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| July 09 Recipes |
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Neapolitan Pizza For the pizza dough 400g/14oz strong plain flour 100g/3 ½ oz semolina flour (available e.g. from health food shops) 2 tsp salt 1 x 7g packet of dried yeast 325ml/11fl oz lukewarm water Some semolina for sprinkling Put the two flours and the salt into a large bowl, add the yeast to the water, mix and leave for a few minutes. Make a well in the middle of the flour and pour in the water. Using a fork gradually combine the flour with the water until you have a stiff dough. Shape the dough into a large ball, cover with a cloth and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Knead the dough for 10 minutes until it’s smooth and elastic. You’ll need extra flour on your worktop for this. Divide the dough into two balls, sprinkle a baking sheet with flour and place them on it. Cover with a cloth and leave to rise in a warm place for thirty minutes. I usually put mine in the hot press. Preheat your oven to its highest setting. Sprinkle your worktop with some flour and place the dough on it, flatten with the palm of your hand and stretch as thin as you can without tearing, allow the edges to be thicker, repeat with the other ball of dough. Once again sprinkle the baking trays with flour and place the pizza bases on them. For the topping 1 400g tin of cherry tomatoes, drained 2 tblsp olive oil 25g/1oz Parmesan cheese, finely grated Fresh basil or dried oregano 1 ball of fresh mozzarella, roughly chopped Salt and pepper & a pinch of sugar Crush the tomatoes with a fork, season with the salt, pepper and sugar and set aside. When the bases are ready, spread a little of the tomato sauce on the base, drizzle with a little olive oil, sprinkle with parmesan, top with your choice of fresh herbs and the fresh mozzarella. Place in the preheated oven for 7 minutes or a little longer if necessary. You could also use the tomato and basil sauce recipe that I gave you in February. A lot of people think risotto is extremely difficult and it really isn’t. The trick is to have your stock hot and to ensure each ladle of stock is absorbed before adding the next one or else you’ll end up with rice pudding! This is a really quick mid-week meal, hugely popular with children and adults alike. Serves 2 1 medium onion finely chopped A thick slice of butter ½ glass of white wine 1 tblsp fresh thyme 2 large field mushrooms finely chopped or 4 button mushrooms per person 250g Arborio rice 1 litre of vegetable or chicken stock (2 cubes) 100g crème fraiche 1 tblsp parsley 1 tblsp grated Parmesan Heat your stock in a separate saucepan, keep to a simmer. Gently sauté the onion and mushrooms in the butter over a medium heat. Don’t allow the onion to colour. When transparent add the white wine and thyme. Reduce the white wine by half and add in the rice. Ensure that the rice is thoroughly coated in the butter then add the first ladle of stock.Stir until the rice has absorbed the liquid then add the next ladle. Have patience with this stage as it is crucial to the risotto. Once all the liquid has been added and absorbed, stir in the crème fraiche and parsley and leave for five minutes. Season to taste and stir through the grated Parmesan before serving. |