Puff Pastry Pizza...

I am not ashamed to say that I buy frozen pastry. It is far easier to use then making pastry from scratch and even well known chef’s recommend using it! We had some puff pastry lurking in the freezer, so this week I thought it might be fun to try and make a puff pastry pizza.

There were a few veggies that needed to be used up so I decided to make a combination of 2 toppings. One was inspired by my Mum’s lasagne recipe and included ricotta cheese, parmesan, spinach and egg. The other was a tomato based sauce which was also going to serve as a light and easy lunch the next day.

I preheated the oven and put our pizza stone in to gradually warm up. Following the packet directions I rolled out the pastry sheet and put it on the warmed pizza stone. Liking the idea of a ‘stuffed crust’ I put thin strips of mozzarella cheese about a half inch from the edge and then folded the edges over the cheese. I sealed the crust with an egg wash.

I added about 6 large Tablespoons of the tomato sauce to the ricotta mixture and then spread the combined sauces over the rolled out pastry sheet. Finishing it off with some roughly chopped pieces of mozzarella cheese I put it in the oven for approx 20 – 25 minutes.

The pizza stone really helped it cook beautifully throughout. The base was lovely and crisp and not soggy at all (I was worried about the amount of moisture in the sauces).The crust puffed up and remained light and flaky. Biting into it and having hot mozzarella cheese ooze out was a delight!

It was excellent and went very well with a glass of red wine and a small green salad. We even had leftovers for the next day which were just as tasty. This makes for a light, flaky delicious pizza!

Luna Raye’s Puff Pastry Pizza

Ingredients

For Pizza Crust / Preparation

1 sheet of ready made puff pastry

1 beaten egg for the egg wash

2 x 125g mozzarella balls

For Tomato sauce

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

Drizzle olive oil

2 cloves of garlic

1 small red onion

¼ cup finely chopped zucchini (courgette)

Pinch of dried chilli flakes

Pinch of dried mixed Italian herbs (Thyme, Oregano, Rosemary, Marjoram)

For Ricotta Mixture

250g Ricotta

4 chestnut mushrooms finely chopped

300g baby leaf spinach

3 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese

1 egg beaten

Directions

Preheat oven according to puff pastry directions. Make sure pizza stone is in oven so it can gradually heat up.

Begin tomato sauce by adding drizzle of olive oil to a pan and gently caramelizing the onions.

When onions are soft add the minced garlic, chilli flakes and Italian herbs.

Mix well and add the tin of tomatoes.

Simmer on medium heat for 6- 7 minutes and then add the finely chopped zucchini.

Stir around and remove from heat.

Begin the Ricotta mixture by putting the ricotta in a large glass bowl.

Add a beaten egg and mix well.

Add the parmesan cheese, salt and pepper and chestnut mushrooms and stir to blend.

Roughly chop the baby spinach leaves and add to the mixture.

Set aside.

Prepare the pastry by rolling it out on a flat surface. I used a large chopping board.

Cut about ¼ of one of the mozzarella balls into thin strips and place them about half an inch from the outside edge of the pastry.

Fold the outside edge over the cheese strips to create a ‘thick stuffed crust’

Beat the other egg and brush it over the crust edge (this will help keep it in place and also give the crust a more golden colour)

At this point I needed to transfer the pizza base to the pizza stone – so I carefully slid it from the chopping board onto the stone (making sure the stone was on a heat proof surface)

Add about 6 Tbsp of the tomato sauce into the bowl with the ricotta mixture and give it a gentle stir. It doesn’t matter if the tomato sauce is still a little warm. (Put the rest in the fridge for an easy lunch the next day)

Spoon the mixture onto the pastry base and spread it out.

Roughly tear or chop the rest of the mozzarella into pieces and scatter over the top.

Season with a bit more salt and pepper.

Put in oven for approximately 20 – 25 minutes.

Assemble your simple green salad and pour some wine.

Enjoy!

I really loved this recipe and will make puff pastry pizza again! Check out this great site for more inspiring ways to use puff pastry!

Puff Pastry Pizza

Bruschetta: A Delicious Half Time (Or Anytime) Tre...

Like many people this summer I will be watching the World Cup. I am not an avid football fan but I do enjoy the bigger matches and the World Cup is always exciting. During the England vs. USA game we needed some cheering up after Robert Green allowed the Americans to score an easy goal.

During the half time I decided to make a quick and easy bruschetta. This recipe is slightly different from traditional bruschetta recipes as I didn’t heat the tomato mixture before spreading it on the bread, but it is still full of flavour and goes very nicely with a chilled beer. We had Maple Moon Ale, an award winning ale from Joseph Holt’s Derby Brewery.

After our half time treat we felt slightly better about the match. We didn’t score another goal, but we didn’t allow another goal in either – which is something.

Luna Raye’s Half Time Or Anytime Bruschetta.

(If you want to make this at half time make sure you put the oven on 10 – 15 minutes in advance. So approximately 30 – 35 minutes into the first half of the match)

Ingredients

15 – 20 organic cherry or plum tomatoes.

1 clove of garlic, minced.

1 banana shallot finely chopped. (You can use any shallot but I prefer banana shallots as they are milder)

3 – 4 Tablespoons freshly chopped herbs. (I used Parsley, Coriander, and Sage) I would have loved to use some of my Basil but it’s struggling at the moment.

Pinch of sea salt.

Black pepper to taste.

Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

2 – 3 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese.

1 small baguette cut lengthways and then halved.

Directions

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Place the cut baguette slices on a baking sheet and put in oven to slightly toast them. (You can brush a little virgin olive oil on them at this stage if you wish).

While the baguette slices are gently toasting in the oven. Roughly chop the tomatoes and place in a medium sized bowl.

Add the minced garlic and chopped shallot and mix well.

Add the sea salt and some black pepper and gently blend in the chopped mixed herbs.

Take the baguette slices out of the oven and spread the tomato mixture liberally over each slice.

Finish with a light drizzle of virgin oil and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

Place back in the oven for a further 5 minutes or until the Parmesan has melted and the tomato mixture is slightly bubbling.

Keep a close eye on them as you don’t want them to burn.

They should be on the plate by the start of the 2nd half (although it does help to have a kitchen assistant to speed things along!)

Happily serves 2.

Half Time or Any Time Bruschetta

My Poor Basil

Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce and Caramelized Onions...

Cooking really changed for me when I finally mastered the fine art of caramelizing onions. Although it may seem like a simple thing to do I usually ended up with charred bits of onion stuck to a heavily smoking pan and lots of little burns on my hands and arms. I think the main culprit in this was my love of cooking everything in butter (and lots of it!). Apparently the dairy solids in butter have a tendency to burn which I didn’t realize. You can use clarified butter but using olive oil seemed a much simpler (and healthier) solution. So I made the switch and the rest is history.

My onion of choice is the large yellow Spanish onion which has a beautifully sweet flavour when cooked. However I personally like to add a sprinkling of brown sugar or for a special treat, a drizzle of maple syrup, which gives the onions a deep rich colour and really brings out the smoky sweetness in flavour. By cutting the onion cross wise in large round slices you get lovely long strands of onion which look quite elegant. To caramelize them add to a pan with some olive oil and a sprinkling of brown sugar or maple syrup. Cook over a moderate heat until soft. It’s as easy as that!

I am very proud of the fact that I can now easily whip up this tasty delight adding a whole new dimension to a variety of dishes. No more charred onions or smoking pans for me, although I still burn my hands from time to time, but then again I can be a real klutz (I am an Aries after all)!

Caramelized onions are a fantastic condiment and can be added to:
• Burgers
• Hot Dogs
• Sausages
• Steaks
• Sandwiches (grilled cheese is especially good)
• Salads (they work really well with hummus or goats cheese)
• Mashed, Scalloped or Jacket Potatoes
• Salsas, chutneys and gravies

You can also add them to:
• Pasta sauces. (my favourites are tomato or carbonara)
• Quiches or vegetable tarts.
• Omelettes.
• Soups.

Here is my recipe for Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce and Caramelized Onions.

Ingredients
1 large yellow Spanish onion, cut crosswise in large round slices.
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced.
2-3 Tablespoons of olive oil.
1 (28 ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes.
2 teaspoons of dark brown sugar or pure maple syrup.
3-4 Tablespoons of freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese.

Directions
1. Add olive oil and chopped onions to a large skillet and stir to coat onions in the oil. Sprinkle the brown sugar or drizzle some maple syrup over the onions and continue to cook over a medium heat until the onions become soft.

2. Once the onions have been cooked set them aside on a plate. Don’t wash the skillet!

3. Add the tomatoes and minced garlic to the unwashed skillet (there will still be some lovely flavours from the onions lurking there). Cook over a low heat stirring occasionally so it doesn’t stick.

4. While the tomatoes and garlic are cooking get a pan of salted water on the boil for the pasta. You can use any kind of pasta but I love using spaghetti or linguine for this dish.

5. Once the water is boiling and the pasta is cooking, add the caramelized onions back into the skillet with the tomatoes and garlic. Gently stir to mix the onions, garlic and tomatoes together.

6. When pasta is al dente, drain it and add it to bowls.

7. Generously spoon the sauce and top and grate some Parmesan or Romano cheese on top.

8. Serve on its own or with garlic bread and enjoy!

Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce and Caramelized Onions

Caramelizing Onions