52 Recipe Challenge - Week 42.

I had hoped to pop this recipe up about this time last week but I got sidetracked... you know what they say about the best laid plans! For this week's recipe I decided to try a savoury recipe inspired by watching The Hairy Bikers Bakathon and seeing them make this recipe made me think that's a good idea why haven't I thought of that before?  The recipe in question is Stromboli and I had to laugh, as when I was looking at the blogs I follow and finding that another blogger I read also posted a Stromboli post the day after I made this...  it's obviously a popular dish!

To make this you will need

450g/1lb strong white flour

1 x 7g/¾oz sachet of fast-action dried yeast

2 tsp salt

4 tbsp olive oil

325ml/11fl oz warm water

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic

400g/14oz can chopped tomatoes

½ tsp dried oregano

1 tsp sugar

8 slices of prosciutto

125g/4½oz mozzarella cheese

A few Spinach leaves

I started by measuring out  the flour for dough and putting it into a bowl then adding the yeast, salt, olive oil and water.

Next I mixed the ingredients together before kneading them for five minutes then I covered the dough with some cling film and put it in a warm place to rise for an hour.

Whilst this was rising I started to sort out the sauce, the original recipe said to chop up the onion and fry it off in a pan and then add the other ingredients.  I decided that whilst this sounded like a good idea I realised that this take a bit longer than I planned so I chopped up the onion and put it in a bowl with the garlic, chopped tomatoes, oregano and sugar then put it in the microwave for a few minutes.

Once this was done the dough had also risen so I rolled the dough out and then put it on a baking sheet and covered it in tomato sauce.

I then put the mozzarella on top.

Before adding the prosciutto ham and a few leaves of spinach in place of the fresh basil in the original recipe because that's what was in my fridge...

then I rolled it all up tucking by tucking in the long edges and then rolling one short end towards the other. 

 After doing that I looked at the recipe again and realised that I should have put it in a tray with some baking paper on it so I transferred it to another baking tray.

Whilst transferring the Stromboli the dough started to weaken and rip and I think I may have rolled it out too thin... then again I probably didn't use enough flour either but needless to say holes appeared in it.  The original recipe said to let it rise again but the evening was getting on so I only let is rise a few minutes before putting it into the oven at 200c/gas mark 6 for 25 minutes.

It cooked well but alas it didn't look as nice as I wanted it to when I took it out of the oven and ended up tasting mainly like tomatoey bread.  My boyfriend didn't believe I put cheese in it, I guess that the dough absorbed his share whilst it was cooking!  This recipe also made a monstrous amount so I took some of it into to work for my lunch the next day.

This was a recipe really I wanted to taste good but sadly it didn't live up to my expectations, maybe I should have followed the original recipe more.  Then again maybe I should just try another Stromboli recipe in the future... still it was worth a try and definitely something to look back on for future reference.

Friday Favourite: Pizza!

I've decided that it might be nice to share a few of my tried and tested favourite recipes on selected Fridays...

This recipe is one we make most weeks and is a barometer against which I measure all other pizzas. (My boyfriend thinks this maybe slightly unfair to the other pizzas....) This is a great recipe for a treat or a cold day.

To Make this you will need:

For the Dough

125g Strong White Flour

A sprinkle of salt

A sprinkle of sugar

One 7g sachet of dried yeast

A sprinkle of oregano

150ml warm water

2 tablespoons olive oil

For the Sauce

One tin of chopped tomatoes

A pinch of salt

A pinch of sugar

A sprinkle of chilli powder

A sprinkle of paprika

A sprinkle of oregano

A few drops of lemon or lime juice

A squirt of tomato puree

or the Toppings

1 Ball of Mozzeralla

Half a block of Feta Cheese

A Quarter of a pepper

Some Onion

A few jalepeno peppers

Peppadew peppers if they are available.

Measure out the flour and sift it into a bowl, then add the sugar, salt, oregano & yeast.

Next run hot tap until it’s lukewarm and then measure your water, pour your water and oil into the rest of the dough mix. Mix the dough together with your fingers until it forms a ball then knead it for another five to ten minutes by pulling it and squishing it back together and punching it to get some air in it. My recipe says to do this until it feels soft and elastic but I normally do this until I feel tired.

Once you have kneaded the dough cover the bowl with either clingfilm or a clean plastic bag and put in a warm place for half an hour to an hour, it’s done when it’s doubled in size.

Whilst waiting for the pizza dough to rise I normally start working on the sauce and toppings, for the sauce I empty a tin of chopped tomatoes into a bowl and add the herbs, spices, lemon/lime juice and tomato puree. I mix the lot  together and then microwave it for a minute and a half and then taste it and adjust the seasonings to my tastes.  If it is a bit runny I will microwave it for a few more minutes to reduce it down and then put it to one side until I need to top the pizza.

Once the sauce is done I start to chop up my toppings and normally start with the onions and peppers.

I then preheat the oven to 230c/ gas mark 6 check on my dough and if it has risen enough I will roll it out with my rolling pin and put it on the pizza tray. (If I threw it in the air it’d most likely land on my floor/ head/ a cat and be ruined...)

When I’ve rolled out the dough and put it on the pizza tray, I put the tomato sauce on top, then I drain the mozzeralla and rip it into pieces on top of the pizza. After that I chop the feta as well as any jalepeno peppers or peppadews we have in the fridge. After I’ve covered the pizza with mozzeralla and chopped up all the toppings I pop the rest of the toppings on the pizza and put it into the oven for about twenty minutes.

Once it’s done I cut it up and then wolf it down like someone who hasn’t eaten in a week just incase someone tries to steal it. (It’s that good!)

My last tip is if you double the dough mix you can make your own garlic bread by rolling it out like a pizza and instead of topping with tomato and cheese cooking it for five to ten minutes then removing from the oven and putting garlic butter on top. (To make the garlic butter we just chop up garlic and mix it in a mug with butter then smear on to the garlic bread base.) Once you've done this return to to the oven with the pizza for another ten minutes.

Enjoy!