Homemade Pizza

This take minimum effort and gives maximum effect. Who doesn't love that!?

To make the pizza dough:

Dissolve a sachet of dry yeast in a small amount of warm water and allow to mix.

Place 4 cups of flour into a large bowl and add 1.5 cups of warm water with 4 tablespoons of olive oil and the dissolved yeast.

Mix these together with your hands until the mixture is combined and doughy, kneading the dough will also help you release any frustrations you may have had during your day! 

Now, the waiting game: once the dough has been well kneaded and makes a smooth neat ball, place the dough ball in the large bowl with a tablespoon of olive oil and cover with cling film - now leave for 2-3 hours and allow the dough to rise/expand.

Now the fun part! Toppings:

For my rustic margarita pizza, I spread a layer of tomato paste over the pizza base and added diced baby tomatoes, pesto, pulled mozzarella, red onion and freshly chopped basil. I then put this in the preheated oven (set to 200 degrees C) for 15 minutes, until golden. 

And you're done! Enjoy!

Green vegetable and blue cheese bake

Nothing is better than a hot healthy vegetable bake to warm up your winter nights.

I began this dish by roughly chopping up a head of broccoli, slicing up two courgettes and slicing up a green pepper. I threw all these vegetables into a pot on the stove and added in a cup of frozen peas. I cooked the vegetables together on the stove for about 20 minutes, in some boiling water, allowing them to soften and cook down. 

While waiting for these, I started to make a Béchamel sauce. My mother taught me to make this sauce when I was home from travelling one year, and I remember it whenever I want to make a dish more interesting. In a small saucepan, melt about 40g of butter. The amount will vary depending on how much sauce you are wanting to make. When the butter has completely melted in the saucepan, add in some flour - this will cause the butter to instantly  thicken - make sure to keep stirring continuously. Keep adding tablespoons of flour until the mix is thick and mixed completely, then add half a cup of milk - remember to keep stirring continuously! Keep adding small amounts of milk until the mix reaches a slightly runny mixture, with no lumps. Now add some nutmeg for flavour, and some chunks of blue cheese - allow to melt.

(Note: I used almond milk to make make this dish more healthy)

Once the vegetables have cooked down, place them into a oven proof dish, and cover with the Béchamel sauce, mixing until the sauce is throughout the vegetables. Now top with more chunks of blue cheese on top of the mix, this will melt and crisp up when in the oven. Place the dish in the oven for 15 minutes, allowing the mix to settle and cook together. Once bubbling on the sides and golden on the top, remove from the oven and serve immediately. 

Morrocan style chickpea and vegetable roast

I love this! 

I started by peeling and roughly dicing two large parsnips, and parboiling them on the stove. This will allow them to be soft on the inside and crisp on the outside once roasted.

Taking two handfuls of mixed baby peppers, I sliced them, keeping the seeds and tops attached. Once the parsnips are soft, I laid them out on a flat oven tray, now adding a tin of chickpeas, the sliced peppers, and whole cloves of garlic, still in their casings. I then covered the mix in olive oil and a generous sprinkle of turmeric, whole cumin seeds, ground coriander, ground ginger and paprika.

Place in the oven and roast for about 30 minutes. The peppers will blister and the parsnips will crisp up.

Once out of the oven, generously top with fresh coriander and serve with couscous. 

Whole grilled trout with stuffed peppers

This can take some time to prepare and also to eat, but it's worth it! 

Be sure to choose a good fish when buying at the fishmonger or supermarket. Fish with bloodshot eyeballs are a no go. And also ask your fishmonger to gut the fish for you so you arrive home with a clean fish ready to cook.

Prepping the peppers:

For the peppers I created a mix of mayonnaise, greek yoghurt, fresh basil leaves, and a mixture of grated cheddar and mozzarella cheese. I stuffed this mix into each small pepper, entering through the top of the pepper, using the body of the pepper as a casing.

Grill these at 200 degrees for 30 mins if making them on their own.

The trout:

Wash the trout in cold water and make sure the entire fish is clean.

Bring to the boil a large pan of water, with a splash of olive oil and lemon rind for flavour. Place the whole fish in the water once boiling and immediately reduce the heat. You want to poach the fish lightly before putting under the grill. After about 15 mins in the water, delicately remove the fish. 

Place on a flat oven tray and coat in olive oil, making sure the entire fish is coated in oil.

Add the peppers to the oven tray and mix together, once all coated in olive oil, place under the grill for 30 mins or until the skin on the fish is golden and the peppers are blistered.

Serve with couscous or on it's own! 

Zucchini Fritters with Pesto Mayonnaise

                  
Zucchini Fritters are the perfect way to curb your hungry guests while you finish the main course.

Grating up two medium sized zucchinis, and adding ground coriander, salt, pepper and a whisked egg, quickly mix the ingredients together until completely blended. If the mixture is too runny, thicken by adding in tablespoons of flour until thickened into a batter.

Heating a shallow pan with a generous helping of olive oil, delicately scoop of a tablespoon's worth of mixture and using a teaspoon in the other hand, manoeuvre the mixture into the heated oil, keeping a rounded shape. It should sizzle and begin to turn golden. Allow 2-3 minutes on either side.

Pesto Mayonnaise:
Mix a teaspoon of greek yoghurt with a teaspoon of mayonnaise and a teaspoon of pesto. Add more of any according to taste.

Curried roast Aubergine

This is delicious! And a great side dish for vegetarians.

Diced two whole aubergines into cubes and scatter over flat oven-proof dish. Add whole cloves of garlic and thinly sliced onion. Cover with a sprinkle of turmeric, whole cumin, paprika and ground coriander.

Placed under the grill (200 degrees) for 30 minutes or until soft and golden.
Serve with basmati rice. A delicious addition to a chicken based meal as well.