Roasted garlic spread with broad beans

Roasted garlic spread with broad beans

Ingredients

• 1 head of garlic (10 cloves)
• 125ml olive oil
• 240g ricotta
• 3 tbsp soured cream
• 1 lemon, rind shaved strips
• 1 lemon, finely grated
• 600g broad beans (400g if starting with skinned beans)
• 1 ½ tbsp lemon juice
• 15g mint leaves, chopped, plus extra to garnish
• Salt and pepper
• Maltese bread

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C.
2. Mix the garlic cloves with 1 tsp of the olive oil, place on a baking tray and cook for 15 mins, until soft.
3. Remove from the oven and when cool enough to handle, squash each garlic clove out of its skin using the back of a fork.
4. Discard the skin and place the flesh in a small bowl, along with the ricotta, soured cream, ¼ teaspoon of salt and some black pepper.
5. Whisk to combine and set aside.
6. Place the remaining olive oil in a small saucepan with the shaved lemon skin. Place on a medium heat, bring to a gentle simmer, then remove from the heat to cool and infuse.
7. Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Add the broad beans, blanch for 1 min, drain and remove them from their skins. Crush the beans with a fork, add all but 1 tbsp of the lemon-infused oil (removing the skin first), lemon juice, chopped mint, ½ teaspoon of salt and some black pepper and mix together.
8. Spread the ricotta mix in a thin layer on to the base of each individual plate or one larger platter.
9. Spoon the broad bean mixture on top, lightly spreading it out to cover most of the ricotta.
10. Sprinkle over the shredded mint and grated lemon zest and finish with a drizzle of the lemon-infused oil.
11. Serve with toasted Maltese bread.

This recipe first appeared on Gourmet Today TV, aired on TVM on 29 April, 2016.