serves
6
prep
20 minutes
difficulty
Easy
serves
6
people
preparation
20
minutes
difficulty
Easy
level
They also look great if they are not cut in uniform fashion: smaller tomatoes should be halved, while larger ones should be cut into wedges or sliced. You can prepare all the elements for this in advance – the wasabi and herb-filled mascarpone, the pickled shallots, the chopped tomatoes, the toasted nuts. Just keep them separate and put the dish together just before serving.
This developed from a dish which Sarit Packer developed with Scully for the breakfast menu when Nopi first opened, when the wasabi mascarpone was served with smoked salmon and scrambled eggs. Yotam brought in the tomatoes and the dish was reborn and shifted on to the summer lunch menu. It works well as part of a spread of salads or alongside some simply cooked fish or meat.
Ingredients
- 250 g mascarpone
- 1 tbsp wasabi paste
- 10 g chives, finely chopped
- 10 g tarragon, finely chopped
- 1 spring onion (20g), finely sliced
- 2 banana shallots (100g), thinly sliced widthways
- 2 tbsp Pedro Ximénez sherry vinegar (or another good quality sweet sherry vinegar)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 kg mixed tomatoes, cut into a mixture of slices and wedges, 1 cm thick
- 20 g pine nuts, toasted
- 5 g mixed basil leaves (plain, purple and micro-basil), or just plain basil, to garnish
- coarse sea salt and black pepper
Instructions
Place the mascarpone, wasabi, chives, tarragon and spring onion in a bowl with ½ tsp salt and a good grind of black pepper. Mix well and keep in the fridge until ready to use.
Place the shallots in a separate bowl with the sweet vinegar, oil and ½ tsp salt. Mix well and keep in the fridge until ready to use.
To serve, divide the mascarpone between the plates and spread it out to form a thin layer. Place the tomatoes on top, followed by the pickled shallots. Sprinkle with the pine nuts, then scatter over the basil leaves, tearing the larger ones as you go. Season with ⅓ tsp of salt and a good grind of black pepper, and serve.
Recipe and image from Nopi by Yotam Ottolenghi and Ramael Scully (Edbury Press, $59.99, hbk).
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
They also look great if they are not cut in uniform fashion: smaller tomatoes should be halved, while larger ones should be cut into wedges or sliced. You can prepare all the elements for this in advance – the wasabi and herb-filled mascarpone, the pickled shallots, the chopped tomatoes, the toasted nuts. Just keep them separate and put the dish together just before serving.
This developed from a dish which Sarit Packer developed with Scully for the breakfast menu when Nopi first opened, when the wasabi mascarpone was served with smoked salmon and scrambled eggs. Yotam brought in the tomatoes and the dish was reborn and shifted on to the summer lunch menu. It works well as part of a spread of salads or alongside some simply cooked fish or meat.
