mix the yeast with the water and oil in a measuring jug
make a well in the flour and add the liquid, mix with a spatula inside the bowl, turning the bowl and folding the mixture over, as if you were kneading. It’s too sticky to actually knead on the work-surface.
cover with a damp tea-towel and leave to prove for about an hour
meanwhile prepare the toppings (see below)
when the dough is ready, place a piece of cooking parchment on a baking tray, spray with a little oil and with the help of a spatula and your fingers, stretch the dough to fit the tray, gently pummel it with your finger tips to make little indents
dot the tomatoes, onion and rosemary over the surface, spray with a little oil, cover and leave to prove for another 30 minutes
heat the oven to 250º pour a glass of water into a container to create steam
when the focaccia is ready to go into the oven turn the heat down to 200º and bake for 15-20 minutes
dried tomatoes: soak in a bowl for 30 minutes by covering with boiling water, drain, cut into strips and then mix with a little oil
onion: slice very fine with a mandoline if you have one, put in a bowl and mix with a little salt, oregano and oil, leave to marinade
I had a tray of huge mushrooms, a packet of very finely-diced Iberian ham and decided to make stuffed mushrooms, but there was far too much stuffing for the mushroom cases, so I took an on-the-spot decision to make a quiche, but I had no pastry and I didn’t want to make any. Solution: crustless mushroom and ham quiche.
1 tray of large mushrooms
1 packet of diced Iberian ham
1 medium onion, very finely chopped
1 clove garlic, very finely chopped
3 eggs
50 ml milk
75-100g Cheddar, grated
parsley, finely chopped
salt
freshly-ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
wash the mushrooms, cut the stalks off, set the caps aside
finely chop the mushroom stalks
gently fry the onion and garlic until golden brown, then add the ham and chopped mushroom stalks, leave to cool
wipe the pan out, add a little more oil and gently cook the mushroom caps, turning over frequently, drain off any liquid and reserve
put the mushroom caps in an ovenproof tin (I used a round one) and stuff them with the ham/onion/mushroom stalk mixture
beat the eggs with the milk
add all the leftover ham/onion/mushroom stalk mixture and the seasoning and parsley, then add the liquid from the mushroom caps, plus half the grated cheese
This was a question of pride. My daughter has made bread and I never have! Basically, this is a BBC goodfood recipe + a few seeds
500g strong flour
15g live yeast
2 teaspoons salt
300ml tepid water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
150g seeds (poppy, sunflower, pumpkin)
extra flour for dusting
rub the yeast into the flour as if you were making a crumble
add the salt and sugar
make a well in the middle and add the water and oil all at once
mix quickly with hands, roll around the bowl to pick up any loose flour
tip the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead for 5 minutes or so, pushing it away with the heel of your hand and doubling over, turning 90º each time
put back in the bowl, cover with a T-towel and leave to prove for 1 hour
add the seeds and knead again, let it prove for a further 30 minutes
meanwhile, heat the oven to 220º
shape the dough into a round, put on an oiled baking tray, brush with a little oil, sprinkle a few more seeds over
make a cross with a knife across the top and bake for 30 minutes
I put a dish of water (which you can take out half-way through) on the bottom shelf of the oven so the bread doesn’t dry out too much
There are loads of videos of this and why it went viral, I’ll never know, but one girl says that supermarkets in Finland ran out of Feta cheese because of this recipe!
I’m willing to give most things a try, so here goes:
150g feta cheese
300g cherry tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
extra virgin olive oil
oregano
(salt) – be careful with the salt, feta is very salty to begin with
freshly ground black pepper
pasta cooked per instructions
fresh basil 🌿 (I didn’t have any, so I used freshly-chopped chives from the garden)
douse the cherry tomatoes, cheese and garlic with a little oil and bake in the oven for 35 minutes at 190º
meanwhile cook the pasta as per instructions on the packet
when the tomatoes and cheese are done, sprinkle some oregano and pepper on top
mash together (be careful with the tomatoes, they tend to squirt!), add the the pasta and hey presto!
Waste not want not, as my mother used to say. Instead of throwing away onion skins or outer layers, green parts of leeks, middle of courgette, tomato skin, carrot peel etc, use them. (Don’t use cauliflower or broccoli, because they tend to be bitter )
Wash everything thoroughly and freeze in a resealable bag. Keep topping up the bag and when you have enough, make a veggie stock:
Boil a bagful of bits in 2 litres of water and a teaspoon of salt for 25-30 minutes.
Strain, and it’s ready to use, or, let it cool and you can freeze it.
put a drop of oil in a big frying pan, turn the heat up high and seal the turkey breasts, they should be brownish on the outside, set aside, but don’t wash the pan up
in the same frying pan, gently fry the onion until translucent, add the garlic and then the tomatoes and finally the mushrooms
in another pan, cook the spinach in just a little oil, salt and pepper until it is completely rendered
make diagonal slits of 1cm in the turkey breasts and fill the slits with the spinach
put the tomato and mushroom sauce in an ovenproof dish and then lay the turkey on top
cover with foil and bake in the oven at 190º for 15 minutes
take the foil off and bake for a further 10 minutes with the grated cheese on top if you like
The turkey is so succulent! I didn’t use cheese as you can appreciate, but I did when I reheated the following day, but I haven’t got any pictures!!!
judethecook 