Cooked or cured meats in Italy fall under the generic term ‘salumi’ or ‘affettati’, which literally means “sliced”. The vast majority of big or small supermarkets have a counter where people queue up and buy all sorts of cured meats sliced on the spot and sold by the weight.
As a kid, I have lived this memory over and over again. The customer ordering some ham, and the person at the counter systematically slicing a bit more than the requested quantity and asking “lascio?” (shall I leave it anyway?). This is not a thing of the past though, and I would hear it every time I visit my friend and family in Italy and happen to go and buy some cured meats. And it still makes me smile.
One of my favourite ‘affettati’ is Mortadella, which originally comes from the Italian city of Bologna, which also happens to be unbelievably beautiful (it’s documentary time, go and have a look at some pictures). Anyway, back to our hero. Mortadella has a very distinctive deliciously garlicky flavour, a lovely pale pink and white colour and usually comes in two versions: with black peppercorns or with pistachios.
My favourite? Pistachio.
That’s where the inspiration for this recipe comes from. I wanted to play with the same flavours of pistachio mortadella, but give them a different shape and form. After a long list of options and many attempts, I declared a winner. Raw pistachios transformed into a rich paste, accompanied by a light and fluffy mortadella mousse, both to be enjoyed into a bite-sized shape tartlet, or canapé. Simply ideal as a tasty party or picnic nibble.
I don’t think there’s much else left to say, except for:
- If you have never tried mortadella, go and get yourself some (it may not easy to find in your area, but don’t give up).
- Once you’ve found it, make this recipe. I promise it’s that good and everyone will love it.
Looking for another easy savoury recipe to bring to a party? Here’s a delicious rainbow chard and smoky mushroom savoury tart, with a buttery flavour and packed with greens, or make everyone happy with a classic crowd-pleaser, a light and aromatic garlic oil and fresh thyme potato focaccia.
Makes about 20 pieces
Ingredients
FOR THE SHORTCRUST PASTRY
- 125g plain flour
- 13g cornflour
- 40g unsalted butter, cold
- 35g trex or shortening, cold
- 2g sea salt
- 25g beaten egg
- 15g cold water
FOR THE PISTACHIO PASTE
- 100g pistachio kernels (net weight, without shells)
- 1 small garlic clove, grated
- 1.5g salt
- 30g extra virgin olive oil
- 25g water
- 2.5g lemon juice (1/2 tsp)
FOR THE MORTADELLA MOUSSE
- 150g mortadella (either thin or thick cut)
- 50g Philadelphia or other plain cream cheese
- 5g grated parmesan cheese
- a grind of black pepper
- 35g double cream
TO FINISH
- 15-20g pistachios, coarsely chopped
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT
- mini morsel or yorkshire pudding baking tray. The one I used has 5 cm diameter holes. A second tray as “counter-mould” would be ideal
Method
MAKE THE SHORTCRUST PASTRY
- Sift the flour and cornflour into a large bowl and add the salt. Chop the cold butter and shortening into small cubes and add to the bowl. Using your fingertips, rub the fats into the flour until fully incorporated and small crumbs start to form. Alternatively, you can achieve the same by blitzing the mix in a food processor.
- Add the egg and the water and mix until you bring the pastry together. Do not knead. Flatten to a disc or a square, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for a minimum of two hours. While you wait for the pastry to rest, make the rest of the recipe.
MAKE THE PISTACHIO PASTE
- Bring a pan of water to the boil. Once it’s boiling, take off of the heat and put the pistachios in the pan. Leave them to soak in the hot water for 5 minutes. In the meanwhile, prepare a bowl with iced water and set aside. After 5 minutes, drain the pistachios and cool them in the iced water. You will notice that some of the skin will start lifting off. When they are chilled, place the pistachio nuts in two or three batches in the middle of kitchen towel. Rub them vigorously within the towel to loosen the skins. Most of them should come off, but you may have to peel some of them by hand.
- Put all the ingredients together and blitz with a stick blender or food processor until you get a smooth and spreadable paste. Cover with cling film and set aside until ready to use.
MAKE THE MORTADELLA MOUSSE
- Put all the ingredients in a jug or tall glass and blitz with a stick blender until you obtain a nice and smooth mousse (which is firm enough to hold its shape but can be piped using a piping bag). You can also use a food processor, but you might end up with a slightly more grainy texture. Season to taste. The cheese flavour should not overcome that of the mortadella. Transfer the mousse to a piping bag fitted with a straight or star nozzle (or a plastic bag with a corner snipped off before start piping) and refrigerate until ready to use.
BAKE THE TARTLET SHELLS AND ASSEMBLE THE CANAPÉS
Heat the oven to 200°C conventional.
- Take the pastry out of the fridge and leave to slightly warm up for about 10 minutes. Lightly butter each hole of your baking tray. Flatten the pastry on a floured surface with a rolling pin and roll it out to about 2 to 3mm thickness. Using a pastry cutter slightly larger than the holes of your tray, cut as many discs as you can (you will need to re-roll the pastry and cut more). One by one, press each discs into a hole in your tray and prick their base with a fork.
- Get ready to bake the tartlet shells. The best way to achieve neat shells is to have a second tray and place it on top of the one lined with pastry as a counter-mould. This will preserve their shape while baking. Alternatively, line every disc with a small piece of baking parchment and cover with rice, dried lentils or baking beans. Bake for about 12 minutes.
- Once baked, take the shells out of the moulds and leave them to cool on a wire rack. When cooled down, spread about 1/2 teaspoon of pistachio paste on the bottom of each tartlet and flatten neatly. Pipe a nice quantity of mortadella mousse over each tart and finish with a sprinkle of pistachio crumbs on top.