Trifle, Italian style
This recipe comes to me by way of the priestess, nay, the goddess of the kitchen, Nigella Lawson. I’ve been a fan and fanatical advocate of the raven-haired Brit since her show Nigella Bites, with her impeccable style, spot on palate, and slightly subversive humour. And no one can make love to a spoon the way she can. I did meet her once and we had a little chat. To be perfectly accurate, I met her along with maybe 3000 other fans at a book signing. Despite the mob, she remained regal and warm in her chartreuse twin set, offering a genuine smile to all.
I must admit her cookbook prose have had a profound inspiration on my own desire to write. I’ve savoured each and every one of her publications, reading them more like novels rather than as a resource. I enjoy her informative preambles mixed with the regional vernacular (splodge, nubbled, blitzed) and simple recipes with inspired flavours. She blends cultures and style with no apology. One region she loves to explore is Italy, from crostini to dolce. …Hence, this recipe, slightly modified, from her publication Forever Summer…
This is everything a trifle should be: rich, oozing, cool, and creamy. It’s also easy to make (please forgive the ready-made ingredients) and best if made well ahead of serving, rendering it perfect for easy entertaining. The Italian inspiration comes from the ingredients: crunchy amaretti biscuits, sweet and puckering limoncello, and standing in for custard is a silky mascarpone mousse with blackberries providing a blistering contrast.
The measurements are offered more as a guideline, with the size of your trifle bowl influencing the proportions. For these photos, I used my oval porcelain casserole dish that I usually employ for mac and cheese, although it is most presentable in a glass trifle bowl (my own having disappeared after attending a potluck and not to be seen since).
Recipe on following page… Read the rest of this entry →