Panelle With Sauteed Wild Garlic and Nettle Tops
I've already posted the recipe and step-by-step picture guide to making panelle on my blog post named 'Foraged Aromatics Meets Sicilian Street Food'.
This pretty little hors d'oeuvre doesn't only look wonderful but it's packed with the flavours of Italy too- garlic, chilli, fennel seeds and ricotta, combined with the mild blanched nettle leaves and fried wild garlic. And I know it's out of season by now as it's all gone to flower, but the trick with older wild garlic leaves is to blitz them in a food processor.
The wild garlic will still have a wonderful flavour (a little stronger than early spring) but are marginally more stringy.
For this one I would make the panelle mix in advance, set and cut it but don't fry it until you have your nettle/wild garlic/ricotta filling ready.
For the filling:
carrier bag full of nettles, washed and drained
large handful of wild garlic leaves, washed and finely sliced
1 tub of ricotta
1 garlic clove, minced
salt and pepper
Pan of water (enough to cook nettles)
Olive oil
Generous knob of butter
Sunflower/vegetable oil
Panelle, set and cut (but not fried)
Salt your water and bring to the boil, add your nettle leaves and turn it down (otherwise it has a tendency to froth over!)
Cook for 2-3 minutes and drain.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in the pan and add your thinly sliced wild garlic, it should crackle and wilt almost immediately so keep stirring so it doesn't burn.
Once it has visible wilted and reduced into a soft green mass, add your drained nettles, black pepper, garlic and butter and melt it into the mixture on a low heat. (if wild garlic is young, chop the nettles finely before adding to the pan as you will not need to blitz the mixture)
If the Wild garlic is old, put the contents of the pan into a food processor once the butter has melted into the mixture. Pule the mixture 2-3 times (don't overdo it otherwise you will have a damp paste)
Put mixture into a bowl and stir in the ricotta.
If you love cheese as much as I do, you can also add a handful of grated parmesan.
Fry your panelle in the sunflower oil until golden brown and drain on a piece of kitchen tissue, add salt to taste.
Quenelle your nettle/wild garlic mixture onto the panelle once drained.
Cook for 2-3 minutes and drain.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in the pan and add your thinly sliced wild garlic, it should crackle and wilt almost immediately so keep stirring so it doesn't burn.
Once it has visible wilted and reduced into a soft green mass, add your drained nettles, black pepper, garlic and butter and melt it into the mixture on a low heat. (if wild garlic is young, chop the nettles finely before adding to the pan as you will not need to blitz the mixture)
If the Wild garlic is old, put the contents of the pan into a food processor once the butter has melted into the mixture. Pule the mixture 2-3 times (don't overdo it otherwise you will have a damp paste)
Put mixture into a bowl and stir in the ricotta.
If you love cheese as much as I do, you can also add a handful of grated parmesan.
Fry your panelle in the sunflower oil until golden brown and drain on a piece of kitchen tissue, add salt to taste.
Quenelle your nettle/wild garlic mixture onto the panelle once drained.
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