Ellie Bouhadana may have just stepped away from the stove at Hope St Radio, but that doesn’t mean the music stops – not least thanks to the arrival of her debut cookbook. In Ellie’s Table she shares recipes picked up through her travels through Italy and handed down from generation to generation.
Serves 4
Ingredients
8 garlic cloves, peeled
extra-virgin olive oil to cover
350g baby leeks
120g cavolo nero (Tuscan kale)
75g butter
60ml (¼ cup) white wine
2 parmesan rinds (optional)
2 tablespoons grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano, plus extra for sprinkling
125ml (½ cup) vegetable stock (page 227) or water
pinch of chilli flakes
440g conchiglioni
block of parmesan to serve
To make the confit garlic
In a small saucepan, cover the garlic cloves with olive oil (about 250ml/1 cup) and add a pinch of salt. Very gently simmer the garlic over a low heat for about 10 minutes, until the cloves are soft and golden brown, then turn off the heat and leave to cool. The garlic can keep like this, under oil, for up to a month in the fridge.
To braise the leeks and make the sauce
Prepare each leek by cutting away its outer layer and discarding it. Slice the leeks down the middle lengthways to open them up, then slice them in half crossways and wash each thoroughly, as they are usually quite dirty inside.
Next pick the cavolo nero leaves, discarding the woody branches, and roughly chop them (you will want to have no more than 100g of leaves). Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil and blanch the leaves for 2–4 minutes, until just cooked.
In a deep sauté pan or casserole dish with a lid, pour 60ml (¼ cup) of the oil from the confit garlic into the pan along with the butter and warm over a medium heat. Melt the fats gently, then add the leeks and stir. Cook gently for 5 minutes, then pour in the wine and let everything sizzle gently for 2 minutes until the alcohol has cooked off, but there is still liquid in the pan. Season with 2 teaspoons of flaky salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Throw in a couple of parmesan rinds, if you have them.
Heavily butter a piece of baking paper big enough to fit over the pan, then place it on top of the leeks, carefully tucking the edges of the paper in and under the leeks to create a cartouche. This will trap the steam, keeping all the cooking juices in the pot rather than letting them evaporate. Put the lid on the pan as well, and reduce the heat to low. Leave the leeks to stew over a low heat for about 15 minutes.
Remove the cartouche from the leeks and stir – by now the leeks should have collapsed and caramelised, and have an almost silky texture. Remove the parmesan rinds and turn the heat off.
Put the cavolo nero, parmesan, vegetable stock or water and chilli flakes in a food processor, together with 8 cloves of the confit garlic, 60ml (1/4 cup) of the confit garlic oil and a pinch of black pepper. Blitz until you have a smooth green sauce, then taste and season with flaky salt and freshly ground black pepper to your liking.
To cook the pasta and serve
Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil over a high heat. Season well with salt, stir, then add the pasta and stir again. Cook the pasta until it is al dente, meaning that it is cooked through, but still has some bite to it (usually about 2 minutes less than the recommended cooking time listed on the packet).
Put the green sauce in the pan that contains the leeks, stir to combine and warm over a low heat. Lift the just cooked pasta out of the boiling water with tongs and put it in the pan. Sprinkle with a handful of parmesan, pour in about 80ml (1/3 cup) of the pasta water and toss everything together energetically with the tongs or a wooden spoon to emulsify. Don’t stop tossing the pasta until the sauce has thickened a little and coats every piece of pasta. Serve straight away, with a block of parmesan on the table for people to grate over the dish themselves.
Ellie’s Table (Hardie Grant Books, RRP $55) is out now, and is stocked, among other places, at Readings, Paperback Bookstore, Hill of Content and Books for Cooks.