September 2002 Recipe of the Month

Roasted Vegetable, Parma Ham and Boccancini Gateau.

This is a simple recipe that can be used as a light lunch with salad served either hot or cold, or as a starter for a dinner perhaps. Alternatively it can be made without using the parma ham and used as a vegetarian dish.

The ham used in this dish can easily be sourced from your local supermarket and should be thinly sliced, the choice of which vegetables you use is, as usual, up to your own personal taste. Here I have used red onions, red, green and yellow peppers, courgettes and a little tomato.This dish would also suit aubergine and even sauteed potato.Cut the onions into slices, lay on to a greased tray then season and roast until nearly cooked. Remove from the oven and leave to one side to cool. Slice the courgette quite thinly (about 5mm) then gently toss in a small amount of oil, salt and black pepper, gently roast as with the onion. When preparing the peppers you need to take the skin off, this can be a bit fiddly. The easiest way is to stick a fork into the side of a whole pepper and hold over a flame (gas ring) until the skin goes black and blisters, then drop into a bowl or dish and cover tightly with clingfilm, allow to cool. When cooled the skin should peel off. Now we come to the boccancini, this is the name given to very small balls of mozzarella cheese. If you can't find this in your local supermarket then normal mozzarella will be just as good when cut into slices. Now we are ready to assemble the dish.

When putting the dish together I used a 3" plastic ring. If you don't have a ring you can use a pastry cutter, an egg poaching ring or even a tin can with both ends removed and thoroughly washed.

First place a slice of parma ham into the ring so it goes down one side, across the bottom and back up the other side it should hang over the edge at both sides. Put in a layer of sliced of red pepper, then add slices of courgette. Follow this with a layer of the cheese. Then continue to add layers of different vegetables and cheese until it is about 2 to 3 inches tall. When you have reached the height you want fold the ends of the parma ham over so they cross in the middle. Carefully turn the whole thing over and push the parcel out of the ring. If you do want to serve the dish hot place onto a lightly greased tray and roast for fifteen to twenty minutes.

In the photo here I have served the gateau with some seared cherry tomatoes and a little fresh basil dressing with a few drops of balsamic vinegar to add a little sharpness. This is a light fresh dish that I hope you will enjoy trying.