Anjum Anand’s Baked ricotta with chard

It was our great pleasure to hear Anjum Anand speak at BritMums Live and also let the audience taste her delicious chutneys. (Which one was your favourite?) Anjum has shared this lip-smacking ricotta and chard recipe as well as the quick chutney from her new book Anjum’s Quick & Easy Indian available now. Photo credit: Lisa Linder

This lovely dish has been inspired by a vegetarian spinach and paneer kebab I tried years ago and loved. It has morphed in my kitchen into using ricotta instead of paneer, chard instead of spinach, and baked instead of fried! It makes a great vegetarian meal for friends. The chutney adds a lovely tangy, hot and garlicky contrast to the creamy dish and can be made in advance, even though it cooks itself at the same time as the ricotta.

Anjum’s Baked ricotta with chard

Serves 5–6

softened butter, for the tin

2 tbsp olive oil

1 1⁄2 tsp cumin seeds

1 largish onion, finely chopped

5 large garlic cloves

finely chopped

150g chard, coarsely shredded

1⁄2 tsp garam masala

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 egg, lightly beaten

500g ricotta cheese

handful of pine nuts

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas mark 5 and place a baking tray on the middle shelf. Butter well a 20cm round cake tin with a removable base.

Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick sauté pan. Add the cumin seeds and, once browned, add the onion and cook until golden on the edges. Add the garlic and cook for a minute or so. Stir in the chard, garam masala and some salt and cook for eight to 10 minutes, or until the chard has wilted. Remove from the heat.

Beat the egg into the ricotta until well blended, then stir in the vegetable mix. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding 1⁄2 tsp of black pepper, or to taste. Pour the ricotta mixture into the tin, sprinkle over the pine nuts and place on the hot baking tray. Cook for 35 minutes, or until golden and set.

Quick-fire: Roasted red pepper, tomato and chilli chutney

Blend together 8 large garlic cloves, 1 red chilli, deseeded, and 6 ripe vine tomatoes, quartered, until smooth (I use my hand-held blender). Heat 2 tbsp of vegetable oil in a saucepan and add the blended ingredients with some salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has reduced and begins to release oil into the pan, around 25 minutes. Taste; it should taste harmonious. Stir in 1 roast, skinned pepper from a jar, chopped, and cook for another few minutes to warm through. Serves 6.