Cooking is concerning the conversion of on a regular basis substances – baggage of flour, tins of tomatoes, dried pasta, spices – into one thing that finally ends up far more than the sum of its components. I all the time assume this when making pizza (which is all the time cheaper than shopping for it in): it’s a easy base topped with a easy tomato sauce and no matter else you have got that wants utilizing up. The identical could be mentioned of pasta bakes and curry bases, which I all the time make in bulk, so that they’re prepared immediately to be supplemented with protein and/or veg. These are all methods to chop prices, whereas additionally having fun with the meals we all know and love.
Tacky panzerotti with tomato sauce (pictured above)
Fried pizza all the time looks like a luxurious, no matter it’s full of. This model originates from Naples, and is the proper handheld pie to share with mates. If you happen to can’t discover scamorza, provolone or a low-moisture mozzarella will work effectively as an alternative.
Prep 5 min
Show 1 hr 15 min
Cook dinner 1 hr 45 min
Serves 4
500ml vegetable (or different impartial) oil, for frying
For the dough
500g ‘00’ flour, plus further for dusting
7g fast-action dried yeast (ie, 1 sachet)
1½ tbsp olive oil
Salt and black pepper
For the filling
160g ricotta
160g scamorza, thinly sliced
16 basil leaves
For the tomato sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
⅛ tsp chilli flakes
1 x 400g tin plum tomatoes
¼ tsp caster sugar
1 tbsp basil leaves, thinly sliced
First make the dough. Put the flour, yeast, a tablespoon of oil, 320ml lukewarm water and a half-teaspoon of salt within the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook in place. Combine on medium velocity for 10 minutes, till you have got a barely sticky however workable dough, then tip out on to a well-floured work floor and form right into a ball. Use the remaining teaspoon and a half of oil to grease the stand mixer bowl, return the dough to the bowl, cowl tightly with a humid material and go away in a heat place to rise for an hour and 1 / 4, or till doubled in measurement.
In the meantime, make the sauce. Put the oil in a small saucepan on a medium-high warmth. Add the garlic and chilli flakes, fry, stirring regularly, for 30 seconds, till aromatic, then add the tomatoes, 100ml water, the sugar and a quarter-teaspoon of salt. Convey to a simmer, then, with a potato masher or the again of a fork, roughly crush the tomatoes. Cook dinner, stirring often, for quarter-hour, till barely thickened, then take off the warmth and put aside.
Now make the pizzas. Tip out the risen dough on to a well-floured work floor and knead to knock out the air. Divide the dough into eight equal items every weighing about 80-90g. Roll every bit right into a ball, mud evenly with flour and canopy with a humid material.
Working one pizza at a time, roll every ball right into a 14cm-diameter x 2mm-thick circle. Unfold 20g every of the ricotta and scamorza on one half of the circle, leaving a 2cm rim across the edge. Lay two basil leaves on high, sprinkle with an eighth of a teaspoon of salt and grind of pepper, then fold over the opposite aspect of the pizza to surround the cheese and go away you with a stuffed half-circle of dough. Pinch the perimeters to seal and repeat with the remaining dough, cheese and basil leaves.
Warmth the oven to 140C (120C fan)/275F/gasoline 1 and gently reheat the tomato sauce. Put the vegetable oil in a medium-sized saucepan on a medium-high warmth; it’s prepared for cooking when it hits 170C, or when a small piece of dough sizzles the second it’s dropped into the recent oil. Gently decrease two of the panzerotti into the pan and fry for 3 minutes, turning over fastidiously midway, till evenly golden. Utilizing a slotted spoon, raise them out of the oil and drain on kitchen paper. As soon as drained, place on a big baking tray and preserve heat within the oven. Repeat with the remaining panzerotti, permitting the oil to come back again as much as temperature earlier than frying every batch.
Organize the panzerotti on a platter and serve with the nice and cozy tomato sauce on the aspect for dipping.
Allium tuna pasta bake with crisp topping
This can be a actual crowdpleaser and wishes nothing greater than an enormous leafy salad alongside. Use no matter cheese and pasta you need to hand, adjusting the cooking time relying on which pasta you select.
Prep 15 min
Cook dinner 55 min
Serves 4-6
2 massive leeks, trimmed and minimize into 1cm-thick cash (385g)
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt and black pepper
1 bunch spring onions, trimmed and minimize into 4cm-long items
15g unsalted butter
2 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced (100g)
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
250g dried casarecce, gemelli or different pasta
1½ tsp plain flour
600ml entire milk
400ml rooster inventory (or water)
2 tbsp double cream
120g mature cheddar, coarsely grated, plus 50g further for topping
15g picked parsley, roughly chopped
230g drained tinned tuna chunks in spring water (ie, from 2 tins)
35g panko breadcrumbs
1½ tsp lemon zest
Warmth the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gasoline 7. Totally wash and pat dry the leeks, then unfold them out on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper and scatter over a tablespoon and a half of oil, half a teaspoon of salt and grind of pepper. Toss to coat, then bake for quarter-hour. Add the spring onions to the tray, toss once more to coat and roast for an additional 10 minutes, till tender and evenly colored. Take away and put aside.
In the meantime, put the butter and a tablespoon of oil in a big ovenproof saute pan on a medium-high warmth. Add the shallots and cook dinner, stirring often, for 20 minutes, till tender and golden brown. Add the garlic, cook dinner for 2 minutes, till aromatic, then stir within the pasta and flour. Pour within the milk, inventory, cream, three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt and a quarter-teaspoon of freshly cracked pepper, carry to a simmer, then flip down the warmth to medium-low and cook dinner, stirring regularly, for 18 minutes, till the pasta is simply cooked and the sauce has thickened. Off the warmth, stir within the cheese, parsley and roast alliums, till the cheese melts, then gently stir within the tuna chunks in order to not break them up an excessive amount of.
Flip the oven grill to excessive. In a small bowl, combine the panko with the remaining 50g cheese, lemon zest and remaining teaspoon and a half of oil, then sprinkle evenly excessive of the pasta. Grill for six minutes, till golden and effervescent, and serve straight from the pan.
Aubergine and egg curry with spring onion and ginger oil
Frying the soft-boiled eggs is a should – it offers them a beautiful crust that then softens and drinks within the flavourful sauce. Serve with rice or rotis.
Prep 20 min
Cook dinner 1 hr
Serves 6
2 aubergines (400g)
200ml vegetable oil, or different impartial oil
Salt
6 massive eggs
7 spring onions, white components roughly chopped, inexperienced components thinly sliced (140g)
2 crimson chillies, stems eliminated and discarded, flesh roughly chopped, seeds and all (20g)
4 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tsp scorching madras curry powder
100g tinned plum tomatoes (save the remainder of the tin for an additional use)
1½ tsp caster sugar
500ml vegetable inventory or water
2 tbsp double cream
15g piece recent ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 limes – 1 juiced, to get 1 tbsp, the opposite minimize into quarters
Warmth the oven to 240C (220C fan)/475F/gasoline 9. Reduce the aubergines in half lengthways, then minimize them in half widthways, so you find yourself with eight roughly 7cm x 3½cm items. Put these in a bowl with a tablespoon and a half of oil and a half-teaspoon of salt, toss to coat, then lay out on an oven tray lined with greaseproof paper. Bake for quarter-hour, till evenly golden, take away and put aside to chill.
In the meantime, three-quarters fill a medium saucepan with water and convey to a boil; have prepared a big bowl of ice-cold water. Flip down the warmth to medium-high, gently decrease the eggs into the recent water and cook dinner for seven minutes. Take away with a slotted spoon, plunge into the iced water and, as soon as cool, peel and pat dry.
Put 5 tablespoons of oil in a medium saute pan for which you have got a lid, and set it over a medium-high warmth. As soon as the oil is scorching, add the peeled eggs and fry, turning typically, for 2 to a few minutes in complete, till golden throughout. Drain on kitchen paper, discard the oil and wipe clear the pan.
Now for the curry base. Put 4 tablespoons of oil, the spring onion whites, chillies, garlic, curry powder, tomatoes, sugar and a half-teaspoon of salt in a meals processor and blitz nearly easy. Return the saute pan to a medium warmth, pour within the curry base and cook dinner, stirring regularly, for 20 minutes, till the oil separates and the combo appears break up. Stir within the inventory, flip the warmth to medium-high and, as soon as the sauce is simmering, stir within the aubergines and cook dinner for 15-20 minutes extra, till the sauce is barely thickened and the aubergines are tender. Gently stir within the cream and the eggs, cook dinner for an additional minute, then take off the warmth and canopy with a lid.
In the meantime, make the spring onion and ginger oil. Put the remaining 45ml oil in a small saucepan on a medium-high warmth till smoking. Add the ginger, fry for a minute or two, till softened, then add the spring onion greens, take off the warmth and stir within the lime juice and an eighth of a teaspoon salt.
Spoon half the spring onion and ginger oil over the curry and serve straight from the pan with the additional oil and lime wedges alongside.
