Just Like Bruno Used to Make....

Pizza is something we indulge in roughly once a fortnight. We all love it. Although we still eat it at the table, it is a less formal meal than usual. No cutlery or napkins, just kitchen roll and the pizza slicer; no tablecloth or tablemats, just our plates the board that the pizza sits on; no water jugs or expensive carefully matched bottles of wine, just a cold Peroni each and of course some juice for M.

Of course, we all have our own favourite topping too - spinach and olives for M; mushrooms, red onion and chilli oil for L and more often than not, four cheeses for me. Each and everytime we have pizza, I make it from scratch. At around four o'clock, you'll find me in the kitchen and a dining chair at my side with my little helper on tiptoes trying to pour the flours into the kitchenaid bowl and stirring the yeast into the warm water. She is the second generation of Hereford-based pizza makers in the Pavi Degl'Innocenti family and already takes the preparation just as seriously as the eating. Though she is not prehaps old enough to understand that its not necessary to eat the preparation before it is cooked.

Nonno Bruno is of course the first generation and is famous throughout Hereford. 16 years as the face of Ristorante Pizzeria Firenze, you know before he speaks that he is Italian and that he takes his food very seriously. A large part of his repertoire is exactly how 'mamma used to make it', although he can definitely claim pizza as his own.

Imagine sitting in the pizzeria with its green walls and informal lively atmosphere watching those famous hands form your dough base and then scatter on your toppings. Children used to clamber up to the marble worktop to get a closer look and sometimes a piece of dough to knead for themselves.

Firenze days are ones that we all treasure, and it shows in the number of people we meet in town who pull us to one side just to ask how Bruno is.

For those of you who ever dined at Firenze, remember this, Bruno's signature pizza, the 'Firenze'? Hand stretched bread dough with tomato, gorgonzola piccante, artichoke hearts, chilli and garlic. Next time you have pizza, try this one, it will become your usual.

Bruno's Firenze Pizza (makes 3 8'' pizze)

Ingredients

For the dough

300ml lukewarm water

7g sachet dried yeast

250g wholegrain spelt flour

250g strong bread flour

1tsp salt

1tbsp olive oil

For the chilli oil

vegetable oil

dried chilli flakes

For the topping

up to 6 tbsp tomato passata

1 400g can artichoke hearts in water, drained

250g gorgonzola, piccante if possible

homemade chilli oil

6 cloves garlic

Method
For the chilli oil
Mix together some vegetable oil and chilli flakes in a jar. Do this to your own tastes, put the lid on and give it a good shake. Keep in a cool dark place for 2 months and use as you please.
For the dough
Mix the flours and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the middle using the back of a spoon.

Dissolve the yeast in the water and leave for five minutes to foam a little.
Pour this into the well along with the olive oil and combine until a dough has formed. Knead for 5 minutes in a free standing mixer until the dough is silky and elastic.
Cover with a tea towel and leave to rise for two hours until doubled in a warm place
Preheat the oven to as high a temperature as it will go - gas mark 9/250C.
On a well floured surface, divide the dough into three and roll out each dough ball to 7'' - 8'' onto three lightly greased baking sheets and transfer them over using the rolling pin to help.
To top
Spoon up to 2 tbsp of the passata into the centre of each base and using the back of the spoon, circle the passata around the base until it has covered all but the outer inch of the dough.
Crumble the gorgonzola piccante amongst the pizze and pull apart the artichokes before scattering the leaves onto the top.
Sprinkle with chilli oil to your taste and crush the garlic cloves evenly over the pizze.
Place into the oven for about 10 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and the vegetables are golden on their edges.
Eat immediately, washed down with Peroni or any other Italian lager.

Mets la Main a la Pate!

The March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake.

I'd never heard of this type of cake until this challenge. It was a great recipe and one I'd urge you to try - very versatile and surprisingly simple to make.

I decided to have a go at two fillings - a red pesto, aubergine and mozzarella one, and a lightly spiced chocolate and blood orange one. Both were delicious, but I think I prefered our savoury option, which we enjoyed warm from the oven with a simple salad. We took the chocolate cake to L's cousin, who we were visiting that weekend and in our haste to eat it for breakfast, I forgot to take some photos, so you'll just have to imagine the pieces of orange glistening between the swirls of the dough and the chocolate.

 

FILLED MERINGUE COFFEE CAKE

Makes 2 round coffee cakes, each approximately 10 inches in diameter

The recipe can easily be halved to make one round coffee cake. I made two batches of this - one sugar free for savory versions of the cake.

Ingredients

For the yeast coffee cake dough:

600g flour

55g sugar

¾ teaspoon salt

1 package (2 ¼ teaspoons / 7 g) active dried yeast

180ml whole milk

60ml water

135g unsalted butter at room temperature

2 large eggs at room temperature

For the meringue:

3 large egg whites at room temperature

¼ teaspoon salt

For the filling:

Savoury version:

1/2 aubergine, sliced and fried in olive oil

3 tbsp red pesto

150g mozzarella

handful sliced olives

Sweet version:

150g Maya Gold Green and Blacks chocolate

1 blood orange, zested, juiced, peeled and thinly sliced

Egg wash

1 beaten egg

Directions

Prepare the dough:

In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 ½ cups (230 g) of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast.

In a saucepan, combine the milk, water and butter and heat over medium heat until warm and the butter is just melted.

With an electric mixer on low speed, gradually add the warm liquid to the flour/yeast mixture, beating until well blended. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes. Add the eggs and 1 cup (150 g) flour and beat for 2 more minutes.

Using a wooden spoon, stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a dough that holds together. Turn out onto a floured surface (use any of the 1 ½ cups of flour remaining) and knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is soft, smooth, sexy and elastic, keeping the work surface floured and adding extra flour as needed.

Place the dough in a lightly greased (I use vegetable oil) bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise until double in bulk, 45 – 60 minutes. The rising time will depend on the type of yeast you use.

Prepare your filling:

In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar for the filling if using. You can add the chopped nuts to this if you like, but I find it easier to sprinkle on both the nuts and the chocolate separately.

Once the dough has doubled, make the meringue:

In a clean mixing bowl – ideally a plastic or metal bowl so the egg whites adhere to the side (they slip on glass) and you don’t end up with liquid remaining in the bottom – beat the egg whites with the salt, first on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high and continue beating until foamy and opaque. Add the vanilla then start adding the ½ cup sugar, a tablespoon at a time as you beat, until very stiff, glossy peaks form. If making a savoury version, just omit the sugar - it wont make much difference to the meringue itself.

Assemble the Coffee Cakes:

Line 2 baking/cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Punch down the dough and divide in half. On a lightly floured surface, working one piece of the dough at a time (keep the other half of the dough wrapped in plastic), roll out the dough into a 20 x 10-inch (about 51 x 25 ½ cm) rectangle. Spread half of the meringue evenly over the rectangle up to about 1/2-inch (3/4 cm) from the edges. Sprinkle and spread your filling of choice evenly over the meringue.

Now, roll up the dough jellyroll style, from the long side. Pinch the seam closed to seal. Very carefully transfer the filled log to one of the lined cookie sheets, seam side down. Bring the ends of the log around and seal the ends together, forming a ring, tucking one end into the other and pinching to seal.

Using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife (although scissors are easier), make cuts along the outside edge at 1-inch (2 ½ cm) intervals. Make them as shallow or as deep as desired but don’t be afraid to cut deep into the ring.

Repeat with the remaining dough, meringue and fillings.

Cover the 2 coffee cakes with plastic wrap and allow them to rise again for 45 to 60 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

Brush the tops of the coffee cakes with the egg wash. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until risen and golden brown. The dough should sound hollow when tapped.

Remove from the oven and slide the parchment paper off the cookie sheets onto the table. Very gently loosen the coffee cakes from the paper with a large spatula and carefully slide the cakes off onto cooling racks. Allow to cool.

These are best eaten fresh, the same day or the next day.

Italian Classics : Minestrone

After a weekend heavy on entertaining, wine and cheese, L and I both felt the need for a simple meal. We always have all the ingredients in the fridge and cupboard for a basic minestone. Three bowls of this and at least 3 of our recommended five-a-day later, our desires were completely fulfilled and our bodies refuelled in the most healthy way I know.

Minestrone is one of the most fundemental dishes in Italian cooking, yet so easy to get wrong. For me, simplicity is key - the best quality ingredients you can afford and not too many of them. I want to taste each vegetable in each spoon. The most important thing however, is the stock you add to the soup. It's got to be vegetable stock and it has to be absolutely exceptional. Marigold Swiss vegetable bouillon vegan stock powder - the reduced salt version, is the stock of choice in this house. My secret ingredient? A small bay leaf and a tiny bunch of sage freshly picked to boost all the flavours and provide their own distinct scent.

Oh, and another thing. Although I have always suspected that I go to sleep thinking about food, we had confirmation of this the evening after we ate this. M woke up unhappily in the night and we decided to bring her into bed with us. She refused to settle and in my dreamy state I mumbled to L:

'Would you please go and get her minestrone?'

'Huh?'

'Go and get her tomato.'

'What?'

'Her bottle. I think she'd like some milk...... Oh dear, I think I need to go back to sleep.'

And I rolled over, bringing M closer to my chest.

Sure enough, when L returned, M and I were fast asleep in each others arms. No need for  a bottle.

Of milk, tomato or minestrone.

Minestrone

Ingredients

3tbsp olive oil

1 onion

3 cloves garlic

2 medium potatoes

2 medium carrots

8 outer leaves savoy cabbage

1 410g tin haricot beans, drained

1 courgette

150g frozen french beans

2l hot vegetable stock

1 small bay leaf

1 small branch sage - about 3 leaves

salt and pepper to season

Method

Warm the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat and roughly chop the onion. Fry until transparent, stirring frequently.

Slice the garlic cloves into pieces 2mm thick and add to the onions. Fry for a further three minutes.

Peel the potatoes and carrots and chop into 1cm cubes. Add both to the onions and stir to coat in the oniony oil. Add the bay and sage and stir again.

Pour over the hot vegetable stock, stir and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 10minutes until the vegetables are beginning to soften.

In the meantime, chop the courgettes into 1cm cubes.

Remove and discard the tough stalks from the cabbage leaves and chop the leaves into pieces no large than 2cm.

Add the courgette, cabbage, haricot and french beans and cook for a further 5 minutes until all the vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper.

Leave the soup to rest for five - ten minutes before you serve it so that it is warm, rather than hot and all the flavours have had one final chance to mingle.

New Beginnings

March. Our new favourite month in our wonderful new house. Did I say house? I meant home. It is already a home to all three of us. Only four boxes sit untouched in the study waiting to be unpacked. M has taken to the new house like a duck to water, which is just as well really, considering we are only a few minutes walk from the duckpond, her new favourite haunt.


Curtains are up, books are on their shelves and pictures hang proudly on the walls.
You know I'm not kidding when I confess that the kitchen was the first room to be unpacked. I've at last got an eye level oven with glass doors. But if anything I've been watching the contents of the oven more than ever. M likes to pull a chair through from the dining room and clamber up to watch me cook.


L is enjoying building fires on our new multifuel burner and sitting with his book in his chair. The cat has already found some spots warmed by sunbeams to spend her lazy afternoons.


We are all happy here.

Plenty of friends have appeared on our new front door, eager to see the house that almost got away from us. We are more than happy to show them around and this weekend, for anyone who popped over, a cup of tea and a slice of some Irish Tea Bread were included as post-tour refreshments.

Irish Tea Bread (adapted from Delia Smith's How to Cook Book One)

Ingredients
250g raisins
225g currants
225g sultanas
150g demerara sugar
100g soft light brown sugar
275g hot Lady Grey Tea made using two teabags
100g pecan nuts
1 large egg at room temperature, beaten with 2tbsp water
400g self raising flour
50g wholegrain spelt flour

Method
Begin this the evening before by placing all the fruits, including the candied peel, in a bowl, then dissolve the sugar in the hot tea, pour this over the fruits, cover the bowl and leave it overnight so the fruits become plump and juicy.
The next day, pre-heat the oven to gas mark 3, 325°F (170°C), then place the nuts on a baking sheet and pop them into the oven for 5 minutes (use a timer, as they burn easily). Then, when they're cool, roughly chop them.
Line two 1lb loaf tins with greaseproof paper.
Next, add the beaten egg mixture to the bowl containing the fruits.
Then sift in the flours, add the toasted nuts and give everything a really good mixing.
Now divide the mixture between the prepared loaf tins and bake them in the centre of the oven for 1¼-1½ hours, until they feel springy in the centre.
Then straight away, loosen them with a palette knife and turn them out on to a wire rack to cool. Then have patience – it won't be long before you can taste some.
This tea bread lasted four days and was brilliant spread with lots of unsalted butter.

The News We Have Waited Six Months For

Last Friday we found ourselves smiling, shouting and almost jumping for joy when our solicitor called and said "We've exchanged, you'll be moving next Monday!"

Overjoyed is not the word. This house sale has been six irritating months in the making and we have pestered those acting on our behalf, considered trashing the house for the next owners and almost cried ourselves to sleep when we discovered that yet another moving date was postponed because the other parties involved were not acting as fast as we would have liked.

We have entertained, lived and loved among these walls as much as we could.

We are moving from a Victorian terrace to a Victorian semi detatched cottage with the extra space we craved and a beautifully established garden. We are looking forward to a glut of eight types of summer and autumn fruits and long summer evenings spent amongst the fragrant herbs already established. We are so eager to get into the house that we have already done a lot of packing and are picturing where all the furniture will go. Little diagrams illustrating where all the kitchen equipment might go litter the dining table. We have chatted about paint to go on the walls and the possibility of a few changes to the house.

It has a new kitchen that is only slightly bigger than our current one but has a huge window and seems so light and airy. L has already started planning a house warming for once the boxes are unpacked.

There are some very busy and exciting times ahead for the three of us. We know it's going to be stressful and a bit mad for a couple of weeks, and so this will be my last post for a fortnight or so.

I'm busy trying to empty the freezer and found some puff pastry lurking at the back. All three of us seem to be tomato mad at the moment, so plenty of ripe ones had to match it somehow. A few days before I threw the words 'tarte tatin' into a conversation with L at the dinner table who confessed he'd never tried one. Okay, okay. I know this is not a traditional one with apples and a beautiful sticky caramel sauce oozing around them, but it's a start and L and M both loved it.

Tomato Tarte Tatin

Ingredients

500g ready-made puff pastry
40 cherry tomatoes

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

pinch sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp runny honey

plain flour, for dusting

1 free-range egg, lightly beaten

small bunch fresh basil

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Method

Preheat the oven to gas mark 5.

Pack the tomatoes tightly into a 20cm/8in ovenproof frying pan or cake tin with the olive oil, salt and pepper and drizzle over the honey.

On a well-floured work surface, roll out a circle of puff pastry the same size as the top of the frying pan. Place the puff pastry over the tomatoes, tucking it around them so the tomatoes are encased.

Brush the top of the pastry with the lightly beaten egg.

Bake in the oven for 35 - 40 minutes, until the puff pastry is well puffed and golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to sit for a few minutes, then carefully tip away the excess liquid and put a large plate upside down on top of the frying pan. Using oven gloves, press the plate down hard and then quickly flip the whole thing so the frying pan is upside down and the plate is on the bottom.

Remove the frying pan. Once the tart is cold, rip up some basil leaves and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Bread for Life

Bread making seems to have become an unintentionally fulfilled new years resolution. I have made a variety at least once a week since 2011 began.

It's one of those things I always promise to make more but never seem to commit to properly. We eat so much bread, probably too much, but having it by the side of your plate at most meals to mop up sauces or salad dressings seems to be an integral part of the Italian side of the family.

Lately, we have had pizza (or course), three seed and oat soda bread, basic loafs and rolls. I ran out of yeast and flour within a few weeks and so enjoyed a little trip to the wholefoods shop to restock the cupboard with umpteen different varieties of flour and have my eye on a few more.
I am particularly itching to try Kamut flour, a wholegrain bread flour grown by the pharoahs of ancient Egypt, that is also great for making your own pasta. Being a bit of an ancient Egypt fanatic, to me there's something very magical in indulging in the same basic grain the great Kings once wore their teeth down on. I'd love to hear if anyone has used it before.
Kamut is a little pricey, so it will have to wait for another time. Wholegrain spelt flour however, seems to be very in vogue at the moment and is quite a bit cheaper too. I've used it with great success in sweet and savoury crumbles, pastry and cakes. For me though, bread is where it really seems to shine. It adds a nutty taste, even when, as below, a recipe doesn't use it as the main ingredient.

While I try to wean Leo on to brown bread, I use a 1:1 ratio of white bread flour to wholegrain spelt flour. He can tell by the doughs colour that I've been messing around with a recipe again (somehow a stray fennel, parsnip, jerusalem artichoke or swede often ends up in his meal, much to his disgust but he eats it anyway to set a good example for M and to make me happy), but this is one variation he seems to enjoy - especially with a good lump of creamy salted butter to pour all over it.
We ate these with a hot batch of homemade lemony chickpea burgers and all the trimmings. Delish!

Seeded Wholegrain Spelt Bread Rolls (makes 8)

Ingredients
1 7g sachet dried active yeast
300ml lukewarm water
1tbsp olive oil
250g strong white bread flour
250g wholegrain spelt flour
1tsp salt
100g mixed seeds

Method
Stir the packet of yeast into the warm water and leave for 10 minutes until the yeast is visibly foaming and creamy.
Measure out the flours and seeds and salt into a large mixing bowl and give it all a quick stir. 
When the yeast mixture is ready, pour it and the oil into the flours and stir to form a dough. 
When the dough has come together, gently knead by hand for 8 minutes, or for 4 minutes using the dough hook in a freestanding mixer. It is ready when it is silky smooth, elastic and bounces back when you push a finger into the dough.
Place in a large bowl, loosely cover with a teatowel and leave in a warm place for an hour or until doubled in size.
When risen, knock the air out of the dough and place on a well floured surface. Knead for another 2 minutes before dividing into 8 equal pieces.
Shape into balls and place on an oiled baking tray, closely together and leave for another half an hour to rise by the oven which you should at this point preheat to gas mark 5.
Place the slightly risen rolls in the oven for 25 - 30 minutes until they are browned, crispy and sound hollow when you tap the bottom of them.
As with all homemade bread, this is best served warm.

World Nutella Day 2011

A bowl of defrosting raspberries has been sitting in the fridge for two days now. L took them out by accident and I forgot to put them away again.

They look so beautiful sitting in all their crimson juices that I almost don't want to use them. Defrosted raspberries have the unfortunate luck of immediately losing all physical structure when you try to use them. No matter how gentle you are, they turn to mush.

It's been a funny little week to - we are tired even though we don't seem to have done anything and a busy night ahead means I know I want to eat them with minimal preparation involved.

In case you hadn't noticed, it's world Nutella day today. L is overjoyed that such a celebration exists and has been telling customers about it all week.

'Make sure to eat lots of Nutella on Saturday!', he has called after people leaving the restaurant. 

What better than stealing a bowl or two of the restaurants Nutella ice cream supply to devour the raspberries with? The mere thought of eating a pudding for once (it's been a few weeks since we ate more then fruit after a meal) restored my energy and I made a little framboise syrup and some oatbran florentines to accompany.

I love finding that all the ingredients I need are already in the cupboard. Do try the Florentines on their own one day too. I like mine slightly undercooked so they are chewy but L prefers them crispier and with a snap as you break them with your teeth.

Florentine Cookies (adapted from the Nestle website)

Ingredients
75g unsalted butter
80g oatbran
115g granulated sugar
40g plain flour
30ml agave nectar
30ml golden syrup
30ml whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt


Method
Preheat oven to gas mark 5. Prepare your baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper
Melt butter in a medium saucepan, then remove from the heat.

To the melted butter add oats, sugar, flour, agave nectar, golden syrup, milk, vanilla and salt. Mix well.
Drop a tablespoon full, three inches (75 mm) apart, onto your prepared baking sheet. Flatten slightly with the back of your tablespoon, or use a spatula. They mixture spreads a lot during cooking.

Bake in preheated oven for 6-8 minutes, until cookies are golden brown. Cool completely on the baking sheets. If you wish to neaten yours up like I did, after five minutes, press a cookie cutter firmly down into the florentines to neaten up the edges.

 

Framboise Raspberries

Ingredients
250g defrosted raspberries
1 tbsp sugar still in their storage bag
1 tbsp Framboise liqueur

Method
Carefully sieve the raspberries over a small saucepan so none of the juices are wasted. Don't try to squeeze them so they stay as intact as possible.
Remove the raspberries to a bowl.
Add the sugar and Framboise to the raspberry juice and bring to a rapid boil.
Simmer for about 4 minutes, stirring often, until reduced and syrupy. Set aside to cool.

Serve Nutella ice cream drizzled with the syrup and the raspberries, using the florentine as a spoon as and when necessary.