; a happy meeting of north and south. The dressing can be made in a blender and everything else takes a matter of minutes to put together.
● 1 egg yolk
● 1½ tsp red wine vinegar
● 2 anchovy fillets
● About 150ml extra virgin olive oil
● ½ tsp capers
● 1 tbsp tuna – from a jar or tin
● Salt, to taste
● Juice of 1 lemon, or to taste
● 1 head of endive
● 5 boiled potatoes, roughly chopped
● ½ jar or tin of good quality tuna, about 70–100g (optional)
● Handful of black olives, pitted
● A few capers – if you like them
● A few leaves of parsley, roughly chopped
● 3 soft-boiled eggs (boiled for 6 minutes in boiling water, then peeled), halved
1. Make the dressing in a blender – or use a stick blender, if you prefer. Start with the egg yolks, anchovies and vinegar, and blitz until smooth. Add the oil in a drizzle, blitzing until thick. Blitz in the capers and tuna, then taste for seasoning and add salt and lemon juice as necessary. It should be adequately punchy to cut through the fat of the eggs and the sweet earthiness of the potatoes.
2. Arrange the endive leaves on a serving platter, then dot over the chunked potatoes and some pieces of tuna (if using). Next, sprinkle over the olives and/or capers, and the parsley, then top with the eggs. Drizzle over the dressing generously, adding a pot of the remainder alongside for dunking. Serve with some bruschetta drizzled with oil.
PEPPERS PIEDMONTESE
This is a staple of my grandmother’s, which she must have discovered via Elizabeth David’s seminal Italian Food, published back in 1954 and still in print today. She gave me a beautiful edition of this book as my graduation present, painted all over with violet artichokes and garlic cloves, and it has been a constant companion ever since – such is the great power of books and grandmothers. Extraordinarily simple to make and yet with a deep, sweet and savoury flavour, these deserve to become a staple in every household.
● 2 large, ripe red peppers
● A little salt
● Olive oil, for drizzling
● 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
● 6 anchovy fillets, drained of their oil, then sliced
● 4–6 medium ripe tomatoes – or use 8 or so small, sweet ones if you prefer
● Handful of fresh basil leaves
1. Depending on what peppers or tomatoes you
