FOOD&DRINK RECIPE: NORMA’S TALEGGIOSTUFFED ASPARAGUS ARANCINI

Asparagus season is almost over. You have roughly until the summer solstice to pick up your lovely fresh stems –after that you’ll be relying on supermarket produce, which might be shipped in and won’t give you the best taste.

This asparagus arancini is a deceptively simple recipe but one that’s guaranteed to impress. It requires a little planning ahead but when your guests first cut into one of these arancini balls and you get that lovely hit of molten parmesan and that lovely green colour from the asparagus, you’ll be glad you made the extra little bit of effort.

INGREDIENTS (SERVES

FOR THE RICE MIX

£ 500g vegetable stock

£ 250g arborio rice

£ 10g salt

£ 40g burrata

£ 50g parmesan

6)

£ 120g cooked asparagus, chopped

£ 120g wild garlic pesto

£ 40g butter

£ 180g taleggio

FOR THE PESTO

£ 150g wild garlic leaves

£ 50g parmesan

£ 1 garlic clove, finely chopped

£ ½ lemon, zested and a few squeezes of juice

£ 50g pine nuts, toasted

£ 150ml olive oil

FOR THE PANE

£ 200g 00 flour

£ 400g water

£ 300g breadcrumbs

£ Vegetable oil for frying

METHOD

£ Blend all the pesto ingredients together until a smooth paste, add more oil if needed.

£ Bring the vegetable stock to the boil. Add the rice and salt and turn to a low heat and occasionally stir to prevent rice from sticking.

£ After around 15 minutes when the rice is almost fully cooked, add the parmesan, burrata, asparagus, wild garlic pesto and butter. Cook for another minute or two then set aside.

£ Turn your rice mix onto a tray and chill. Once chilled, form six 120g balls. Stuff each ball with 30g of taleggio and place onto a tray to chill for another 30 mins.

£ For the pane mix, mix the 00 flour with the water to create the ‘pastela’ which should resemble with a batter mix consistency. Pass each ball through the batter mix and then through the dry bread crumbs.

£ Heat the oil to 180C then fry until golden brown or piping hot in the middle.

£ This recipe is from the team at Norma; to book go to normalondon.com

EDITOR’S PICK

THE COUNTER, NOTTING HILL

The Counter arrived in West London (the closest tube is Westbourne Park but it’s a comfortable walk from Notting Hill) last year without much fanfare, which is surprising given the pedigree of the man behind it.

It’s the first UK restaurant by Kemal Demirasal, a Turkish former pro windsurfer who taught himself to cook and went on to become one of the most highly respected chefs in his home country. He was best known for his fine dining restaurant Alancha, which was named one of the top restaurants in the Middle East.

Then, in 2021 he closed it and moved to London, opening the stylish but understated The Counter the following year. A modern ocakbasi restaurant, it features some wild spins on recognisable dishes (white chocolate babaganoush; delicious), regional classics (a traditional Turkish spin on ‘head cheese’ combining tongue and brain into a light little salad), and lots of grilled meat which, unsurprisingly, is where it really shines. It’s a cracking restaurant, well worth the trip west on the Central Line.

£ To book go to thecounterlondon.com