Holy Focaccia!

I like to think I’m pretty good at healthy eating. I don’t like to blow my own trumpet but it’s definitely one of my key skills. I think I’m just lucky that I happen to love most healthy foods. What’s more when I eat the foods my body needs I feel good, more energised and manage to maintain a weight I’m happy with. This makes the practice a whole lot easier and more rewarding. Plus I haven’t really got a sweet tooth so I never have cravings for desserts or chocolate, this helps me to keep a cap on the fat and calories I consume. There are however two main things that really trip me up.

1 Alcohol, well Prosecco to be precise.

2 Bread. (I consider pizza to fall under the bread umbrella, any fermented, flour based, baked goods)

Here my willpower really goes out the window. My other half says my face involuntarily lights up at just the sound of a cork being popped from a bottle. In my defence I just think I am a smiley person….

Real bread to me is a thing of pure beauty. It’s like edible art - just perfect. I could look at (stuff my face with) bread all day. Hence the obsession with good pizza. Neapolitan pizza, the proper stuff (that I make in my wood oven) the ‘cornicione’ or crust as we know it is about as good as any artisan bread you can find. It has a sweet, tangy flavour which is developed over the long, cold prove and a beautiful, pillowy texture created in the intense heat of the hot clay oven. Bread should never merely dissolve in your mouth upon biting. No, no, no! Good bread, like a good date, should make you work for it. There’s nothing fast about good bread. I consider myself a fussy addict, I mean it’s not like I’m wandering the streets swigging on warm Strongbow and eating Hovis straight out the bag. Hey, we all have our vices.

Having said all that, everyone has to start somewhere. I often make sourdough Focaccia, it is delicious, chewy and has a lovely firm, golden crust. The downside is it takes a lot of time…..like DAYS!! This recipe gives you a slightly different - but still very good- focaccia. It’s one the quickest breads I make so it’s a perfect weekend day project.

I’m using 3 x 7 inch round tins, as I am taking one for the team and showing you 3 different topping ideas. But you can make one big rectangle focaccia instead using a large baking tray or roasting tin, measuring about 40cm x 30cm. Serve with lots of Prosecco. Have a lovely weekend.

 Focaccia

FOR THE DOUGH

600g strong white bread flour

7g sachet of fast-action yeast

1 tsp honey

1 tsp sea salt

2 tbsp flavoured olive oil; I used homemade garlic and chilli, plus extra for greasing

360ml warm water

ROSEMARY & GARLIC

1 pack rosemary, the standard supermarket size, you’ll have some left but you want to choose all the nice sprigs.  Pull them off from the stem, each sprig should have about 3-4 needles in it.

A couple of garlic cloves peeled and thinly sliced. (This is about the only time I ever use ‘real’ garlic, apart from when I make my infused oils; I am willing to admit I used garlic puree, the stuff from the oriental supermarket. I hate preparing garlic, you can never get rid of the smell and I use my hands so much it lingers for ages.

3 tbsp olive oil

Sea salt

Black pepper

Chilli flakes, optional

CARAMALISED ONION & GOATS CHEESE

2 tbsp olive oil

2 large brown or red onions

a few sprigs fresh thyme

1 tbsp sherry, cider or white wine vinegar

1 tbsp soft brown sugar

100g goats cheese

S&P

NB the third topping was supposed to be sun blush tomato & olive. When I looked in the cupboard I’d run out of both. I did however have chorizo, oregano and red chilli pesto. You can figure out the rest of the story.

CHORIZO, RED PESTO & OREGANO

About 100g chorizo or even better Italian salami, OR EVEN BETTER Nduja, cut into chunks.

3 tbsp red chilli pesto or red pesto

fresh oregano leaves

1 To make the dough, put the flour, yeast, honey, oil and salt the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook. Weigh out the water, this will give you the correct amount, you need 360g of lukewarm water. Pour it on to the flour mixture. Start the mixer on a low speed and allow to knead for about 10 minutes, the dough will look quite smooth and will be soft.

2 Oil your hands and remove the dough from the hook and the sides of the bowl, shaping it into a ball by folding the dough back on itself. Oiled hands will make this easier and means you don’t need to add any extra flour. This is good as focaccia is quite a wet dough. Leave to rise in the mixing bowl, covered with oiled cling film (or use a clean shower cap, stolen from a hotel. It’s like I always tell the boy, they want you to take them, or they wouldn’t keep replacing them). It will take between 1-2 hours to double in size, depending on the conditions in the room.

3 Take your large baking tray or roasting tin, or small round tins. Give it a good old glug of oil, be generous, this is Focaccia, use good olive oil or flavoured oil if you want to. Add a generous pinch of sea salt too.

4 Turn the dough out on to your well-oiled tin, using oiled hands (no flour remember) knock it back with your knuckles. Press the dough into the tray using your finger tips to ease it to the edges, don’t worry too much about how it looks – it’s meant to be rustic and might not spread out all the way to the edges yet but will be easier to shape once it’s rested. Cover with oiled cling film and leave for 30 minutes. Use this time to prepare your chosen toppings.

5 Preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan/Gas 7. After 30 minutes, the focaccia should look a little puffed up and spongy. Use your index finger to poke dimples all over the dough right through to the bottom of the tray, this should help it reach the edges of the tin as well.

ROSEMARY & GARLIC

Poke a sprig of rosemary & a sliver of garlic into each alternate hole. Drizzle the focaccia with the olive oil, allowing it to seep into the dimply holes. Sprinkle with sea salt, black pepper and some chilli flakes, if you like. Cover with the cling film again and leave for 30 minute more. Remove the film before cooking.

CARAMELISED ONION & GOATS CHEESE

Peel the onions, leaving the root in tact. Using a sharp knife or mandolin slice the onions as thinly as you can. Holding it by the root will make this easier. Heat the oil and a pinch of salt in a medium saucepan, add the onions and cook gently until really soft and pale golden, stirring often. This will take about 20 minutes. Add the brown sugar, vinegar and the garlic, turn up the heat and stir until caramelised. Add the leaves from the fresh thyme. Allow to cool a little then spread over the focaccia, crumbling on the goat’s cheese. To be fair I probably should have told you to do this bit earlier, or you’ll be pushed for time, so do this when the bread is having it’s initial rise. Cover with the cling film again and leave for 30 minutes more. Remove the film before cooking.

CHORIZO, RED PESTO & OREGANO

Scatter with the chunks of meat, pushing some into the holes and then spoons of the pesto. Season with salt and black pepper and push some oregano leaves into some of the other holes. Cover with the cling film again and leave for 30 minutes more. Remove the film before cooking.

6 To cook, bake in the centre of the oven. Mine took 25 minutes, check them after 20, then should be risen and deep golden brown. If you’re making a large one check after 25, it may take up to 35 mins, if it’s getting a bit dark cover It with foil. Once cooked brush or drizzle with more oil and sprinkle on some more sea salt. Cool on a wire rack then remove from the tin and cut into squares serve warm or at room temperature. For best results eat on the day you’ve made it. If you’re anything like me this will not be hard.

Lighter Chicken Parmigiana

Chicken Parmigiana - A dish that contains most of the good things in life; garlic, crisp and salty crumbed chicken, basil, a rich tomato sauce and lots of gooey, stringy melted cheese. The alluring scent of a good chicken parm is all that you wish for in an Italian restaurant: Garlic, tomato, oregano, hope and dreams.

Sadly there are two factors that usually prevent me from eating this magical dish.

Number one.

With the exception of Nandos I have a strict no chicken policy when eating out. Why? It’s not that I don’t like chicken; in fact quite the opposite, it’s one of my most commonly eaten foods. I do believe it stems from the time when the world and their mother thought it quite ingenious to stuff a chicken breast with mozzarella cheese and then wrap it in Palma ham. Thus giving birth to the main course on 90% of all episodes of Come Dine With Me. In addition it’s usually the most boring dish on the menu, the afterthought, unloved, dry and uninspiring. Safer to avoid.

Number two.

My slight (read massive) obsession with Pizza actually prevents me from being able to enter an Italian restaurant without ordering a pizza of some description. It’s like I have tourrettes, however a rather fortunate version that always ends in pizza. Sadly all other menu items get overlooked.

So poor old chicken parm, always the bridesmaid and never the bride - it just doesn’t seem to get a look in, despite being one of my favourite dishes. Another nail in its breadcrumbed coffin…it’s not exactly the healthiest of dishes, I  do try to avoid ordering fried foods where possible.

In order to fill this parmigiana shaped void I developed a version of the dish a few years ago when I was working on a healthy makeover feature for a magazine. I’ve tweaked it a little over the years and now this virtually sin-free dish is a firm favourite on the weeknight rotation.

You can whip this up in next to no time too especially if you forgo the hidden veg sauce, and just use passata or tinned tomatoes seasoned with salt, pepper and 1 tsp of oregano. I make the sauce because I usually have the time plus I like to get as many veggies into our diet as possible; this is one of the only ways my other half will eat carrots. If it ain’t broke…

Lighter Chicken Parmigianino

Serves 2

FOR THE CHICKEN

2 chicken breasts

1 tsp chicken seasoning

pinch dried oregano

1 egg white

2 tsp fine semolina or flour

about 25g panko breadcrumbs (or use regular breadcrumbs, panko give you a lovely crunchy crumb though)

FOR THE HIDDEN VEG SAUCE

1 small onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 stick celery, chopped

400g can chopped tomatoes

200ml pasatta

1 tsp garlic puree

1 tsp oregano

1 tbsp of light soft cheese, ricotta or mascarpone (this helps to neutralise the acidity of the sauce)

Fresh Basil

Chilli flakes (optional)

TOPPING

25g Parmesan cheese, grated

About 75g mozzarella cheese, roughly chopped

Salad, greens or pasta, to serve

1 Start with the chicken. Take each breast in turn and cut through lengthways but not all the way to the edge, starting from the fatter side, to open out like a book. See pic. Repeat.

2 Sprinkle with the chicken seasoning and the semolina or flour and rub to coat evenly. Put the egg in one bowl and the panko crumbs in another, add the oregano and some S&P to the crumbs. Take each chicken breast and dip in the egg, then the crumbs, coating both side. Transfer to a plate, repeat with the next breast and keep chilled until ready to cook.

3 If making the sauce cook the vegetables in a little oil of your choice until softened. Add the garlic & oregano then stir and cook for 1 minute before tipping in both the tomatoes. Cover and leave to simmer gently for at least 15 mins but up to an hour. Season to taste and melt in the soft cheese. Blend with a stick blender. Add torn basil and chilli flakes (if using) this sauce is great for tricking boyfriends or children into eating their veggies. It’s good with pasta, meatballs, sausages most things and can be made in a big batch and frozen.

3 Heat grill to medium and oven to 200C/180C fan.  Put the chicken on a lightly oiled baking sheet and grill one side for about 3-4 minutes, until golden. Pour your tomato sauce into a roasting tray. Scatter with more basil. Place your chicken, cooked side down, onto the sauce then top with the cheeses. Cook in the oven for 15-18 mins, until golden and bubbling. For extra crunch flash under the grill again after cooking, but keep an eye on it or it will catch quickly. Serve with salad, greens, or pasta if you like.

NB. This recipe makes quite a lot of sauce, enough for when eating it with pasta, if you don’t like it quite as saucy then freeze half of the sauce or keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days.

The Soups a Bit Thin...

Fact- I really love soup. No matter the weather, even when it’s boiling hot I can still manage to wolf down a steaming bowl of soup. In all my years on this earth I am yet to find a soup I didn’t like. Although the variety of fresh soups available now is immense there are countless benefits of making soup at home. For starters it’s simple, great value and incredibly versatile. Whatever you can find on offer in your local supermarket, even if it’s slightly past it’s best, can usually be turned into a pretty decent soup. It’s a perfect way to get down a few of your 5-a-day too. The possibilities are literally endless. Carrot & coriander, chicken noodle, French onion, broccoli & Stilton, consommé…I could go on for hours! 

Often on a Monday I clear out the fridge of the last remaining vegetables and make a batch of soup that will feed me for the whole week. If you keep stock cubes on hand and have a root through your store cupboard, you're bound to find loads of  herbs & spices or ingredients that will give your soup a boost. Such as pesto and dried oregano for an Italian twist, fish sauce, chilli & lime if you fancy a bit of Thai or honey, harissa paste & cinnamon for a Moroccan flavour. I will happily eat the same soup for a week, each day I add something different to vary it a little. Extra fresh herbs & chilli, sliced chicken or prawns leftover from the previous evening, grated cheese & croutons. Any I don’t eat just goes in the freezer in labelled pots ready for defrosting when I want it. Have it at home, take it to work or share it with a friend a batch of homemade soup will never get thrown away I guarantee it. Just remember to taste and season well when making it, bland soup isn't going to win you any friends! 

Whenever eating out in a restaurant with my Dad, if someone is to order a dish that requires a finger bowl he will always remark on receiving it "Oh look, the soups a bit thin." It's something I used to cringe at but I now even when he isn't there I find myself saying it too. A reassuring memory much like soup has become for me. Before I started to cook my soup fix would usually be from a tin. I was a bit of a fussy eater as a teenager. A stint at an incredibly strict primary school with terrible meals and zero tolerance to leaving any of your lunch had left me rather dubious of food in general. I think the amount of lumpy smash and mystery meat i'd choked down had given me the fear of cooked meals. My poor Mother would have to put up with me turning my nose up at a delicious home cooked meal and instead opting for something 'safe' from a packet, jar or tin.  I absolutely loved Heinz tomato soup; I used to eat it with grated cheddar cheese, lots of black pepper and triangles of sliced white bread to dip in. Always triangles, never squares, it tastes different- I promise. I'm happy to say that I grew out of that fussy stage, I now love my Mothers cooking, but I never grew out of Heinz or soup in general. 

For me Heinz tomato soup was as much an integral part of my childhood as Baywatch on Saturdays and Home & away followed by Neighbours after the school day was done. As familiar as playing Mario Kart for hours on end and choosing ridiculous email names on Hotmail. The ones that shame you for years to come. As satisfying as reading Point Horror books by the shelf load and managing to stop the tape right at the point when the song ended when recording the Top 40 on a Sunday.

Its consistency and familiar orange hue saw me through many a bout of illness or teenage heartbreak when chewing real food felt like too much effort. Even now that I am all grown up and can cook the most complicated of dishes it is what I crave whenever I’m knocked of course or feeling a little under the weather. So here’s my recipe for tomato soup, I wont lie it’s no Heinz but then why would you want to replace it when it’s just so good as it is (and counts as one of your 5-a-day)? Everyone should have a recipe for really good tomato soup, I think this is it, and hopefully you will too.

Proper Tomato Soup

Makes about 10 portions, easily halved if you have a smaller pan

Can be frozen

Make this when tomatoes are in season or if you have a local farm shop you can normally pick up a huge bag for about a quid. If not use tinned instead. But don’t bother roasting them first.

About 2.75kg ripe tomatoes, halved

2-3 fat cloves garlic

fresh thyme sprigs, leaves pulled off

1 red chilli, sliced

fresh oregano, lots.

Fresh basil lots.

2 chicken stock pots. Or use veggie if you’re that way inclined, chicken is better though, everyone knows that.

About 2 tbsp cider, red, or white wine vinegar

1 heaped tbsp. brown sugar

50g tomato puree

Freshly grated nutmeg

1 large onion, diced

1 large carrot, diced

2 sticks celery, diced

really good shake of Worcestershire sauce

100ml milk

50g light soft cheese

50g grated Parmesan cheese

salt, black pepper

olive oil

1 Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Lay your halved tomatoes on 2-3 big lined baking trays. Slice half the garlic. Scatter on, with the thyme, chilli & some of the oregano. Season well with salt & pepper. Drizzle on half the vinegar. Roast for 1 hour.

2 Meanwhile heat a little oil and a good pinch of salt in a very large pan. Sweat onion, carrot and celery until really soft. Add the rest of the garlic, crushed, the rest of the vinegar, oregano, sugar, puree, Worcestershire sauce, and some black pepper. Stir and cook until caramelised.

3 Add the roasted tomatoes and juices from the pan. Add the stock pots with enough water to just cover. Simmer for 30 minutes. Blitz with the basil, milk, soft cheese & Parmesan. Add extra water if too thick. Taste, season, fall in love. Have with a cheese toastie for proper comfort food bliss.

I usually eat this for a whole week at one go, so to stop it getting boring I chuck in something different to each portion I heat up (see pics). Try chicken, roasted veg, cherry tomatoes, prawns, fish, mozzarella, basil, chillies, rocket, pasta (but not all at once).

Baking Hearts (Again)

So it seems as Valentines Day rears it’s ugly head the shops are becoming full of heart shaped tat and sickly sweet sentiments of love once again.

My early memories of Valentines Day were not too fond. I went to an all girls secondary school, so you would think I would’ve been safe from the mandatory exchanging of cards and overpriced rubbish but alas you would be wrong. Very wrong. Our school would join forces with the local boys grammar and to mark the occasion we would be allowed to purchase a rose on the week running up to St. Valentines. This would be delivered to our chosen stud at some point through the day. In return they could do the same for us. That meant an excruciating 8 periods of lessons where you were delightfully reminded that no, you were not the object of the local hotties affections. No likey - no lighty. There was always that one girl who would get hundreds of the bloody things. Seriously she wouldn’t even be able to fit on the bus home. I won’t lie, and anyone who has access to the wealth of pictures of the secondary school me would probably agree, I was no supermodel as a teenager. Suffice to say I was never in danger of putting Interflora out of business.  However I developed a good sense of humour, besides the girls that were beautiful as teenagers never developed much of a personality, well not at my school anyway, they just relied on their looks to get them through.

Fast forward a few years and my dislike of Valentines day is still present, even though the rose roulette is a now a distant memory. I just can’t get into the spirit of the “organised love.” I find it soulless and without any real sentiment. I feel like an over fattened goose, on the road to becoming a foie gras parfait, force-fed with hallmark messages of fake romance. Yuck! Plus the overpriced set menus that fill every single restaurant get on my nerves. The conveyer belt of sittings that they try to ram in, in order to create more revenue, removes any chance to linger with your loved one anyway, really what’s the point? In my opinion it’s a day designed to make people feel bad. Single people feel terrible, people in couples feel pressured to pull out all the stops, or disappointed when their partners don’t. The girl/boy who gloats about how much their partner has spoiled them is usually the one who gets treated like dirt all year around anyway. Again, what’s the point? And don’t even get me started on anyone that actually gets engaged on Valentines Day; pass the (heart shaped) bucket please.

However Valentines Day is here to stay so instead of harbouring all these feelings of angst I have decided to take my own joy from Valentines Day. Besides I can’t let a perfectly good excuse to dust off my heart shaped cutters and bake up something beautiful go to waste. Here’s what I plan to do, and you can to, should the mood take you. Make your Valentine someone unexpected this year. Your 'Un-Valentine' could be the lonely old man you always bump into in the post office, the auntie you always forget to thank for your Lynx deodorant set at Christmas. The postman who always finds the time to smile and say hello or your brothers awkward friend who everyone knows is getting nothing this year. That way you can make someone smile who never expected to. This isn’t ‘jumping through hoops’ kindness that we are shepherded into believing is the right way to behave, simply to avoid a bollocking from our other halves. Instead it’s just a simple token of generosity and good will towards a fellow human being. Plus who knows, maybe you’ll even be on the receiving end of an unexpected Valentines treat this year.

Happy Valentines Day!

Giant Valentines Jammy Dodger

Show me someone who dislikes shortbread biscuits and strawberry jam and I’ll show you a very surprised emoji face. This is simplicity at it’s best.

250g pack butter, at room temperature

100g golden caster sugar, plus about 2 tbsp for dusting

1 tsp vanilla extract

250g plain flour, plus a little for dusting

140g ground rice

400g strawberry jam

1 tbsp cornflour

1 Heat your oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 with shelves in the middle and lower third. Line a 20cm square tin with baking parchment. Place the tin on another sheet and draw around it; this will form the template for the top. Turn the paper over and put on a flat tray, you should still be able to see the outline. If not your pen is rubbish. Use a better pen, see it now? Great. Continue.

2 Beat the butter, caster sugar and vanilla with an electric whisk, until pale and fluffy. Stir in the flour and ground rice using a spatula then get your hands in and knead to smooth dough. Halve the dough, and press one half into the base of the tin.

3 Roll out the remaining dough on your sheet of prepared parchment (allow yourself to say here’s one I prepared earlier) to fill the square, trim to neaten a little but be warned it will spread so you’ll have to do this again after you’ve baked it. Stamp out a line of hearts, then two more, (see pic). Put the hearts on the tray too, extra biscuits!

4 Bake the base on the middle shelf and the top on the lower for 20-25 mins, until pale golden and sandy. Once cooked remove and immediately re stamp the hearts out as the biscuit spreads while cooking, trim to the square shape. Cool fully.

5 Mix the cornflour with 1 tbsp of cold water until combined put in a pan with the jam and bring to a boil, simmer until thickened then sieve into a bowl. You can leave out this step but it makes the jam thicker and glossy. Once cool put the base on a serving plate, spread ¾’s of the jam on top. Spread out leaving about 4mm border, as the jam will spread out with the weight of the top when you put it on. Gently lift it on, it will probably crack, mine did, but just do your best to gently put it back together, you’ll cover it up with sugar in a min, goody more sugar!!

6 Brush the top with a little water and then scatter on the rest of the golden caster sugar, spreading it out to cover the cracks (if you have some). Spoon the ¼ of the jam that’s left into the heart gaps and use the other end of the spoon to spread the jam out so it fills the holes up more and looks more even. Give to your un-valentine!