These are light, bright dumplings that are quick and easy to put together. It is a plate which is all about late spring: white, green and fresh. I use freshly podded peas here and I don’t cook them: I love their pop and sweetness when they’ve not been cooked and they work against the softness of the ricotta. If podding peas sounds a bit much or fresh peas are hard to get hold of for you, some briefly boiled frozen ones will work well too.
Chop your pistachios finely; you can do this in a food processor but be sure that you don’t blitz them to a powder, as you still want them to have enough texture as if they had been finely chopped by hand.
Put the ricotta into a bowl with the pistachios, lemon zest, chopped chilli and the flour. Season well with salt and pepper and mix gently until it comes together as a dough.
Half fill a large saucepan with water and place it over a high heat. Roll the ricotta mixture into about 20 little conker-sized balls. Very lightly dust in a little more flour and place on a chopping board while you wait for the water to boil.
Next, finely chop the herbs, put them into a bowl with the olive oil and the peas, and season with salt and pepper.
Once the water in the saucepan is at a boil, lower the dumplings in and cook them for 4–5 minutes, until they all rise and bob to the top. Drain on kitchen paper and serve about 5 per person, topped with the herby peas and olive oil.
An essential addition to every cook’s bookshelf, The Modern Cook’s Year will show you how to make the most of seasonal produce, using simple, hugely inventive flavours and ingredients. Divided into six seasons, the cookbook contains over 200 delicious vegetarian recipes interspersed with tips on everything from seasonal music playlists to flowers to look out for in each month of the year.
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