Beetroot, smoked mackerel & horseradish pizza

This is probably the most bizarre pizza I came across (well, not mentioning some of American inventions I guess..). I am a big fan of minimalistic pizza with fresh tomato sauce and mozzarella, so I don't call myself a pizza toppings expert. I hate when pizza is overloaded with ingredients, especially cheese. 

This is also one of the best pizzas I ever made and ate. I mean the topping as well as the base. 

Recipe comes from "Hugh's Three Good Things (on a plate)" and to be honest it was on my mind constantly for last two weeks. First I though: "What a bizarre mix of ingredients in general and especially on a pizza" , but then second thought:

" What's not to like? Beets? Good! Mackerel? Good! Horseradish? Good!” 

(do you remember this scene from "Friends", in which Rachel prepared a dessert with beef?)

Anyway this combination is perfect. Beets &horseradish – delicious. Smoked mackerel & horseradish - delicious. These three work brilliantly in one dish.

What is the most bizarre pizza you have ever eaten?

3 medium pizzas

Dough

250g plain flour

250g white strong bread flour

1 level tsp of salt  

1 tsp instant yeast 

1 tbsp olive oil 

about 300ml water (or how much flour will take – different types of flour take different amount of water)

Sauce

1 tbsp freshly grated horseradish 

3 tbsp plain yoghurt  

1 tbsp lemon juice

freshly ground black pepper 

salt

Topping

 

2 medium beetroots, unpeeled

2 fillets of smoked mackerel

2 shallots (I used French, if you go for English ones double the amount, as they are much smaller)

a splash of olive oil

salt

freshly ground black pepper

Firstly prepare the dough. Mix both flours together and add the salt, yeast and olive oil. Next little by little add the water and mix either with your hands or with a mixer. You need to knead the dough for about 10 minutes, it could be sticky at first but it will become more elastic during the kneading. Then place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with a cloth and leave it until doubled in size.

In the meantime prepare the sauce. Mix horseradish, yoghurt, lemon juice and mix and then season with some salt and pepper. Set aside and prepare the topping.

Heat the oven to 180 C, place beets in oven proof dish, drizzle with little olive oil and roast until soft. Knife should go in easily when they're ready. Remove from the oven and leave it to cool down. Then peel and slice.

Remove the skin from the mackerel and fake it with your fingers to bite size pieces.

Peel and slice the shallots (not too thinly, I cut them too thinly and some of them were burnt, still tasty though!). Place in a bowl, drizzle with little olive oil, season with salt and pepper and toss it, until covered with oil.

Heat the oven to 250 C (or at least 220 C) with a pizza stone or a baking tray.

When dough is ready remove it from the bowl onto a floured worktop and gently press with yours hands. Divide into three parts and again press each to flatten them a bit. Leave it to rest for about 15 minutes. Then place one piece onto a tray or pizza shovel and roll thinly.

Place one third of the sliced beets onto prepared base, as well as mackerel and top with shallot rings. Drizzle with little more olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Slide the pizza onto a hot tray or stone and bake until crisp and golden. Repeat with the remaining dough and topping.

Divide into portions and serve with the horseradish sauce.

My everyday bread. From starter to loaf.

I don't  consider myself a bread expert by no means but I finally decided to write about my everyday bread after I had some many requests from my guests. Most of them asked if recipe for the bread I served them can be found on my blog. So here it is. 

This is one of my easiest sourdough breads, requires little effort but little patience and time. I bake this bread at least three times a week and quite often I use different types of flour, just stick to the general quantities. Also I use a bread loaf that tin - a kind of spring form - the side bit comes off and bread can be easily lifted from a bottom when it is still hot.

How to make it? First you have to prepare the sour starter. This is a key to good sourdough bread and it’s worth taking some time to get it right. The older the starter is, the more regularly you feed it the stronger it gets. For some time I have been using rye starter only, but you can make it using wholemeal wheat flout too. I personally prefer the smell and taste of the bread made with rye starter. Also it is quite strong so it will lift those breads made with heavier types of flour such as wholemeal rye flour (dark, dense, sour breads).

Most of the bread books and experts recommend to measure the ingredients for sour starter. I don't think this is as much important, as long as you stick roughly to the proportions (similar amount of water to flour).  However if you are beginner I think it will be better if you measure the exact quantities. Looking after your starter on a regular basis will give you more experience and teach you that using a kitchen scale in not always necessary.

I would say that 5 days old starter is far too young to lift heave dough made with rye flour, so you may as well use little yeast or for a start make a white loaf. This is not always the case, as you have to remember that starter is very individual and living thing - some of then can be quite strong from a start and up for a challenge! 

Rye sour starter (as advised by Jeffrey Hamelman)

Day 1

100g wholemeal rye flour

100g water (natural, untreated, in room temperature)

Mix the water with flour in glass or plastic container. Cover with cloth and leave it in warm place (ideally 25C) for 24 hours.

Day 2

half of the mixture from day 1

50g wholemeal rye flour

50g water

Mix all of the above in glass or plastic container. Cover with cloth and leave it in warm place for 24 hours.

Day 3

100g of the mixture from day 2

100g wholemeal rye flour

100g water

Mix all of the above in glass or plastic container. Cover with cloth and leave it in warm place for 12 hours.

The same day, 12 hours later

100g of the mixture from earlier that day

100g wholemeal rye flour

100g water

Mix all of the above in glass or plastic container. Cover with cloth and leave it in warm place for 12 hours.

Day 4

100g of the mixture from earlier that day

100g wholemeal rye flour

100g water

Mix all of the above in glass or plastic container. Cover with cloth and leave it in warm place for 12 hours.

The same day, 12 hours later

100g of the mixture from earlier that day

100g wholemeal rye flour

100g water

Mix all of the above in glass or plastic container. Cover with cloth and leave it in warm place for 12 hours.

On day 5 starter should be ready to use. Store it refrigerated in airtight container and you have to feed it at least every two weeks. To do so remove from a fridge, bring to the room temperature and add the same amount of fresh water and flour - I don't use scale anymore, just add handful of flour and some water to bring it to the double cream like consistency. Leave it in room temperature for 4-8 hours, some young starters may require up to 12 hours to work. After this time it should start to work - bubble and lift little bit - it means it is active and ready to use. I feed my starter every 2-3 days, because I bake my bread quite often, but when I go on holiday I leave it in a fridge for 2-3 weeks and feed it immediately when I come back home. If you don't feed the starter it will die. (or shall I say go off)

I have been making this bread for a long time now and in last few months I learned how to make it without measuring the ingredients using a scale... because mine got broken and I never bought a new one since. You will learn with time how dough should look like, how much water require different types of flour and I am sure you will be liberated from using kitchen scales too.

I am big fan of using a stand mixer. Personally I think Kitchen Aid is great to do this job, especially when it comes to heavy rye dough, but any mixer with a hook will be good, also you can use your own hands - this will require a bit of strength and some more time. I use mixer because I never was a big fan of preparing the dough by hand, also I like to have spare time to do other things while the dough is getting ready. This is my personal choice, I know some people like to work with the dough themselves.

And one more thing I should probably mention. I make most of my breads in two (or three) distinct stages – first by incubating the starter and then adding this to the proper bread dough. The incubation is important because it allows the starter to grow and multiply in fresh flour and water and create what I call the sponge - this helps to rise the dough into a loaf.

Easy mixed sourdough bread

Phase one - the sponge

about 100g wholemeal wheat, or wholemeal spelt or wholemeal rye flour

5 tbsp active starter

about 100g water

Mix all of the above in a plastic bowl, cover with clean cloth  and leave it in room temperature for about 10-16 hours. It should lift little bit and become airy.

 Phase two - the loaf 

about 150g wholemeal wheat, or wholemeal spelt or wholemeal rye flour

about 350g white strong (bread) flour

about 300-350g water (you have to adjust this - different types of flour will require different amount of water)

7-10g salt

optionally - few tbsp of seeds such as linseed, sunflower or pumpkin seeds

Place the flour on a bowl, add the sponge, seeds and about half of the water, then start to mix. When mixing add the remaining water, not all at once - you may have to adjust the amount of water. The dough should be quite flexible, bit sticky, not too dry but not too wet - you should be able to lift it with wet hands and stretch it a bit. When using mixer it should take about 7 minut, by hands - 10 to 12 minutes.

Next turn the mixer off and leave the dough in the bowl, sprinkle with salt and leave to rest for about 10 minutes. Next knead the dough another 3 minutes using mixer, or 5 minutes if using hands. 

Oil the loaf tin with little sunflower (or other neutral oil) and sprinkle with some oat bran - this will help to develop crust and help to remove the loaf from a tin after baking. Remove the dough from a bowl with your wet hands and stretch, then fold like an envelope. Place seal side down in prepared tin. Optionally sprinkle with some more oat bran, cover with clean cloth and leave it for about 8-12 hours in room temperature. (my starter is mature and strong, and on hot day it only needs about 5 hours to rise the dough).

When bread is risen heat the oven to 250 C. Place the tin in oven and immediately spray with some water (I use flower spray). Bake for about 5 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 220 C and bake for further 30 minutes. If the crust is getting too dark cover the loaf with some kitchen foil.

Remove form the oven and leave it to cool down for few minutes, then remove from a tin and leave it to cool down completely - on a wire rack. Tip - you know the bread is ready when it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Enjoy your homemade sourdough loaf!

Naan bread pizza with quail eggs, asparagus & prosciutto

When I don’t have a time to make my own pizza and I fancy some home made stuff I use shop bought naan breads. I have my favourite brand and I often have two breads frozen just in case I need some for mid week supper – with curry, with soup or as a base for kind of pizza. If  I host a dinner with friends and serve Indian food I prefer to make my own naan breads, otherwise I am quite happy to have shop bought once in a while and as an emergency. It only takes about 15 minutes to have this tasty dinner ready – isn’t it perfect for mid week meal? 

You can put anything on the top. Anything. Whatever you fancy, what is in season or what you have left in the fridge.  Today’s recipe is exactly like this:

-         I fancied quail eggs

-         Asparagus is in season

-         We had some leftover cream and some cheddar left in the fridge

This is what I have end up with. Not bad, huh?

Serves 2 

2 naan  breads

2 tbsp double cream  

3 tbsp mature Cheddar, grated  

Some freshly ground nutmeg

8 green asparagus spears, wooden bit removed, halved

4 quail eggs  

4 slices of prosciutto  (Parma ham type)

salt

freshly ground black pepper

few fresh basil leaves, for garnishing (optional)

Heat the oven to 180 C (fan).

Place naan breads onto a baking tray lined with some baking paper. Top with some cream, sprinkle with salt, pepper and some nutmeg, then add the cheddar, asparagus and place in the oven for about 12 minutes.

Next remove from the oven and crack two eggs onto each naan, add little bit more salt and place in the oven for 3 minutes. 

Remove from the oven and top with some shredded Italian ham. Garnish with some fresh basil. Cut into portions and serve immediately.

Onion & sage farinata with peperonata

 

This is one of the recipes I have found in "For the love of Food" by Denis Cotter, one of the most talented vegetarian chefs. I have been looking at some recipes for a long time but only recently I decided to actually make one of them. Some of them are quite complicated, but the dishes look gorgeous. I will try to write a separate post about the book itself some time. 

I read that farinata is Italian street food – a pancake made with chickpea flour with some topping. I have never tried it, so I am would be most happy to read your comments on how the real farinata should be. This is only Denis’ take on this dish. 

I could not find any information how big the pan used for this dish was, so I used my large 28cm pan and doubled the amount of the butter. It came out about 1cm high – so was started in the book with the original quantities, so he must used smaller pan.  

This has very specific favour. Its consistency is similar to polenta, yet it has slightly fermented flavour. You suppose to leave the batter for at least 2 hours, and the longer you will leave it the more sour and yeasty flavour it will get. I left mine for longer than I expected (had to leave home for a while, not planned at all…) so it rested for 18 hours and had very yeasty flavour. It doesn’t bother me, but I can imagine it can put some people off. Next time I will leave it for about 6-8 hours in room temperature.  

It is tasty when warm, but cooled down was still very good; I think this would make lovely finger food when cut into small pieces.  Denis Cotter suggested serving this farinata with peperonata – it was very good indeed! 

 

For farinata

Serves 2-4 

200g gram flour  

about 500ml water

6 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt  

2 large, red onions, peeled, halved and sliced  

6 sage leaves

For peperonata

2 tbsp olive oil

4 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced

2 large red bell peppers, deseeded and sliced into 1cm strips  

20 black olives, pitted, halved

2 tsp salted capers, rinsed thoroughly under running water 

First prepare the batter. Mix the chickpea flour with water until smooth, cover with a cloth and leave it to rest for at least 2 hours. Next remove the froth on the top and add 2 tbsp olive oil and salt. Mix well and heat the oven to 230C. 

Now prepare the peperonata. Heat the pan and add 2 tbsp olive oil. Next add the chilli, garlic and fry for about 1 minute. Add the peppers, capers, olives and reduce the heat. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Heat the frying pan that you can use in the oven and add 2 tbsp olive oil. Next add the onions and fry over a medium heat until soft. Remove from a pan and set aside. Wipe the pan with some paper towel. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil and fry the sage leaves until crispy. Remove from a pan and set aside. Next add the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil to the pan and when it is hot pour the batter into the pan.  Place immediately in hot oven. 

Check the farinata after about 3-4 minutes – the bottom should be firm already. Then add the onion and crush the sage leaves in your fingers on the top. Put back in the oven and bake for about 8-10 minutes, I used frill for last 2 minutes. 

Remove from the oven and accordingly to Denis you should be able to slide this pancake onto a chopping board. Well… This seemed impossible with mine, to I turned this upside down onto a chopping board lined with some paper and then again – upside down onto another chopping board. 

Cut into wedges and serve with some warm peperonata on the side.

Chicken liver parfaits & best brioche ever

This is one of my favourite things - creamy, almost velvety chicken liver parfait made with a cheap ingredient but almost luxurious. This makes quite elegant (tasty for sure) starter or light lunch, and I definitely recommend a slice or two of brioche to go with this. It has ridiculous amount of butter, almost enough to make you teeth slide on this, but without any doubt this is the best brioche I have made. This recipe by Michel Roux was recommended to my by a friend of mine and after making this brioche I will never look back. I have added some semolina, that did not appear in the original recipe, just to line my tin with something - it is not the best quality equipment so I was little bit concerned that the brioche will not come out easily. The parfaits go well with some cocktail gherkins too.  

Chicken liver parfaits 

Serves 6-10

450g chicken livers, trimmed  
150g butter, plus 50g for the top of the parfaits
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
1 shallot, peeled and chopped
leaves picked from 2-3 springs of fresh thyme
splash of brandy
2 tbsp double cream ( I used extra thick, 50.5% of fat)
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
salt
freshly grated black pepper

Heat about 30g of the butter in a large frying pan and gently fry the shallots until soft. Add garlic, thyme leaves (save about tsp for topping the parfait) fry for about one minute or so and turn the heat up.

Add the trimmed livers to the pan with the garlic, shallot and thyme and fry on both sides for about 5 minutes. There should not be any blood coming out. Add the nutmeg, cloves and a splash of brandy. Keep on the heat until the brandy evaporates little bit. Remove from the heat and set aside. Let them cool down little bit.

Next tip the livers into a food processor and whizz to a paste, then whizz in the remaining butter and cream. Push the mixture through a sieve - this is boring, but takes about 2 minutes and it is certainly worth for a really velvety texture. Season well with salt and pepper. Divide the mixture between 6 small ramekins and smooth the surface.

Melt the final 50g butter in a pan and let the milk solids settle to the bottom. Place the remaining thyme leaves in the pan and let it infuse for few minutes. Next making sure you skip the milk solids pour a little butter over each ramekin. Chill to set.

To serve, bring the parfaits up to room temperature and you have to serve it with toasted slice of best brioche ever.

Best Brioche EVER 

makes small bread tin

35 ml lukewarm milk
7.5 g fresh yeast  (or 3.5g dry active or 4g instant)
250g all purpose flour
half tsp salt
3 eggs
175g soft butter
1 tbsp caster sugar

some more butter, for a tin
some semolina
beaten egg, optionally

Place the yeast and the milk in a mixing bowl and leave them for few minutes. Next mix them with the flour , salt and eggs until you have quite firm, elastic dough.

Meanwhile using a hand mixer beat the sugar with the butter and next add spoon by spoon of this buttery cream to the dough and mix all the time on a low speed. When last spoon of butter dis incorporated  mix for a little while on the higher speed, then cover the dough with a clean cloth and leave it to prove. It will take about 2-4 hours in a room temperature however I left it in the cold kitchen overnight. After first proving remove some air bubbles but do not be tempted to do this with a punch like with most breads - this dough is too sticky. Use spatula to remove some air. At this stage the dough can be moulded to the shape you like (individual brioches or one brioche in a tin).

Prepare the tin - butter is and sprinkle with little semolina, then shake the excess of semolina.  Place the dough in the tin and cover with a cling film. Leave it to prove again - I left mine in a fridge for whole day and removed from a fridge for about one hour before baking. It can be kept in a fridge up to 24 hours.

Heat the oven to 180C (fan). Brush with some beaten egg for a shiny finish. At this stage you can make a cut in the brioche to prevent the cracking, I was afraid that it will collapse when I do so, so I skipped cutting and my brioche did not crack too much. Bake until golden and the wooden toothpick comes out of it clean.

Remove from the oven, leave in the tin for few minutes and then remove it from a tin to a wire rack and leave it to cool down completely before slicing. Toast before serving but be careful - due to a high content of butter it burns easily, so watch the toaster.

World Bread Day - Onion, bacon & thyme fougasse

This year, first time I decided to take part in "World Bread Day". For this special occasion I baked French bread that I have done some many times before however never tried the version with meat. I baked fougasse with different herbs and cheese but this time I decided to go for bacon version. I hope that the vegetarians will forgive me this time and bake it omitting the bacon - the onion version must be as delicious. This bacon, onion and thyme fougasse bread traditionally shaped as a leaf is a great treat during this Autumn weekend.

Makes 2 loaves

500g strong white flour
7g sachet fast-action yeast
300ml water
4 tbsp olive oil + 1 for frying + 2 for brushing
1 tsp salt
1 large onion , peeled and finely chopped
3 rashers back bacon, sliced into thin strips or cubed
1 tsp thyme leaves

Mix 250g of the flour with all the yeast and approx 150ml water in a bowl, and beat together into a thick batter for 3 minutes. Leave to rise for about 2 hours. It should fall slightly after this time. Then add the rest of the flour, salt, water and oil, and mix well. When using your hands turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead to a smooth dough. Otherwise use stand mixer. Dough should be quite sticky. Leave it in the bowl to rise for a further 2-3 hours, or like me - overnight in a cool place, covered with cloth.

Next day I fired the onion in the tablespoon of olive oil until soft and slightly browned adding thyme half way trough and placed in a bowl. On the same frying pan fry the bacon until browned, I did not use any extra fat. Set aside to cool down.

Line 2 baking trays with baking parchment. Knock back the dough, then knead to incorporate the onion and bacon - this can be quite tricky as the onions and bacon are covered in fat, however after minute or so they should incorporate into the dough. Divide the dough into 2 pieces, place each onto a baking tray and use a rolling pin to flatten out each piece to about 2cm high, then using your hands shape roughly into a leaf shape. Using a sharp knife cut three diagonal slashes right through the dough down each side and two down the middle to form the shape of a leaf. Brush with olive oil, cover with a piece of cling film, and leave for a further hour to prove.

Heat oven to 210C (fan) and bake the loaves for 15-17 minutes until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

Courgette, prosciutto & black olives pizza

To be quite honest I am extremely happy when I have simple margherita pizza on lovely thin base and made with fresh ingredients. However I also like my seasonal pizzas made with fresh veg that I use in my kitchen at that time. This is ho I created my favourite October and May pizzas. 

I know it June is getting to an end, however the season for courgettes only started and It will last the whole summer, so this also could be called: my favourite summer pizza (well, again as much loved as margherita made with fresh tomato sauce and good quality cheese).

I have made the base for this pizza with wholemeal flour; you can use white strong bread flour. I quite like the texture of wholemeal base and it seems to be healthier than 100% white flour base. The key is to leave the dough to rise in a low temperature and long time – If you haven’t tried it yet I strongly recommend this kind of dough resting in a fridge overnight.

Makes 2 medium pizzas

Base

 

450g strong whole wheat flour (you can use a white one)
level tsp dried yeast
level tsp salt
half tsp sugar
2-3 tbsp olive oil
250-300ml lukewarm water

You can use bread machine to make the dough, stand mixer or your hands. I placed all of the ingredients (dry first, then yeast, then wet ones) in the stand mixer and mixed for about 7 minutes, until the dough was quite flexible and firm. Next leave the dough in an oiled bowl, covered with piece of cling film and leave it in a fridge overnight. 

Next day remove the dough from a fridge, at least an hour before baking and prepare the sauce. 

Sauce

200ml tinned tomatoes, chopped
tbsp olive oil
clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
small onion, peeled and finely chopped
a splash of dry red wine

handful of fresh basil leaves, roughly torn
pinch of sugar
salt
freshly ground black pepper

In a pan fry the onions with some salt and sugar in the olive oil over a low heat until soft. Add garlic and fry for one minute, next add the wine and leave it to evaporate slightly. Add tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and reduce over a low heat until thick. Add some basil, cook for another 3 minutes and liquidise roughly with a hand blender. Set aside and prepare the oven and the dough. 

Heat the oven to 250 C together with pizza stone (if you do not have one, use baking tray or pizza tray) and divide the dough into two. Shape each part with your hands, flatten it little bit and leave it to rest for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile prepare the remaining ingredients.

Topping

1 small courgette

8 slices of Italian prosciutto

Handful black pitted olives

2 x 125g mozzarella 

Slice the courgette thinly, cut the olives in halves, and tear ham and mozzarella into smaller pieces. 

Spread the tomato sauce over each pizza base, top with the remaining ingredients and place in the oven. Bake until base is crispy and the cheese on the top is melted and golden. 

Remove from the oven and leave it to cool down slightly, then cut into portions and garnish with some fresh basil. It is lovely hot or cold, so any leftovers you can happily take with you for the lunch next day.

Courgette & feta bake

I found this recipe one of Polish culinary forums and it was named as a Bulgarian recipe. It is extremely tasty and for lat years I have been baking this every courgette season. Easy to make, the only thing you have to remember about is using fresh herbs. The choice is yours, I made it with dill, mint, basil, parsley and chives, and combinations of any of the above.It suppose taste great when made from grated marrow too.

Tastes great cold or hot, suitable for microwave reheating. For lunch, for snack, even for picnic. Enjoy!

Serves 2-4

4-5 courgettes (zucchini), not too big, cucumber size, coarsely grated, skin on

200g feta cheese, crumbled

2-3 eggs

handful of chopped fresh herbs - this time I used mint and chives

garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped

salt

freshly ground black pepper

about 5 tbsp of semolina

little olive oil

Add some salt to the grated courgettes and leave on a sieve for about 30 minutes, to remove the excess of water. Squeeze every 10 minutes to make sure the veg is quite dry.

Place in a big bowl, mix with all of the ingredients except the oil; use it to oil an ovenproof dish.

Place the courgettes in the oiled ovenproof dish, big enough to keep the bake 3cm height. Bake in the oven preheated to 180 C (fan) for about 40 minutes. Cool down before serving for 5-10 minutes, it will be  much easier to slice.

I like it with Greek tzatziki, but this time I made dill yoghurt dip. 

175g natural Greek yoghurt (I used Total)

handful of fresh chopped dill

1 large garlic clove, peeled and mashed with some salt

little olive oil (optionally)

freshly ground black pepper

Mix all of the above and chill in a fridge for about 30 minutes before serving.

Asparagus, potato & filo pastry tart

It was Sunday and I was getting myself ready for a gym session. I had my TV on and there was an old series of Jamie Oliver (Jamie at home). He was wandering around his perfect garden (just reminding me that our garden would probably win the competition for the ugliest garden in the Dales), full of herbs and veg. Asparagus! So I sat in my chair and wondered what interesting Jamie will make.

He made such incredible and easy to make tart that before I got to the gym I had to go to the shop and buy missing ingredient - filo pastry (that was not my favourite since I tried it once and it did not turned out to be a fabulous meal). When I came back I made this tart immediately probably putting twice as much calories into my body that I managed to burnt, but never mind. Tomorrow is a new day and I can always go to the gym again.

This is recipe after a slight alteration.

Serves 2-4

I used rectangular loose bottom tart tin 35x13x2.5cm

5 sheets of filo pastry (bigger than your baking tin, so it overhangs the edges)

about 30g of butter, melted

about 15 green asparagus spears, wooden bottoms removed

4 medium potatoes

handful of mature cheddar, coarsely grated

about 180ml double cream

1 egg

freshly ground black pepper

freshly ground nutmeg

salt

Peel the potatoes and boil in the salted water until tender. Drain, add cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg and mash. Next add cheddar and egg and mix well. The filling is quite loose.

Meanwhile blanch your asparagus in a separate pan of salted boiling water for 3 minutes, then drain and place in a bowl of cold water. When they cooled down completely, drain again and pat dry.

Heat the oven to 190C (fan). Layer the sheets of filo pastry in the dish, brushing them with melted butter as you go and letting some pastry hang over the edge of the dish. You want to get the pastry five layers thick.

Spread the mashed potato over the filo pastry, level with a spatula, then bring up the sides of the filo and scrunch them together to form a rim for a rustic look. Take the asparagus and line it up across the filling. Brush all over with the remaining melted butter and pop into the oven for around 20 minutes. I use the grill for about 3 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Asparagus, olives & sundried tomatoes loaf

To celebrate last year's asparagus season and our fist picnic after long winter I made these asparagus & cheddar muffins and later using the same basic recipe but swapping cheddar for feta and asparagus for sun dried tomatoes I made these muffins for our picnic. This year I finally decided to make asparagus loaf that I found in "Good Food" two years ago.

It is a shame that I waited so long! I am ready now to pack our picnic basket and go somewhere nice, even this was only rehearsal before our first picnic this year. Again, I am going to experiment with different seasonal ingredients, when asparagus is gone. It seems like an ideal snack if you are planning long journey - it is quite handy to eat it in a car instead of boring sandwiches.

I did not follow the recipe, so this is mine after some alterations.


Makes one small tin, 22x10x5cm

bunch of green asparagus, about 250g, cut into 3 pieces, wooden parts removed
250g self raising flour
few basil leaves, roughly torn
100ml milk
4 small eggs
100ml olive oil
tsp English mustard
handful of black olives, whole, pitted
8 halves of sun dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
salt
freshly ground black pepper
about 60g of mature cheddar, coarsely grated

Heat the oven to 170 C (fan) and line the tin with lightly greased baking paper.

Cook the asparagus in boiling, salted water for 3 minutes, drain, then cool quickly under cold running water to stop them from further cooking and to keep nice colour . Then pat dry.

Mix the eggs with milk, olive oil and mustard.

Mix the flour, basil with salt and pepper in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre, then add the eggs, milk and oil, mixing gently all the time. Beat to make a smooth batter without any dry flour remaining.

Next add most of the asparagus and olives (reserving some to finish off the top), sun dried tomatoes and half of the grated cheese. Mix gently.

Pour the mixture into the tin, then put the reserved asparagus and olives on top. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Bake for 40 minutes until it feels firm to the touch and is golden and crusty on top. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out and cool on a wire rack.

This loaf is moist, delicious hot or cold. It is perfect snack to complement clear soups such as beetroot soup or nice broth. Next time I will try to use spelt flour instead, as it has nice nutty flavour.

I fight my demons, vol. 3

Do you remember?
I fight my demons, vol. 1 - real beef stock
I fight my demons, vol.2 - homemade pasta

Now the time has come for the choux pastry. I have to admit that I was probably looking for an excuse and complaining that I do not have the piping bag and be unable to shape a proper eclair. I was dreaming about making my own chocolate eclairs with fresh cream and one day our postman came and had a parcel for me. My friend from Dublin, who happens to be a great pastry maker could not listen my excuses anymore so he had send me a piping bag with a nozzle. I did not have much choice - I had to make my own choux pastry, however last weekend I needed something savoury rather than sweet so I have made savoury, seasonal filling with asparagus.

I am not longer afraid of choux pastry! It will not be long until you will see me making the croquembouche!

Roasted asparagus cream cheese filled profiteroles

Makes about 30 small profiteroles

Filling:

20 decent green asparagus spears, tough ends removed
drizzle of olive oil
400g natural cream cheese such as Philadelphia
few basil leaves
whole lemon zest
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Place the asparagus on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast in 180 C for about 12 minutes. Remove from the oven, leave it to cool down and place in the food processor together with juices from roasting. Add lemon zest, cheese and whiz - I like when I still can taste pieces of asparagus, so I do not make it very smooth. Season with salt and pepper and leave it in a fridge to cool down and set little bit.

Choux pastry:

150g plain flour
100g unsalted butter
125ml milk
125ml water
half tsp salt
4 medium eggs

Combine the milk, sugar, salt and diced butter in a large heavy based saucepan. Heat gently and stir until the butter has melted and it starts to boil. Sprinkle the flour all over the milk and quickly using wooden spoon or rolling pin mix the flour into the liquid ingredients, still keeping the pan over the heat. When combined beat the ingredients together vigorously for few minutes. The paste is ready when it clumps together in a smooth ball and comes away cleanly from the sides of the pan. Then leave it to cool down.

Beat one by one egg into a dough, making sure the egg is beaten into a dough completely before you add the next one. Dough should be quite shiny.

Fit a piping bag with a nozzle and spoon the choux pastry mixture into the bag. Pipe small balls onto a baking tray lined with baking paper making sure you have plenty space between them - they will puff quite a lot.

Bake in batches, in 200 C for about 20 minutes, until golden brown and crisp. Remove from the oven and leave them to cool down on a wire rack.

Fit a piping bag with a nozzle and spoon the filling into the bag. Pipe filling into each profiterole. I did not have too much experience so did not know how much filling to pipe into the profiteroles, so some of the filling actually came out. I have arranged them on the plate and decorated with small mint leaves before serving. (basil leaves were too big).

Homemade oatcakes & Champion cheese 2010

At last I had the opportunity to try the World Cheese Awards Champion Cheese 2010. During the BBC Good Food Show in Birmingham in November last year over 200 judges from 19 different countries judged more than 2,500 cheeses from 29 countries during the morning session (I wish I could have this job!). These were whittled down to 47 super gold award winning cheeses by the afternoon session. The Supreme Panel, made up of 15 experts from 11 countries, each chose their favourite cheese to go forward to the final judging. Cornish Blue from the Cornish Cheese Company, was finally crowned the World Champion Cheese.

I ordered 200g Cornish Blue pot, as it was a present for my partner. Next time definitely will go for at least 0.5kg! Pot is beautiful, so the gift is well presented and worth its price. This delicious cheese was pressed into a special collectors' edition 'Cornish Ware' ceramic pot and hidden under red wax. After the cheese feast this pot can have a second life – it is too pretty to be discarded. Those interested in this lovely blue and white stripe ware called Cornish Blue should visit manufacturer’s website.

I have tasted many different cheeses before but none of them was so delicious. Exactly up to my taste! Handmade, matured 12-14 weeks, very delicate, yet slightly bitter. Its consistency is very interesting nearly fluffy, yet creamy. It is slightly sour, but sweet, smells lovely – apple like.

If you will have opportunity to taste it – go ahead! You will not regret it. This cheese made me realised how little I know about cheese and I should try more and more different ones.

This is all about the cheese and now about the oatcakes. I though that great cheese deserves good homemade oatcakes. I wanted to make them more savoury than neutral. So I search though the internet and this recipe is a compilation of few that I have found. They are not as crunchy as shop bought I will try to make them thinner or bake longer next time.


Makes about 20

225g medium oatmeal + extra for dusting
1/2 tsp celery salt
some roughly crushed black pepper
1 tbsp melted butter
about 150ml lukewarm water


Heat the oven to 160 C (fan).

Place all of the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Make well in the centre of this mix and add water mixed with butter. Use a palette knife to mix everything together. The mixture will be initially a bit wet, but then will gradually absorb all the liquid to give a soft dough ball.

Lightly dust a work surface with oatmeal. Tip out the dough and roll out to about 3-4 mm thickness. Use a round cutter to cut out the oatcakes or use any shape cutter you have. Re-make the dough using any trimmings and continue to rolling out and cutting out the oatcakes.

Place the oatcakes on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake for about 20 minutes, carefully turning the oatcakes every 5 minutes. (This should stop them from going stodgy). Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Store in airtight contained, up to 5 days.

THANK YOU! Five or less ingredients #5

First of all I would like to thank you all who voted for my recipe in Best Cabbage Recipe competition. My cabbage & mushrooms pasties won and I have £200 to spend in any UK restaurant of my choice. I decided to dine at The Kitchin, awarded one Michelin star in 2007. Currently I am awaiting a confirmation as the when I can book a table. I do not know if I have to say how happy I am; again I would love to thank you all - you have gave me a perfect gift for my upcoming birthday. Obviously I will write about the whole experience on my blog.

***

Previously in this series:

#1 Series rules and pork stir fry in caramel sauce

#2 Salmon baked with fennel and black olives

#3 Tagliatelle with courgettes & sun blushed tomatoes

#4 Avocado & blue cheese bites



Today we are back to Five or less ingredients series. Accordingly to series rules (that you can find in the first post of this series) I have excluded salt and pepper from the list of ingredients. I have seen similar recipe in one of the recent Good Food magazine, however I did not have all of the ingredients and I realised that tart that I have made actually fits in this series. You can fit 4 eggs in, I made it with 2 and served 2, for lunch.


Spinach and egg tart

serves 2-4

400g fresh spinach, roughly chopped
2 tsp olive oil (I used garlic infused)
some freshly grated nutmeg
375 rolled puff pastry
2-4 eggs
salt
freshly ground black pepper


Heat the oven to 180 C (fan).

Place the rolled puff pastry on a baking tray lined with baking paper and fold it's edges onto itself making a kind of overlap, about 1.5cm wide. Cover the edges with pieces of kitchen foil and pierce middle of the pastry with fork few times. Place in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes.

Fry the spinach in the oil until wilted. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Remove the pastry from the oven, uncover the edges and beat the middle with a wooden spoon if it puffed too much. Transfer the spinach onto the pastry leaving some space for eggs. Crack one egg in each space, season with salt, pepper and bake for about 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven, divide into portions and serve immediately.

Cabbage & mushroom pasties

Few weeks ago I have received an invitation to join a competition for Best Cabbage Recipe and I thought I will just ignore it. The prize is very tempting, but at that time I did not feel like cooking a cabbage dish at all.

Last week I had this light bulb moment when I saw Polish sauerkraut in Tesco, something that I do not eat very often. I love the taste of it; however it is not widely available where I live. I had this overwhelming feeling that I have to buy it and cook it as soon as possible. Also we had an appetite for traditional Polish beetroot soup (clear version, not with chunky vegetables, like this one), and we had this homemade sour vegetable juice in the fridge which is a perfect addition to beetroot soup and it makes it more interesting.

Therefore I have made those lovely pasties (not the nipples covers though!) filled with mix of green cabbage, sauerkraut and wild mushrooms. Something very Polish, very exciting and easy to turn into a version for meat lovers by adding some fried, cubed, smoked bacon (pancetta is perfect). You can have it as a snack, or perhaps a starter, traditionally it is served with clear hot soups such as beetroot soup or clear broth. We had lots of them for a dinner; we love them so much, we did not need anything else but a cup of hot beetroot soup.

I did not want to accept the competition invitation first, but then realised that who would cook cabbage better than Polish girl?

Hope you enjoy it! If you would like to vote for this or other recipes, please click HERE.




Makes 10-15


For the dough:

250g strong white bread flour
150g rye flour
7g dry yeast
about 250ml lukewarm milk (or more/less, depends on flour)
1 egg
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp melted butter



For the filling:

about 300g sauerkraut, drained and roughly chopped (you can buy it in any Central or Eastern Europe delicatessen)
1/2 small white cabbage, chopped
handful of dried wild mushrooms, soaked, drained and roughly chopped
1 onion, peeled and diced
large garlic clove, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp tomato pure
salt
freshly ground black pepper
few drops of lemon juice (or more to your taste)
pinch of sugar
2 bay leaves
few whole all spice



To finish off:

1 egg, beaten
some black onion seeds
some fennel seeds



First prepare the filling: boil the cabbage and the sauerkraut separately in salted water, with some allspice and bay leaves, until soft. Drain and mix together in one pan.

Fry the onion and mushrooms in a pan in the mixture of butter and oil until soft. Next add the garlic and fry for another minute. Add the garlic, onions and mushrooms to the cabbage, add the tomato pure and mix well. Season with the salt, pepper, some sugar and lemon juice accordingly to your taste.

I prepared the filling day ahead and reheated it 2-3 times, so all the excess of moisture evaporated and the flavours matured.

Next prepare the dough. I used bread machine. Put all of the ingredients in the bread machine and use “dough” programme. If using your hands mix all the wet ingredients and add to the mixed dry ingredients and start to mix the dough and knead it for about 10 minutes, until firm and elastic. Then place the dough in a bowl, cover and leave it in warm place until doubled in size.

When dough is ready, punch all the air out and roll on lightly floured surface, until about 2mm thick. Then cut the squares (length of the edge about 15cm), and place some filling on one half of each, making sure you have some dough left on the edges to seal. Brush the edges with little water. Cover with time remaining half, overlapping the half with filling. Press the edges tightly. To make the edges look nice use the top of the knife blade and press it to the edges lightly.

Place the pasties on a baking tray lined with some baking paper, cover with clean kitchen towel and leave them for about 1.5 hour. They will rest and puff slightly.

Heat the oven to 180 C. Brush the pasties with beaten egg, sprinkle half with onion seeds and rest with the fennel seeds (it helps to digest the cabbage). Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until golden and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Serve hot or cold. These are suitable to reheat in a microwave.

Fennel & squash tart Tatin & review

Thanks to CSN Stores I had the opportunity to test Le Creuset tart Tatin dish. I do not think there is need to tell you how good this range is, so I will keep my review short.

This 25cm, 4cm deep cast iron, heavy based dish came with a booklet informing that it is suitable to use on the hobs, gas ovens, electric, fan etc. Also it contains few interesting recipes, not for Tatin tarts only and use and care instruction in six different languages.

What I love about this dish (except from stunning look - I love "volcanic" line) is the position of the handles. They are set lower than the top pf the dish so it is much easier to turn the dish upside down and flip the contents over. It was not that comforting when using an ordinary pan for making tart Tatin.

After use it is easy to clean, dishwasher safe. I am sure you can use it for other dishes and I am certainly going to do it in the future (roasting potatoes? making gratin? you name it!). Worth it's price, will last for ages. Definite must have for all tart Tatin lovers.




Today I am going to show you another tart Tatin, but again - not a classic one. Again it is going to be veg Tatin and this is my absolutely number one when butternut squash in season. It is quite controversial - people either love it or hate it. It is vegetable although quite sweet and it has this specific star anise flavour thanks to a fennel. I have to admit I couldn't stand the stuff till I was in my twenties and I "blame" the fennel for loving or heating this tart. I love it.

Recipe inspired by "Vegetarian Christmas" by Good Food magazine, December 2008 issue.


Makes one 25cm tart

piece of butternut squash, cut into few long strips (it is important to cut them so they can fit into dish, arranged into a flower like shape)
fennel bulb, sliced
2 garlic cloves, unpeeled
tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
small handful of dried cranberries
ready rolled puff pastry, big enough to cover the dish
salt (I used thyme & lemon peel salt)
black pepper
tbsp freshly grated parmesan
fresh thyme to decorate would be ideal I forgot to buy it, so used fresh mint instead

Heat the oven to 180C.

Place the squash, fennel and garlic on a baking tray lined with some baking paper, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile place the tart dish on the hob and add sugar with about 30ml of water. Leave it to boil, do not stir. When it starts to bubble and changes the colour to golden remove from the hob add vinegar and stir thoroughly.

Remove the veg from the oven and turn the temperature up to 200C.

Arrange alternately the fennel and squash into flower like shape. Squeeze the garlic out of its skins and chop roughly. Arrange onto the veg. Place some cranberries in the spaces between veg. Sprinkle with parmesan and cover with the puff pastry. Gently push the edges down to the dish. Prick the top of the pastry with a fork few times so the steam can easily go out.

Place in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and leave it to rest for few minutes. Place a big plate on the dish and turn up side down. Do not worry if anything stocks to the dish, as the caramel is quite sticky. Gently remove it from the dish and place on the tart.

Decorate with few fresh thyme springs (instead there is a mint on my picture). Serve hot or cold.

Interested in up side down tarts? Click here for my other Tatin recipe.

Squash, rosemary & goats' cheese pizza

When the asparagus was in season I showed you the only right May pizza. I like to top my pizza with seasonal ingredients so this month I have to show you something which is typically October thing – butternut squash. In the summer I like to have a decent tomato sauce, herbs and mozzarella nothing else, but when it is getting colder and darker I need bit of sunshine on my plate and something more filling.

Therefore this is recipe which I love in autumn. I have found similar in Good Food magazine years ago, but this is different. I made it my own by putting some extra ingredients and effort by making my own rosemary pizza base. You cannot beat it when is dark and miserable outside. This is what I call the comfort food.



Makes 2 medium pizzas

For the base

400g white strong bread flour
7g dried yeast
1 level tsp salt
half tsp sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
200-250ml lukewarm water

Place all of the above in bread maker and use the program “dough” or “pizza”. If you do not have one, place flour in a bowl and mix with other ingredients then make the dough using your hands until you have a ball. Leave it covered in the bowl until doubles in size. This dough is great to keep in a fridge, it will rise slowly and be even better, so you can prepare it day ahead or in the morning and only remove it from the fridge to bring to the room temperature – about 1 hour before baking.

For the sauce

200ml tinned tomatoes, liquidised with hand blender until smooth
tbsp olive oil
clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
small onion, peeled and finely chopped
a splash of dry red wine
pinch of sugar
salt
freshly ground black pepper

In a pan fry the onions with some salt and sugar in the olive oil over a low heat until soft. Add garlic and fry for one minute, next add the wine and leave it to evaporate slightly. Add tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and reduce over a low heat until thick. Set aside and prepare

Topping

half medium butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and diced into 1-1.5cm pieces
tbsp olive oil
pinch cayenne
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
100g hard goats’ cheese, coarsely grated
3-4 tbsp pine nuts

Preheat the oven to 180C and you can place a pizza stone in it already – of you are using one.

Place the butternut squash onto a baking tray lined with baking paper, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt, pepper and cayenne. Roast until al dente. Remove from the oven and turn the temperature up to 250C.

Divide the dough into 2, place on lightly floured surface and shape each round. Leave it to rest for about 10 minutes.

Spread the sauce onto each pizza base, top with roasted squash, sprinkle with cheese, rosemary and pine nuts and place onto hot pizza stone. Bake until risen, golden and cheese is nicely melted.