Parmesan and sage biscotti with mortadella mousse

Cheese biscuits are sandwiched with an easy mortadella mousse and finished with chopped pistachio in this elegant recipe from Luca Ciano.

Parmigiano Reggiano and sage biscotti with mortadella mousse. Credit: Luca's Key Ingredient.

• serves

  8-10

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

Biscotti  

• 160 g ‘00’ or plain flour
• 90 g 18 months Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
• 100 g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
• 2 egg yolks
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp fresh sage, chopped

To finish biscotti

• 15 g 30 months Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
• 50 g pistachios, roughly chopped
• 50 ml aged balsamic vinegar, to garnish

Mortadella mousse

• 180 g mortadella, small diced
• 120 g cream cheese
• 60 ml fresh cream

Chilling time: 45-60 minutes.

Instructions

1. Mix all of the biscotti ingredients, except the picked sage leaves, to form a dough. Knead gently until smooth. Roll the dough into a cylinder, making sure each end is flat, and wrap it in cling film, twisting the ends to form a seal. Refrigerate for at least 45 minutes to 1 hour.
2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 180°C.
3. Remove the dough from the fridge and slice it into 1 cm rounds. Discard the cling film from the shortbread edges and arrange the slices on a greased baking sheet. Top each slice with a little chopped sage leaf (reserve some for after baking). Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden.
4. Remove from the oven when the shortbread edges are pale gold. Immediately sprinkle with grated Parmigiano Reggiano and additional sage.
5. For the mortadella mousse, blend all the ingredients in a mixer until smooth. Check the seasoning and add a pinch of salt and pepper if needed. Transfer the mousse to a piping bag and set aside.
6. To assemble, pipe the mortadella mousse onto one biscotti, then gently place another biscotti on top to form a sandwich. Carefully roll the assembled biscotti in the chopped pistachios, then transfer to a serving plate. Garnish with a drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.