experimental recipe: pepper & serrano ham mini calzone

pepper & serrano calzone

experiment w/ dough for calzone - serrano ham, peppers, 2 cheeses & onions

IngredientsMakes: 520g (4)

330g		new york pizza dough	(recipe below)
20g		plain flour
80g		tomato rosemary & garlic sauce	(recipe below)
40g		orange pepper
18g	(2)	double stuffed olives
30g		sbs red leicester cheese
20g		red onions
1g		black pepper
52g	(4)	serrano
50g		mozzarella

Method

Small calzone using a domestic oven . . . experiment.

Turn the oven on to 225C with the thick metal baking sheet inside on a high shelf.

There should be at least 3 inches of clearance from the top!

Dice the pepper, olives, onions, and add the grated red leicester & freshly ground black pepper mix together.

Roll each slice of ham and slice into rounds - 1 slice per calzone.

Cut mozzarella into sticks.

Cut dough into 4, form into balls & roll out into a 10 inch round.

Spread a generous tbsp of sauce on the front half, top w/ tbsp of veg mix, then serrano & mozza.

Fold over & seal.

Use a peel or dough blade to transfer it to a cold flat bake sheet dusted w/ ground rice or semolina to stop it sticking.

Repeat for the second one then load them onto the hot tray - only opening the oven to remove and return the tray.

Bake 225C / 7m.

Make the other two while they cook and repeat.

~130g 360kcals each - 180kcals / half.

new york pizza dough

minimal effort pizza dough

IngredientsMakes: 1115g (4)

15g		sugar
10g		dried yeast
30g		olive oil
420g		water
630g		00 flour
10g		salt

Method

Makes enough for 4 pizzaa ~280g per pizza.

Mix the sugar, dried yeast, olive oil & water and leave for 15mins to activate the yeast.

Add the salt to the flour, then add the wet ingredients combine into a smooth dough.

Place into a sealed plastic container and leave in the fridge for 72 hours.

BTW you can get very passable results after 24 hours!

Turn the dough out onto a flourless surface, and knock back until smooth & silky, form into a tight ball.

Cut the dough into 4 pieces and make a ball of each.

Place on a plastic tray & cover w/ cling film then leave for an hour to prove.

Once risen, the dough balls shouldn't really be touching!

tomato rosemary & garlic sauce

rich fried tomato sauce flavoured w/ rosemary & garlic confit

IngredientsMakes: 854g

100g		extra virgin olive oil
10g		rosemary
140g		onions
520g		tomatoes
80g		confit garlic	(recipe below)
15g		tomato puree
10g		chicken stock cube
300g		water

Method

Peel & chop the onions & tomatoes.

Add the picked and chopped rosemary to the olive oil and let it sizzle for 1 min then add the onions and cook until soft.

Squeeze the garlic out of casing and add it and the tomatoes and cook for another 5mins.

Finally add the puree & chicken stock & simmer for 20mins.

Blend with a stick blender until smooth and use as needed.

confit garlic

slowly confit garlic bulbs & rosemary & thyme infused olive oil

IngredientsMakes: 200g

320g		garlic
10g		rosemary
10g		thyme
20g		olive oil

Method

To cover the garlic you'll probably need 300g of olive oil. Use a container in which the garlic fit as snugly as possible.

Bruise the rosemary & thyme w/ the back of a knife & place it in the bottom of ovenproof saucepan.

Add the whole garlic bulbs and pour in olive oil until they are completely covered.

Bake 150C / 3h

If you are in Hereford check out Growing Local on facebook/meta they currently have all sorts of seasonal veg available grown right here in Hereford using organic practices!
Sign up for veg box here / or for wholesale here.

visual recipe: preserved yellow cherry tomatoes (slow roasted tomatoes / blushed tomatoes)

start w/ fresh tomatoes

 two jars worth of tomatoes per jar

 on trays before slice

place on counter or board

place board on top & slice w scalloped blade

very quick - better than one at a time!

season & dress w a little oil optional

place in oven 50C or 122F - open door every hour let out steam

After 5hrs

pick 12g each rosemary sage thyme

place in oil and heat to . . 

heat to 90C or 194F to kill bacteria

place oil & herbs in jar followed by tomatoes

add gauze & top up w oil

preserved yellow cherry tomatoes . . . use as desired : )

recipe: preserved yellow cherry tomatoes (slow roasted tomatoes / blushed tomatoes)

preserved yellow cherry tomatoes

dried salted yellow cherry tomatoes preserved in olive oil w/ rosemary sage & thyme

IngredientsMakes: 940g

960g		yellow cherry tomatoes
10g		salt
40g		olive oil
300g		olive oil
12g		sage
12g		rosemary
12g		thyme
130g		olive oil

Method

Makes one 950ml kilner jar full.

Cut the tomatoes in half.

For this many small tomatoes I place half of them on the clean counter, place a cutting board on top and slice between the two using a knife w/ a scalloped edge, much faster than doing them one at a time!

To dehydrate the tomatoes place them on 2 full size oven tray sprinkle generously w/ salt.

Bake fan 50C / 5h - open the oven door every half hour for the 1st 2 hours to let out steam, then every hour after that.

I've used sprigs of herbs because it's more decorative & it keeps the herbs in position in the jar.

Heat the herbs together in the oil to 90C / 194F - this wil kill bacteria but not frazzle the herbs!

Place them and a third of the oil into a sterilised 950ml kilner jar, add the dehdrated tomatoes and top up w/ oil.

Place a sterilized gauze in to keep the tomatoes submerged.

Job done . . . dip in when you fancy!

On top of mashed potato, to top humous & baguette, w/ pasta etc. . . etc.

If you are in Hereford check out Growing Local on facebook/meta they currently have all sorts of seasonal veg available grown right here in Hereford using organic practices!
Sign up for veg box here / or for wholesale here.

recipe: salted lemons / preserved lemons

salted lemons

preserved lemons make a great (very strong) citrus seasoning

IngredientsMakes: 1960g (12)

1040g	(12)	lemons
260g		rock salt
660g		olive oil

Method

Makes 2x 950ml kilners jars.

When you want to give your north African & south Asian recipes an authentic flavour profile this ingredient is critical for a variety of recipes and super simple to make. . .

Sterilize your storage containers.

Cut a lemon in almost in half leaving one end joining the two halves.

Repeat to get 4 quarters all attached to each other at one end.

Open a gap and fill it w/ rock salt, then turn the lemon through 90 degrees and open up the cross gap and fill it w/ salt too.

Place the salt packed lemon carefully in your container.

Repeat until the container is jammed full of salt packed lemons.

Leave enough space at the top for an inch of oil.

Fill w/ olive oil, and place a gauze over the top of the lemons to keep them submerged.

Leave for at least 4 weeks before using.

If you are in Hereford check out Growing Local on facebook/meta they currently have all sorts of seasonal veg available grown right here in Hereford using organic practices!
Sign up for veg box here / or for wholesale here.

visual recipe: salted lemons / preserved lemons

lemons salt & olive oil

remove the pedicel

cut in half almost through the blossom end

then in quarters

again not all the way through

open one way and fill with salt

the turn 90 degrees and fill again

give is a jiggle to remove excessive salt

place in kilner jar

repeat pack them in

until its full with an inch spare at the top

fill with olive oil & place a gauze in the top

leave a bit of space between gauze and top of oil

this is a 950ml kilner took 6 lemons

salted lemons - leave for at least 4 weeks

recipe: toasted pine nuts

toasted pine nuts

golden pine nuts toasted in butter

IngredientsMakes: 8g

8g		butter
10g		pine nuts
0.5g		salt

Method

Add a good knob of butter ~15g to a small pan - the pine nuts will soak up about 8g.

Melt the butter & add the nuts & salt.

Tilt the pan at 45 degrees over the heat to keep the pine nuts submerged in hot butter.

Keep them moving w/ a spoon until they've started to brown.

Remove to a kitchen towel using the spoon leaving as much butter as possible in the pan.

Use when needed.

If you are in Hereford check out Growing Local on facebook/meta they currently have all sorts of seasonal veg available grown right here in Hereford using organic practices!
Sign up for veg box here / or for wholesale here.

recipe: light plum syrup

light plum syrup

light syrup, good for vinaigrettes, sorbets, plum drizzle cake & the like

IngredientsMakes: 800g

650g		plums
300g		sugar
300g		water

Method

Put the sugar and water into a pan and heat to dissolve the sugar and turn into a syrup.

Cut the plums in half along the valley that runs down one side.

Twist the two halves to relase the stone from one, then work the stone out of the other half w/ a knife.

Quarter each half and add all the fruit to the syrup.

Bring to the boil and simmer for 10mins, removing the scum that forms all the while.

Resist the urge to blend or mash the fruit and you'll be rewarded w/ a clear pink syrup.

Pour the syrup into a sieve and let it drip through without assistance. If you force it through w/ a spoon you'll end up w/ a cloudy syrup. Allow to cool and decant into your favourite squeezy!

If you are in Hereford check out Growing Local on facebook/meta they currently have all sorts of seasonal veg available grown right here in Hereford using organic practices!
Sign up for veg box here / or for wholesale here.