Homemade ricotta, romesco sauce, fennel and rye

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Chantelle Nicholson serves up a homemade ricotta recipe with romesco sauce, made with toasted Brazil nuts and almonds for a slight twist on the classic. A crunchy, nutty rye cracker and crisp fennel bring plenty of crunch to the dish. Make sure you save the whey when making the ricotta – it's great for fermenting vegetables, can be reduced to make a sauce or used to replace water when making bread for a different flavour profile.

First published in 2017

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Homemade ricotta

Rye cracker

Romesco sauce

Fennel salad

  • 1 fennel bulb, finely sliced on a mandoline (or as finely sliced as you can manage with a knife)
  • 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced and zested

Equipment

  • Cheesecloth
  • Blender

Method

1
To make the ricotta, bring the milk, cream, olive oil, salt, pepper and herbs to the boil in a saucepan. Add the vinegar, whisk well, and turn the heat down to low. Allow the mixture to split. When this has happened, gently pour through a sieve lined with cheesecloth sat over a jug to collect the liquid and refrigerate for 1 hour
2
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4
3
For the rye cracker, mix all the ingredients together to form a dough and rest for 20 minutes. Roll out very thinly between two sheets of parchment paper and bake until golden and crisp, for approximately 8–10 minutes
4
To make the romesco sauce, place all of the ingredients in a blender and pulse until combined. The sauce should be well-mixed but not totally smooth. Season to taste
5
To assemble, place a mound of romesco on a plate and dot with the ricotta. Dress the fennel slices with the olive oil, lemon and salt. Add to the plate and serve the rye crisps on the side
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced and zested
  • 1 fennel bulb, finely sliced on a mandoline (or as finely sliced as you can manage with a knife)
  • 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

From New Zealand law student to the opening of her first solo sustainable restaurant Apricity (which won a Michelin green star in 2023), Chantelle Nicholson’s hard work and determination – especially in evolving free-from and plant-based cooking at the highest level – has cemented her reputation as one of the UK's most forward-thinking chefs.

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