A flavourful treat

If you are looking for something crowd-pleasing, then these rhubarb, cardamom and ricotta treats with a tantalising blend of flavours are a delightful treat to try.

Rhubarb, Cardamom and Ricotta Parcels are very quick to make using ready-made puff pastry. Shape the parcels in any way you want — fold squares into triangles, circles into half-moons, or go as I have with rectangles that fold into fat little pillows. Their stuffing is gently sweet, tart and creamy with a waft of green cardamom. Eat these parcels as a pastry with coffee or serve with lemony whipped cream to make into a dessert.

Rhubarb, Cardamom and Ricotta Parcels

Makes 8 parcels

Ingredients

100g (3½oz) ricotta, drained

7 green cardamom pods, seeds ground

50g (¼ cup) granulated sugar, plus more

for sprinkling

Pinch of fine sea salt

150g (5½oz) rhubarb, thinly sliced

320g (11¼oz) sheet all-butter puff pastry

8 teaspoons ground almonds

1 egg, beaten

Spice Switch

Use eight ground juniper berries instead of the cardamom, which offer a similarly sweet, medicinal flavour with a suggestion of forest floor.

Method

Line a baking sheet with baking parchment.

Mix together the ricotta, ground cardamom, sugar and salt, then add the rhubarb.

Unfurl the puff pastry and cut into eight rectangles. Scatter each with a teaspoon of ground almond and top with a spoonful of the rhubarb mixture. Fold the pastries in half to make fat pillows and crimp the edges together using the tines of a fork (dust the fork with flour if it is sticking). Chill in the fridge for about 15 minutes or more.

Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan (400°F).

Brush the parcels with egg, then sprinkle over sugar with lavish abandon. Bake for 20–25 minutes, until golden and puffed.

Serve warm or at room temperature, though they are best on the day they’re made.

Images and text from A Whisper of Cardamom by Eleanor Ford, photography by Ola O. Smit. Murdoch Books RRP $55.00.’