Beef, Bread, Fruit, Slow cooker

Creamy Slow Cooker Stroganoff and Strawberry Bread

I’ll make this short for all of you who, like myself, are trying to fit 25 hours of living into a 24-hour day. First, if you don’t have a slow cooker, buy one. Don’t be afraid to leave the house with it on and don’t attempt to make anything fancy in it. The slow cooker can do a lot, but it doesn’t make pretty food. Stephanie O’Dea has a great slow cooker blog and now a companion cookbook, where I found this recipe. It’s the “working mom” version of one of my childhood favorites — my German great-grandmother’s stroganoff. It would be best served on her homemade spaetzle, but good-quality egg noodles are a fine substitute.

The strawberry bread is perfect for using up the last of the great strawberries of the season. It can be made ahead and lasts for several days, covered, at room temperature. It can also be wrapped tightly in wax paper, then plastic wrap and stored in the freezer for a few months. Like banana bread, this strawberry bread is healthy enough to eat for breakfast but tasty enough to eat as dessert.

Creamy Slow Cooker Stroganoff
adapted from Make It Fast, Cook It Slow: The Big Book of Everyday Slow Cooking by Stephanie O’Dea

Serves 6

2 lb (900 g) beef stew meat
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup (60 ml) milk
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 onion, diced
8 oz (225 g) mushrooms, quartered or sliced
1/4 cup (60 ml) broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried herbes de Provence or thyme
4 oz (110 g) cream cheese, diced
egg noodles, for serving

Put the meat into the slow cooker (frozen is fine). Add the butter, milk, Worcestershire sauce, onion, mushrooms, broth, salt, pepper, and dried herbs. Cook on low for 10 to 12 hours, or until the meat is tender. Stir in the cream cheese and cook for a few more minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cream cheese is fully incorporated into the sauce. Taste and add more salt or pepper, if necessary. Serve over cooked egg noodles.

***

Strawberry Bread

Makes 2 loaves

1 lb (450 g, or about 4 cups) sliced strawberries
1 1/2 cups (300 g) sugar
2 1/8 cups (255 g) all-purpose flour
1 cup (125 g) whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (180 ml) canola or vegetable oil
1/2 cup (120 ml) applesauce
4 eggs, beaten lightly
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups (125 g) chopped toasted pecans

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease and flour two 5 x 9 inch loaf pans.

In a small bowl, combine the sugar and strawberries; set aside. In a large bowl, combine the flours, cinnamon, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the oil, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in the strawberry and sugar mixture. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined, then fold in the pecans.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool the loaves on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove the loaves from the pans and continue cooling on rack. Serve at room temperature.

Indian food, Poultry

Chicken Saag with Cucumber Raita

Just when I thought my food rut couldn’t get any deeper (you may have noticed my lack of posts), our CSA, Rare Earth Farm, delivered its first box of the season. How easy it is to forget the ease and joy of cooking after the harsh winter and cool spring of northern climates. But the box brought such an abundance of good, fresh produce I couldn’t help but be excited. Right now strawberries, spinach, and snap peas are making daily appearances at my house. The kids are delighted, though their clothes are suffering from the strawberry stains. And the spinach was so pretty, I had to photograph it even before the cooking began.

If you’re dealing with an overabundance of spinach, this chicken saag recipe is a great way to quickly use up a large quantity of it. The finished dish didn’t look quite as pretty as the bouquets of leaves I started with, but its creamy, delicate sauce more than made up for it.

Chicken Saag
adapted from Indianfoodforever.com

Serves 6

1 1/2 lb (680 g) spinach, stems removed if tough, washed and chopped
7 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1 inch piece of ginger, minced
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 large onions, minced
1 x 14 oz (400 g) can of diced tomatoes, crushed with your fingers
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more if you like it spicy)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 cardamom pods
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 lb (680 g) boneless, skinless chicken, cut into 1 inch pieces
4 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 tablespoons butter, cut into cubes
basmati rice or naan, for serving

Put the spinach into a deep pan. Add 1/4 cup (60 ml) of water and cover. Bring to a boil and remove from the heat. When cool, puree the spinach in a food processor or blender and set aside.

Heat 4 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet or dutch oven. Fry the chicken for 3 to 4 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.

Heat the remaining oil in the skillet and add the ginger, garlic and onions and saute until lightly brown. Add the tomatoes, salt, cayenne, ground coriander, turmeric, cloves, and cardamom. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of water. Cook for 10 minutes over a low heat. Add the chicken and milk to the skillet and simmer until the chicken is tender and cooked fully, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Add the spinach puree and garam masala to the skillet. Cook, stirring frequently, until the spinach starts sticking to the pan, about 5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the butter. Keep the skillet covered until ready to serve. Serve with rice or naan.

***

Cucumber Raita

Serves 4

1 1/2 cups (360 ml) plain yogurt
1/4 cup (60 ml) milk
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced small
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
pinch of cayenne pepper or garam masala

Beat together the yogurt and milk with a whisk until very smooth. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Sprinkle with cayenne or garam masala and chill for up to 2 hours. Serve this as a side dish to any spicy Indian dish.

30-minute meals, Beans, Italian food, Salads, Seafood

White Bean and Tuna Salad with Lemon Pepper Dressing

When you travel, what do you remember afterward? I remember the food. I have a better memory of eating quiche Lorraine for breakfast on a bench by the Seine in Paris than I do of seeing the Mona Lisa in the Louvre. Of course I remember the big-name sightseeing highlights, but I also remember the Nutella and banana crepe we bought from a stand near the Eiffel Tower; a brioche aux praline in Lyons that was so good we changed our return travel plans back to Paris just so we could eat it one more time; chocolate mint gelato in Florence served by a man in what looked like a crisp white lab coat and perfectly Brylcreemed 1950s hair; kriek cherry beer in Amsterdam, glögg in Copenhagen and a harsh, peaty whiskey in Edinburgh that I downed after (foolishly, in my case) taking the ghost tour of the city; conch chowder in the Bahamas; hot chocolate and a gingerbread man with my little girl in London; and a ploughman’s pub lunch in Canterbury. In Barcelona we spent more time eating tapas and drinking sangria than sightseeing. In the US, I still have clear memories of bratwurst being grilled on the Memorial Union Terrace in the summertime in Madison, Wisconsin; whole crabs in Baltimore, complete with a newspaper-covered table and hammers; lobster in Boston with flimsy plastic bibs and pitchers of beer; a post-wedding brunch at the Ritz in Washington, DC with scallops and bacon, caviar and waiters who seemed to top up my glass of mimosa after every sip; sopapilla and honey in Santa Fe; scoops of ice cream in waffle cones so freshly made on the spot in Bellingham, Washington that they were still warm; and a nondescript hot dog somewhere outside of Charlottesville, Virginia that I remember only because I couldn’t understand a single word the man behind the counter said when he rattled off all the toppings because his Southern accent was so thick, so I just said I’d have what my friend was having.

As for this salad, I had it for lunch on a rooftop café in Tuscany on my honeymoon eight years ago, looking out over rolling countryside that was hazy in the middle of the heat wave they were having at the time. Earlier during that trip, walking across the city on our way to stand in line in the hot sun for an hour to see Michelangelo’s David in Florence and wilting just at the thought of it, I turned to my husband and said, “Will seeing David really make us better people? How about we just go back to the garden at the hotel and drink beer and eat olives instead?” Which is exactly what we did.

What are some of your memories of food and travel?

White Bean and Tuna Salad with Lemon Pepper Dressing
adapted from How to Cook Book Two by Delia Smith

Serves 4 as a light main course or 6 as a starter/light lunch

for the salad:
2 x 14 oz (400 g) cans of cannellini beans
salt and freshly ground black pepper
a few handfuls of arugula (rocket), stalks removed
2 x 7 oz (200 g) cans of tuna, drained
1 red onion, peeled, sliced thinly and deflamed
crusty bread, to serve

for the dressing:
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 teaspoons Maldon sea salt
1 heaped teaspoon mustard powder, such as Colman’s
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
zest and juice of 1 large lemon (3 tablespoons juice)

To make the dressing, first crush the garlic and salt using a pestle and mortar until the garlic is pulverized into a paste, then work in the mustard powder and pepper. If you have a large pestle and mortar, add the olive oil, lemon zest and juice directly into it and whisk everything together thoroughly. If your pestle and mortar is small (like mine), then scrape the garlic paste into a larger bowl and whisk in the olive oil, lemon zest and juice in that.

Place the beans in a bowl and pour the dressing over, stirring to make sure all the beans are coated. Season generously.

To serve the salad, arrange three-quarters of the arugula (rocket) leaves over the base of one large serving dish (or you could assemble the salad on individual plates), spoon the beans on top and add the tuna fish in chunks. Add the rest of the arugula, pushing some of the leaves and chunks of tuna right in amongst the beans. Arrange the onion slices on top and serve straight away.

Drinks, Pork

Sausages, Peppers and Onions and Elderflower Syrup

You couldn’t have asked for a better day for a cross-country trip in Ireland. I made the three-hour drive from the east coast to the Midlands under a brilliant blue sky with warm sunshine beating down, passing roadsides covered with wild daises, buttercups and poppies, tractors pulling trailers of turf in the bogs of County Offaly and farmers working to harvest the first cut of silage in fields all along the way. I was heading to Oldfarm in County Tipperary, between Birr and Portumna, to meet up with a few fellow food bloggers and to see some rare-breed pigs.

Six years ago, Margaret O’Farrell and Alfie McCaffrey traded in their city life in Dublin and their scuba diving business for life in the country and a new venture raising free-range Saddleback pigs. Last week, they invited a group of strangers to their home for an afternoon of foodie chat and to have a look around their farm. We sat on their fabulous porch (what Margaret calls her “Martha Stewart room”) with a view to the Silvermine and Slieve Bloom mountains and drank homemade elderflower cordial while they told us how the two pigs they originally bought – they only wanted one for themselves and one for Margaret’s brother – became forty-eight, and without quite meaning to, they found themselves in the pig business.

We headed out then to look at the pigs for ourselves, all happily rooting in the earth in the fresh air, taking little notice of us as we stood next to them and talked shop. Ralph Haslam from Mossfield Organic Farm stopped by later on, coming out to meet us in the fields behind the house. Margaret and Alfie feed the whey left over from his cheese-making to their pigs, as well as locally grown barley and vegetables, and this time he brought a box of his award-winning cheeses for us to try and take home.

After tramping around the farm, we returned to the porch and a table groaning with food — Ralph’s cheeses, strawberries and cherries picked that morning from Margaret’s garden, two kinds of chocolate chip cookies, muffins, a Barra cake, a strawberry sponge, a mocha tart that we’re all still talking about, and a new experiment from Theresa, a chocolate raspberry preserve that was so good we simply ate spoonfuls of it straight from the jar, and all washed down with endless pots of tea.

I was sent home with an armful of rhubarb that Alfie harvested from their garden, which I later turned into rhubarb-strawberry mousse, two kinds of Mossfield cheeses and a jar of fresh pesto from Hey Pesto. After I mentioned that I’d always wanted to try making elderflower cordial myself, Margaret and Alfie cut dozens of elderflower heads for me from their trees, and even though I was tired from the six-hour round trip, I made a batch of this elderflower syrup as soon as I got home.

And, of course, we got sausages. Oldfarm’s Saddleback sausages have a stronger flavor than conventional sausages, so they stand up well to being featured as the star of a dinner dish. Sausages, peppers and onions is one of my favorite dinners and is traditionally made with Italian sausages, but since those are hard to come by in Ireland, I make it with good-quality butcher sausages instead, and Oldfarm’s are some of the best around.

The day out at Oldfarm showcased many of the things that are so special about artisan Irish food — it’s top-class, local, and produced with pride and passion by dedicated, generous people. If you’d like to try some of it for yourself, Margaret and Alfie sell their free-range Saddleback pork and bacon in 5 kg or 10 kg box schemes at €10 per kg, delivered right to your door. You can contact them at margaret.oldfarm@gmail.com or 086 810 0125 for more information, or follow Oldfarm on Facebook, Twitter or Margaret’s blog, A Year in Redwood.

Sausages, Peppers and Onions
adapted from Giada Di Laurentiis

Serves 4 to 6

Serve this as a sandwich on fresh rolls, on top of pasta, or on its own in bowls with plenty of crusty bread on the side. If serving as a sandwich, split the rolls in half lengthwise. Hollow out the bread from the bottom side of each roll, being careful not to puncture the crust, then fill the bottom half of the roll with the sausage mixture.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 lb (450 g) Italian sausages or good-quality butcher sausages
2 red peppers, sliced
2 yellow peppers, sliced
2 yellow onions, sliced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup (240 ml) red wine or water
1 x 14 oz (400 g) can of chopped tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
a few basil leaves, roughly chopped or chiffonaded, to garnish (optional)

Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over a medium heat. Add the sausages and cook until browned on both sides, about 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and drain.

Keeping the pan over a medium heat, add the peppers, onions, salt, and pepper and cook for 10 minutes, until golden brown and softened. Add the oregano, basil, and garlic and cook for 2 more minutes.

Add the tomato paste and stir. Add the wine or water, tomatoes, and chili flakes, if using. Stir to combine, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release all the browned bits. Bring to a simmer.

Cut the sausages into 1‑inch pieces. Add the sausage back to the pan and stir to combine. Cook for about 20 minutes, until the sauce has thickened. Garnish with fresh basil and serve as desired (see note above).

***

Elderflower Syrup
adapted from Darina Allen’s Ballymaloe Cookery Course by Darina Allen

Makes 2 cups (1 pint)

If you could bottle the essence of summertime, this would be it. Add this syrup to sparkling water or even a glass of champagne or Prosecco. Decant it into clean, sterilized bottles, or freeze the syrup in an ice cube tray. If you can’t find unwaxed lemons, lightly scrub them under warm water with a clean scrubbing brush before you zest them.

1 cup (200 g) superfine (caster) sugar
2 cups (1 pint) cold water
6 elderflower heads, in full bloom
zest and juice of 2 lemons, preferably organic and unwaxed

Put the sugar and water into a saucepan over a medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the elderflowers and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat and add the lemon zest and juice. Set aside to cool, then cover and leave to infuse for 24 hours. Strain and pour into sterilized, clean bottles. Dilute as desired.

30-minute meals, Pasta and noodles, Seafood

Pasta with Tuna, Tomatoes and Olives

Last Tuesday was one of those days that turned out to be warmer than predicted (not that I’m complaining!), so much so that whatever it was that I had planned to cook that night, I suddenly didn’t want to anymore. Add to that the fact that I had a plumber and a loss adjuster in my kitchen while I was trying to make dinner, talking about having to rip up and replace all the flooring throughout the house because of a mysterious water leak we have, and I wanted to cry, not cook. But this is one of those recipes that takes almost no time to cook and is made of pantry staples that I always have around, so I was able to quickly change my plans, throw this together and avoid resorting to takeout.

A well-stocked pantry can be a busy cook’s best friend, as Anita writes in her Dinner on a Deadline series. (And check out this well-stocked, well-organized pantry — it makes my Virgo heart happy just to look at it.) Some of the things you’ll rarely find me without are canned chickpeas, cannellini beans, black beans and tomatoes (whole and chopped), rice, pasta, couscous, tortillas, onions, garlic, lemons, olives, tuna and a jar of pesto in the pantry, as well as a good variety of dried herbs and spices and all the staples for baking; some fresh herbs, chorizo, eggs, Parmesan and cheddar cheese, potatoes, carrots and apples in the fridge; and frozen peas, frozen berries, chicken breasts and homemade chicken stock in the freezer. With just that short list of ingredients, I can make pasta with Marcella Hazan’s tomato sauce, pasta e ceci, roasted garlic and pea soup, red chile chicken and rice with black beans, chicken bouillabaisse, a white bean and tuna salad, a ploughman’s lunch, homemade pizza, cheese quesadillas, a potato frittata or this dinner with hardly any planning ahead.

What pantry staples do you always have on hand? What are your store cupboard stand-by dinners? Let us know in the comments or come join the discussion on our Facebook page, under the Discussions tab! 

Pasta with Tuna, Tomatoes and Olives
adapted from Apples for Jam by Tessa Kiros

Serves 4

If you don’t have fresh herbs, just use some dried basil instead. Olives can become bitter if cooked too long, so you should add them in at the end of a recipe.

14 oz (400 g) pasta, such as penne, farfalle or spaghetti
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 x 14 oz (400 g) can of chopped tomatoes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 x 6 oz (170 g) can of tuna, drained
3 basil leaves, torn
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
a few handfuls of black olives, halved

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water according to the packet instructions.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and season well with salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, then add the tuna, breaking up any large chunks with a wooden spoon. Add in the basil, parsley and olives and simmer for a few minutes more, then remove from the heat.

Drain the pasta and reserve some of the cooking water. Add the pasta to the sauce. Add some of the pasta cooking water to help the sauce coat the pasta if necessary. Serve immediately.

Grains and pulses, Poultry, Vegetarian main dishes

Buttermilk Roast Chicken and Curried Quinoa with Coriander and Cashews

Of course I picked the warmest day of the year to roast chicken. But what could I do? The chicken had been marinating overnight and the only other dinner option involved a takeout menu. Happily, the chicken was worth the effort of hauling a fan up from the basement. I love make-ahead recipes and this is one of the best. Savory and succulent, the chicken went from fridge to plate in about 30 minutes.

The curried quinoa is one of many quinoa recipes that Kristin has kindly sent me. She jokingly labels them as my “friendly daily quinoa recipe” and occasionally questions whether I still want to be bombarded with them. And the answer is always yes! So far, they’ve all received rave reviews from my eager test subjects. Sam has become almost as big a fan of the grain as Reuben, and I can’t get enough of it either. A plate of quinoa is as satisfying as a bowl of pasta but without the usual sedating effects of processed (white) carbohydrates. I also prefer it to whole wheat pasta or brown rice, which can be a bit too hearty for my tastes. This version would work nicely with raita and naan for a light vegetarian dinner.

Buttermilk Roast Chicken
adapted from Nigella Express by Nigella Lawson

Serves 6

3 lb (1.4 kg) chicken drumsticks and/or thighs
2 cups (480 ml) buttermilk
1/4 cup (60 ml) plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed with the back of a large knife, skins removed
1 tablespoon kosher salt or 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper (coarse grind recommended)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon maple syrup

Place the chicken in a large freezer bag and add the buttermilk and 1/4 cup (60 ml) of oil. Add the garlic cloves to the bag with the  salt and pepper. Sprinkle in the ground cumin and finally add the maple syrup. Squish around everything in the freezer bag  to mix the marinade and coat the chicken. Seal the bag, then place on top of a plate or other container (in case of leaks) in the fridge. Leave the buttermilk-marinated chicken in the fridge ideally overnight or out of the fridge for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Take the chicken pieces out of the bag and shake off the excess marinade. Arrange them in a roasting pan lined with aluminum foil.

Drizzle the 2 remaining tablespoons of oil over the chicken,  then roast the chicken in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until brown, even scorched in parts, and juicily cooked through.

***

Naomi Rose’s Curried Quinoa with Coriander and Cashews 
adapted from The Irish Independent (by Aoife at Adventures in Veg), April 17, 2010

Serves 4 as side dish, 2 as main course

1 cup (170 g) quinoa
1 tablespoon sunflower or canola oil
1/2 red onion, chopped
1‑inch piece of fresh ginger, grated
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups (420 ml) water
1 bunch fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped
3/4 cup (120 g) frozen peas
a few handfuls of cashews

Rinse the quinoa well, drain, then set aside. Heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat, then add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add the ginger and spices and cook for another minute or so. Stir in the salt and quinoa.

After a few minutes, add the water and half of the fresh coriander. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat, and simmer until all the water has been absorbed, about 15 minutes.

Add the peas (you might need to pour in a tiny bit more water) and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until the peas are cooked. Add the rest of the coriander and the cashews just before serving. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If using unsalted cashews, you will likely need to add at least 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Beef, Entertaining, Miscellaneous, Potatoes

Beef Tenderloin with Three-herb Chimichurri and Sweet Potato Wedges

Chimichurri is what all the cool kids are eating now, according to Saturday’s Irish Times. I made this three-herb chimichurri a few weeks ago, inspired by the herbs I got from Living Flavour last month, so I’m feeling very smug and ahead of the trends.

Chimichurri is usually only made with parsley, but this version, using cilantro and mint as well, is even better. And now that so many people are growing their own these days, it’s an ideal recipe for using up some of the herbs from your garden.

If you want to make this recipe even faster (and less expensive) to cook, use steaks or even chicken instead of a pricey tenderloin. I served sweet potato wedges with this, but a selection of roasted or grilled vegetables would be fantastic too.

Beef Tenderloin with Three-herb Chimichurri
adapted from Bon Appétit, July 2006

Serves 4 to 6

The original recipe calls for the beef to be grilled, but since my Weber hasn’t been used (and therefore cleaned) since about 2006, I opted to roast it instead. I also scaled down the original quantities to make this more suitable for a family dinner. Click on the link above for grilling instructions and for ingredient quantities to serve 8 to 10.

for the spice rub:
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
1 teaspoon chipotle chile powder or ancho chile powder (optional)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

for the chimichurri:
1/4 cup (60 ml) olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 medium shallot, peeled and quartered
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper (optional)
1 1/2 cups (packed) (30 g) stemmed fresh parsley
1 cup (packed) (20 g) stemmed fresh cilantro
1/2 cup (packed) (15 g) stemmed fresh mint

1 x 2 lb (900 g) beef tenderloin
olive oil

To make the spice rub, combine all the ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.

To make the chimichurri sauce, combine the olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, shallot, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper in a blender or food processor. Blend until almost smooth. Add one-quarter of each of the herbs and blend until incorporated. Add the remaining herbs in three more additions, pureeing until almost smooth after each addition. Add in a little more olive oil if you think it needs it — you want it to have a pesto-like consistency, not a paste.

Let the beef stand at room temperature 1 hour before roasting. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat it to 425°F (220°C). Pat the beef dry with paper towels, then brush with oil. Sprinkle all over with the spice rub, using all of the mixture (the coating will be thick). Heat a splash of olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat and sear the beef for 1 minute on all sides. Transfer the beef to a foil-lined baking sheet (for easier clean-up) and roast for about 30 to 40 minutes, until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 125°F to 130°F (52°C to 54°C) for medium-rare. Transfer to a platter, cover loosely with foil and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Thinly slice the beef crosswise and serve with the chimichurri sauce.

Bread, Italian food, Miscellaneous

Homemade Pizza

When you make friends in the virtual world of blogging, it turns out you can have a virtual party too — an online pizza party, in our case. A few Irish foodies were chatting on Twitter last week, a few pizza craving comments were casually tossed around and before we knew it Sarah had taken the lead in planning a #twizzaparty last Thursday, where nine of us were to all make homemade pizzas, tweet about it and blog it, with Lorraine volunteering to judge the results and even donate some prizes from her Italian deli in Limerick.

Sure, it’s easier to order take-out, and with a good pizzeria only a five-minute drive away we certainly do our fair share of that, but one of the great things about making your own pizzas is that kids love helping out with it, so it’s a fun way to get them involved in the kitchen. But if you’re not crazy about the idea of making your own dough, then you could buy ready-made pizza bases or dough at the grocery store and load them up with your own fresh toppings. I’ve included a list of all the toppings made for the twizzaparty (we would appear to like Parma ham a lot), as well as a few more from around the internet to get you going.

This dough is absolutely foolproof and is the only recipe I use now. Resting the dough overnight is a tip that’s new to me, and if nothing else I found that it made the dough easier to roll out the next day (Lorraine also passed on a tip to cover it with a damp tea towel to keep it from rising too much in the fridge). And everyone loves a secret ingredient, so I’ll let you in on the one in my tomato sauce — anchovy paste. Don’t worry, it doesn’t make the sauce taste at all fishy, it just adds a little hit of umami goodness.

Basic Pizza Dough
adapted from The River Cottage Family Cookbook by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Makes enough for 2 pizzas or 1 loaf of white bread

4 1/4 cups (500 g) strong white flour, plus extra for dusting the work surface
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons (1 x 7 g sachet) easy-blend (fast-action) yeast
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons sugar or honey
1 1/4 cup (300 ml) warm water
cornmeal/polenta, for the base of the pizza (optional)

To make the dough in a bread machine, simply follow the usual instructions for your machine, then skip to the last step.

To make the dough by hand, put the flour in a large mixing bowl, add the salt and yeast and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined. Pour the warm water into a measuring jug, then add the olive oil and sugar (or honey). Stir well. Pour the water mixture onto the flour in the bowl, a little at a time. Either with the wooden spoon or your hands, work the water into the flour and gradually bring it all together into a mass of soft, slightly stick dough. If the dough feels very sticky, add a little more flour. If it feels as if it won’t come together, then work in some more warm water — a soft dough is much easier to knead.

Flour the work surface and turn the dough out onto it. It will look rough and saggy at this stage, so it has to be kneaded until it’s smooth and bouncy. Keep kneading for at least 10 minutes (or you could use the dough hook of a stand mixer). Shape the dough into a neat ball, put it back in the mixing bowl and cover the bowl with some cling film or a damp kitchen towel to prove in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size — this will take 90 minutes to 2 hours.

When the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Lightly grease a pizza pan or baking sheet with olive oil, then sprinkle over some cornmeal, if using. Knock out the air and roll the dough out into a 12-inch round (or whatever size will fit your pan/sheet) and place in the prepared pan or baking sheet. Cover the dough with your toppings and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden (check after 10 minutes to make sure nothing is burning). Allow to stand for 10 minutes, then cut into slices and serve immediately.

***

Tomato Sauce with a Secret Ingredient

Makes more than enough for 2 pizzas

2 x 6 oz cans (or 1 x 300 g jar) tomato paste (a.k.a. tomato puree)
3/4 cup (175 ml) water (or more if you prefer a thinner sauce)
2 or 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/4 cup (25 g) finely grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons anchovy paste (optional, but come on, it’s the secret ingredient!)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried chili flakes (optional)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
pinch of sugar

In a small bowl, combine the tomato paste and water, stirring to combine. Add the garlic, Parmesan, anchovy paste, basil, oregano and chili flakes. Add seasoning to taste, but watch the salt if you’ve used the anchovy paste, as it’s quite salty. Mix together well and add a generous pinch of sugar (or to taste) to counteract the acidity of the tomato paste. Allow the sauce to stand for at least 30 minutes to blend the flavors (though the longer you can leave it, the better), then taste again and adjust the seasoning if needed. Spread the sauce over your pizza dough, then pile on the toppings. Use any leftovers as a pasta sauce, or freeze.

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Topping suggestions

Here’s what we made for the twizzaparty:

  • Hickory BBQ sauce, smoked Applewood cheese, red onions and roasted chicken (my pizza, pictured)
  • Mushroom, Manchego cheese and sage (An American in Ireland)
  • Chicken, asparagus, sweetcorn, feta, red onion, mozzarella (Babaduck Babbles)
  • Parma ham, salami, garlic mushrooms, Taleggio, mozzarella (Babaduck Babbles)
  • Pork, onion, tomato, mushroom, mozzarella, basil (Babaduck Babbles)
  • Roast asparagus, soft Knockalara sheep’s cheese and roasted hazelnuts (Bibliocook)
  • Parma ham, mozzarella, chili oil and fresh basil (Gluttony for Beginners)
  • Caramelized onions and goat’s cheese with cherry tomatoes (I Can Has Cook?)
  • Parboiled asparagus tips, Parma ham and mascarpone cheese (I Can Has Cook?)
  • Wilted spinach, cherry tomatoes and ricotta cheese (I Can Has Cook?)
  • Buffalo mozzerella, Parma ham, black olives, green olives stuffed with pimento paste, capers and sun-dried tomatoes (Like Mam Used to Bake)
  • Caramelized onion and goat’s cheese (Musings of a Med Student)
  • Mozzarella, mature cheddar, Gruyère, baked ham and Parma ham (Smörgåsblog)

And here are some more suggestions from around the internet:

A Cooking Blog