It’s day I dunno of however many days of quarantine. The days are now longer, which is great for an increased sense of panic from the 24 hour news vessels intent on spreading dread. My two outfits are on constant rotation and my face now resembles a wrinkled Michael J Fox in Teen Wolf. On the plus side I’m winning at Monopoly. I’m personally keeping away from the TV as much as possible, filling my time exercising, reading, writing, and cooking. If the latter is of interest to you, then I hope you enjoy part three, which features some great recipes from people within hospitality who have been very generous with their time
1) Meena Sharma of The Indian Streatery – Family Friendly Vegetable Kofta (GF)
Recipe: Combination of seasonal vegetable formed into balls, blended with herbs and home roasted spices in thick aromatic tomato gravy. Get the kids involved with the formation of the balls! It was a dish that our Mother (Head Chef) would make to disguise how much vegetables are in one meal! A cheeky way of getting us to eat all those vegetables we would normally run a mile from. A recipe made with love from The Indian Streatery x
Ingredients-serves 5-6 (12-15 balls):
Kofta (in tandem with method):
2 carrots
1 courgette
1⁄2 white cabbage
1 medium potato
Handful of shredded spinach
1⁄2 teaspoon of toasted cumin seeds
1⁄2 teaspoon of toasted crushed coriander seeds
1 teaspoon of salt
4 tablespoons of gram flour
Sauce/Curry (in tandem with method):
2 tablespoons of oil
3 medium onions
1 teaspoon of garlic
2 fresh green chillies.
1 teaspoon of salt
4 cloves
2 cardamom pods.
3 curry leaves
1 teaspoon of ginger
1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
Small handful of fresh coriander.
1 can of pureed tomatoes
1 tablespoon of crème fraiche.
1⁄2 teaspoon of coriander & cumin powder.
1⁄2 teaspoon of masala.
Tablespoon of dried fenugreek
Method:
Start with the Kofta balls- grate the carrots/courgettes/cabbage/potato and add to a blender. Once blended- in a bowl mix the veg with the other ingredients- spinach/cumin/coriander and salt. Add the gram flour. The natural water from the veg should allow the ingredients to blend and form the balls. (If not add 2 tablespoons of water).
Form 12-15 medium size balls and fry (in rapeseed oil in a deep frying pan on medium heat) until golden brown. Place on baking paper to allow them to rest.
Now for the sauce- add the three tablespoons of oil to a pan. Add onions, garlic, chilli and salt. Once onions have browned slightly must add cardamoms, cloves curry leaves after 2 minutes. After another 2 minutes add ginger, turmeric, fresh coriander and tomatoes.
After 15 minutes add crème fraiche alongside fenugreek, masala and the coriander/cumin powders. Add the Kofta balls to the sauce. Simmer for another 5 minutes.
And there you have it an Indian Streatery family favourite. Enjoy & please share any photos on social media. Spread the love. See you soon! Have fun cooking!
Tips:
Use any vegetables that are readily available around the house.
If you happen to think coriander ‘tastes like soap’ just take it out- don’t worry it is not essential for the recipe.
If no fresh chillies available, chilli flakes will also provide the same kick!
Have some fun; the balls don’t need to be perfectly round!
For the meat fanatics- use minced lamb (with same spices) instead of the vegetables.
Exclude the crème fraiche to create a vegan option.
Pairing suggestions- rice/roti/flatbreads/pitas/wraps with a large bowl of salad & yogurt on the side.
2) How to Make A Pizza from Otto
So before I give you our pizza recipe, I should probably say I don’t think it’s the best recipe for making pizza at home. It’s nice because it’s proved for a really long time and cooked really hot, neither of which are so practical for home.
Here’s a link to a website I use if I’m making pizza at home:
https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/topics/meal/pizza
For regular, circular pizzeria style pizzas, both the ‘foolproof pan pizza’ recipe https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/01/foolproof-pan-pizza-recipe.html and the Jim Lahey no knead pizza recipes https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/03/jim-laheys-no-knead-pizza-dough-recipe.html are great. The Jim Lahey recipe page has a video on how to shape too.
I’ve had the best results at home by starting the dough in a hot, dry frying pan and then finishing the top under the grill on full power. I think that’s the best way to simulate a really screaming hot pizza oven. You might burn one a bit on the bottom on the pan, but once you get the pan temperature right, it’s a killer method. Pizza Pilgrims recommended it when they were selling their pizza kits.
The other great thing about serious eats is that they have a range of pan pizza recipes, all different and all great in their own way. They make an excellent family style meal and, being slightly enriched doughs, keep a lot better too so can be fridged and reheated nicely. Most of these doughs also work well un-topped as focaccia.
Anyway, if you want to give ours a try, the recipe is:
Makes about 5 10” pizzas, takes 2 days (you could do this all on the same day with more yeast, but it won’t taste as good)
500g water (room temperature to tepid)
750g strong white bread flour (we use pizza flour, but bread flour will be fine)
20g salt
3g instant yeast (or 7 if you’re doing it on the same day)
In a mixer:
Add 400g of the water and yeast, mix and leave to stand for a couple of minutes
Add half of the flour, mix until combined (a minute or so)
Stop the mixer, tip in the rest of the flour and the salt and leave to stand for 20mins
After 20mins, start the mixer again and pour the remaining water slowly around the edges. This will help to get all of the remaining dry flour incorporated and (hopefully) leave you with a clean bowl at the end.
Mix until fully combined, smooth and elastic. Probably no more than 3-5mins.
Transfer to a large bowl (at least double the size of the dough)
Cover the top of the bowl with cling film and leave for an hour at room temperature (doesn’t need to be a warm place, just not cold)
Check the dough – it should have grown, but not necessarily doubled. If it hasn’t grown much, leave it another 30mins.
Punch the dough back and put in the fridge overnight, or for a maximum of 3 days. Make sure it’s well covered by the cling film, or in an airtight container to stop it drying out.
If you’re doing this without the overnight rest in the fridge, punch back and divide into 5 equal sized balls. Leave for another hour and then skip to the shaping.
When you want to use it, remove from the fridge 2 hours before cooking and cut into 5 equal sized chunks. Roll these into balls, cover and leave for 2 hours.
In the meantime, get your ingredients together (sauce recipe below) and preheat the grill a little in advance of cooking so it’s really hot.
Shape the dough balls into pizzas – use plenty of flour to stop them sticking to the work surface, and to your fingers. I like to press the balls firmly from the middle to the edge, leaving a nice untouched crust around the edge of about 1-2cm thick. Imagine pressing down on bubble wrap to burst the bubbles, but leaving the bubbles around the edge intact. The finished pizzas may not be totally round, but should be something like 10”.
When you’re ready, put a large frying pan, 20-30cm on the hob at medium to high heat (no oil). When it’s hot enough, transfer one of the pizza bases (shaking gently first to remove excess flour) into the pan, pulling and pressing gently so that it fills the pan. Watch your fingers!
Cook in the pan for a minute or so, or until the crust has puffed up a little and the dough doesn’t look totally raw.
Spoon your sauce into the middle and spread, sprinkle your ingredients over the top. Less is more!
While you’re doing this, keep checking the bottom of the pizza. Some black spots are fine, we actually want a bit of char, but you don’t want to burn it. You’re just aiming for a crispy, cooked bottom here, a bit blistered like a naan bread or tortilla. The grill will do the rest. You’re not aiming to cook the toppings at this stage either.
Before the bottom becomes charcoal, transfer to under the grill. If your frying pan is safe for the oven (ie no plastic or rubber handle for example), put it straight under the grill, no more than a few cm from the element. Otherwise, you can slide the pizza out on to a tray and do it that way.
Keep an eye – it will go quickly – and remove when the cheese is melted and the crust takes on some colour. Again, it’ll get some black spots (mostly the bubbles will catch first) and this is fine. Just don’t let it totally burn. The absolute ideal is a speckled, leopard print looking crust, and the toppings JUST starting to catch a little on their edges – ham or salami should be just threatening to crisp up, and the cheese should be melted but not crispy or overly browned. But that’s just me!
Bear in mind that the first one is almost always a dud. Don’t use up all your favourite ingredients on the first one, save your truffles and caviar for later! Here’s where you want to adjust the temperature a bit if it’s burnt or underdone.
A few extra tips:
Fresh basil and dried oregano are pretty much essential, it’ll taste so much better. Finishing with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a bit of parmesan is great too.
Fresh mozzarella is really great for this (although you could use grated, or even other cheeses). If you use fresh mozzarella, cut into small strips or chunks and use sparingly.
Too many ingredients will ruin it – it’s so tempting to chuck all your favourite things on a pizza, but the best ones are not overladen. For one, it’ll make the pizza soggy and harder to cook. For another, you’ll taste everything so much better if you stick to maximum 3 ingredients.
On the subject of avoiding sogginess and overloading, most vegetables (especially ones containing lots of water, like peppers) really benefit from being roasted a little bit beforehand. You don’t need them browned – the grill will finish the job for you -just softened a bit. Otherwise, cut them really thinly and they won’t release all their water in a soupy mess on the pizza.
The sauce:
There’s a million ways of doing sauce. Cooked or uncooked, herby, garlicky, with or without sugar, oil, you can honestly do whatever you want.
I love a cooked sauce on deep pan pizzas, but I think if you’re making pizza this way in a hot pan and grill, you don’t need anything other than tinned tomatoes – one tin will be more than enough, blitzed until smooth (or even a little chunky), seasoned with a bit of salt and a pinch of oregano. Add a pinch of sugar if they’re really acidic. You can blitz your fresh basil into the sauce, but honestly I think it’s best to put whole leaves on the pizza where it’ll fry a little and be really fragrant.
Let me know how it goes!
3) 20hr Beef Lasagne by Angelino Adamo of Tutto Apasto
Ragu:
250g braising beef steaks, or brisket or even mince (whatever you can get your hands on)
2 sticks celery
2 carrots
100g mushrooms
1 large onion
Sprig of thyme
Tomato paste
Chopped tinned tomatoes
Half bottle of red wine
Beef or brown chicken stock cube
Salt
3 eggs
100g ricotta or mascarpone
100g wild garlic
Fresh Lasagne sheets or for the pasta :
3 eggs
400g oo flour
Salt
Saffron if you have it
Mornay:
100g butter
100g flour
500ml milk
Half an onion
Sprig of rosemary
Peppercorns
100g red leicester/ cheddar/ mozzarella, I use a mix of all three
100g parmesan
1 lemon
Tsp dijon
1 egg yolk
Tsp worcestershire sauce
1. For the ragu, I did this the day before in a slow cooker
2. Start by dicing the mirepoix (carrot, onion, celery) into small cubes and sweat off with a knob of butter
3. Put into a colander and set to one side
4. In the same pan fry off sliced mushrooms
5. You can put in some diced bacon too, but this is quite rich anyway, so ill leave it to you..
6. Dice all the beef if it’s not mince, coat in seasoned flour and fry it off giving it great colour
7. Add everything back into the pan
8. Add a table spoon of tomato paste and cook out
9. A dash of white wine vinegar, and some sugar
10. Reduce this until nothing
11. Then add half your bottle of red wine or enough to just cover everything in your pan
12. Reduce by half
13. Add a beef stock cube and a tin of chopped tomatoes
14. If youve got any leftover salad toms, chuck em in, it’ll only give it more flavour
15. Bring to the boil, season it, but be sure to not finish the seasoning as it’ll take more at the end
16. Stick it in your slow cooker and forget about it
17. Optional -Boil up three eggs and grate or chop (something they do in agrigento, a town in sicily where my parents are from)
18. If you’re making pasta, I use a food processor to start me off, saffron is just to get a golden colour but it’s not a big deal.
19. If your using fresh pasta sheets, i soaked them in water for 5 minutes, an old trick nonna taught me to get a real quick bake and ‘the crispy part of the lasagne’
20. For the mornay sauce, melt your butter and cook out your flour, infuse your milk with the half an onion, rosemary and peppercorns
21. Once hot, add your milk slowly and keep whisking, make a little wetter than usual
22. Add in your cheese and then season, as parmesan is quite salty
23. Squeeze a lemon in, your dijon, worcestershire sauce and i like to add an egg yolk off the heat just to enrich it a bit more.
24. When about to assemble- after the 20 hrs of cooking, your ragu should be falling apart and awesome, add your roughly torn up or chopped wild garlic to your ragu. If you don’t have wild garlic, grate a garlic clove in when your sweating off your mirepoix
25. Assemble any way you want, I normally go, ragu, pasta, boiled eggs, dollops of ricotta or mascarpone, extra grated parmesan, mornay sauce, ragu, pasta… and so on. The top layer of pasta, just cover with mornay and a mix of cheddar and parmesan
26. Bake and 190 for 25-30 mins depending on how large/deep your tray is.
4) Max’s Caldo Verde by Cliche Guevara
This is possibly the most simple recipe that I could do but it’s a dish I cook at home at least once a week because it’s ingredients we always have in the house. Serve it with a big chunk of crusty bread and you’re good to go!
Ingredients
1 onion slices
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
200g chorizo diced
1 kilo potatoes peeled and diced 2cm
1.5 litre chicken stock
250g Cavolo Nero stalks removed and thinly sliced.
Olive oil
Fry the onion and garlic until then add the chorizo and cook until everything starts to brown and the oil is released from the chorizo.
Add the potatoes and continue to cook for 5 minutes to allow them to absorb that beautiful chorizo oil.
Add the chicken stock, bring to the boil and simmer until the potatoes are just cooked.
Add the sliced Cavolo Nero and cook for a further 5 minutes and check seasoning. The potatoes should be breaking up a little bit giving the soup a nice thick consistency but not gloopy. It’s now ready to serve, just finish with some nice olive oil on the top because us chefs like to be all fancy and that.
5) Paneer saag by Breaking Bread Podcast
This curry is super simple to make and is based on a healthy Tom Kerridge recipe. If you’re not fussed about being healthy then you can swap the fry light for butter and the light single cream for full-fat single cream. I like my curries hot! If you do not, don’t add the chilli or add to suit your own taste.
Serves 3-4
Ingredients
250g paneer cubed
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp salt
Fry light
1 white onion diced
1 tsp cumin seeds
795g can of spinach puree (I use KTC)
200ml veg stock
4 garlic cloves finely chopped
2.5cm ginger finely grated
3 long green chillies sliced down the middle from half way down
1/3 tsp garam masala
50ml light single cream
200g tomatoes diced
Salt and pepper
1. Toss paneer in the turmeric and a pinch of salt
2. In large pan (I use a wok) put on high heat, spray some frylight and fry paneer till golden brown on all sides, then remove from pan a put to one side. 4-5min
3. More fry light to pan and add onion and cumin seeds. Cook for 5 min or until light brown.
4. Add garlic, ginger, chilli and garam masala and stir for 2 min.
5. Add spinach, paneer, tomatoes, stock and cream. Bring to simmer and cook for 5 min.
6. Season with salt and pepper and serve with what you want. I serve with rice and chapattis
Meat and One Veg 