Our kitchen garden cook Melanie Johnson makes panna cottas with rocket.
Rocket is the perfect addition to countless dishes, giving a deliciously peppery and fresh flavour.
Rocket-and-pea panna cottas with sesame salmon and pickled cucumber
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 100ml single cream
- 200ml double cream
- 85g frozen peas
- 10g rocket
- 2tbspn chopped chives
- 3 sheets of gelatine
- 1 cucumber
- 200ml white-wine vinegar
- 3tbspn caster sugar
- 2 salmon fillets
- 2tbspn sesame seeds
To serve
- A handful of rocket leaves
- A couple of spoonfuls of cooked peas (blanched in boiling water)
- Lemon wedges
- Toast
More ways with rocket
Spaghetti with rocket-and-basil pesto
To make the pesto, process the following ingredients to a coarse paste: 1 clove of garlic, a pinch of salt, 25g of pine nuts, 30g of wild rocket, 20g of basil, 35g of Parmesan, the juice of 1 lemon and 125ml of olive oil. Cook pasta as per packet instructions and then stir the pesto through the spaghetti, along with fresh rocket leaves and a little crème fraîche. You can also fold in halved cherry tomatoes, with extra Parmesan and lemon juice on top.
Warm Italian salad (serves 4)
Cut 2 peeled red onions into quarters and fry with a splash of olive oil. Once softened, set aside. Cut 4 rashers of bacon into lardons and fry until crispy. Return the onions to the pan and warm through. Divide 2 sliced avocados between 4 plates, scatter with rocket leaves and spoon the bacon and onions over them. Drizzle each plate with olive oil and balsamic and top with grated Parmesan. Serve with toasted sourdough.
Chicken-and-rocket flatbreads
Top your favourite flatbreads with a handful of rocket, toasted pine nuts, a couple of sundried tomatoes, slices of cooked chicken, a dollop of rocket pesto (recipe above), a spoonful of Greek yoghurt and a scattering of chilli flakes. Roll up and serve immediately.
