This is all about the tomatoes, so get as many different varieties as you can: red, green and yellow; baby plum, cherry and vine. 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.
TOMATOES WITH WASABI MASCARPONE AND PINE NUTS RECIPE
Serves 6
• 250g mascarpone
• 1 Tbsp wasabi paste
• 10g chives, finely chopped
• 10g tarragon, finely chopped
• 1 spring onion, finely sliced (20g)
• 2 banana shallots, thinly sliced widthways (100g)
• 2 Tbsp Pedro Ximenez sherry vinegar (or another good-quality sweet sherry vinegar)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1kg mixed tomatoes, cut into a mixture of slices and wedges, 1cm thick
• 20g pine nuts, toasted
• 5g mixed basil leaves (plain, purple and micro-basil) or just plain basil, to garnish coarse sea salt and black pepper
1. Place the mascarpone, wasabi, chives, tarragon and spring onion in a bowl with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Mix well and keep in the fridge until ready to use.
2. Place the shallots in a separate bowl with the sweet vinegar, oil and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Mix well and keep in the fridge until ready to use.
3. 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 1/3 teaspoon of salt and a good grind ofblack pepper, and serve.
• Extracted from Nopi: The Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Ramael Scully, published by Ebury Press, RRP $70.00. Photography by Jonathan Lovekin.
