Catherine Fulvio's Apple Cake with Olive Oil

I posted last week about Catherine Fulvio's new book, Catherine's Italian Kitchen.  The lovely people at Gill & Macmillan were kind enough to send me a copy prior to release helping to feed my cookbook addiction.  I pretty much want to try every recipe in the book and will do, eventually, but spotted a little something that I knew Mr Boo would like.  That night I popped on my apron and whipped up Catherine's Apple Cake with Olive Oil.

The batter was really easy to mix up and didn't take very long.  While it was in the oven it filled the house with the most delicious warm, comforting aromas.  As soon as Mr Boo stepped in the door that night he popped his head into the living room to ask me what he could smell.  He was more than happy when he followed me to the kitchen I showed him.  Now, I'm not really a big fan of fruit cakes but I did have a little taste so that I could report on the outcome.

The cake was deliciously light and moist, with subtle flavours of cinammon and ginger.  The raisins were perfectly plump following their hot bath prior to baking and the cake was studded with tender cubes of apple.  It was perfect for the unexpected chilly night we were experiencing last Thursday, much to early for my liking in August.  Mr Boo made short work of making two rather large wedges disappear so I think it has his seal approval. 

Catherine suggests this cake as an alternative to a traditional *whispers* Christmas cake (I know, it is still to early in the year to mention the C word but I think it would be perfectly suited to the festive season too).  It does not contain any alcohol so it won't last as long as a traditional whiskey soaked cake but it did last perfectly well in a cake tin for 5 days in our house.  You could also add a little rum (maybe 3oz) if you want to add more of a festive touch to it.  Obviously you would not be able to make this weeks in advance as with traditional cakes but it would only require a few minutes on Christmas Eve.  I have an other idea in mind for a nice autumnal twist and will report back soon if it turns out as tasty as I think it will.  Whatever time of year you decide to try this recipe I hope that you enjoy it!

Apple Cake with Olive Oil
(Serves 8-10)
This recipe was also accompanied by an 'E' symbol (E = easy to make)

"This is a lovely cake from the north of Italy, where interestingly, olive oil replaces butter in the recipe.  The apple softens in the baking process, resulting in a wonderfully moist cake.  The flavours are very autumnal, and in fact, I have made this as my alternative Christmas Cake. "

110g/4oz Golden Raisins or Sultanas
200g/7oz Golden Caster Sugar
3 large Eggs
150ml/5floz Extra Virgin Olive Oil
350g/12.33oz Plain Flour
1tsp Ground Cinnamon
0.5tsp Ground Ginger
1tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
1tsp Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt
Zest of 1 Lemon
500g Cooking Apples, peeled and diced into 1.5cm pieces

1.  Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.  Butter and flour a 20cm springform cake tin.
2.  Place the raisins or sultanas in a bowl of hot water and allow to soak for 15 minutes to plump up.  Drain and set aside.

3.  Whisk the sugar and eggs until doubled in volume and pale cream in colour.  Warm the olive oil in a saucepan, then slowly whisk it into the eggs and sugar.

4.  Sieve the flour, cinammon, ginger, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt, then gradually add to the oil and egg mixture.  Fold in well.

5.  Add the drained raisins/sultanas to the mixture, along with the lemon zest and diced apples.  Mix thoroughly.  The mixture should be stiff at this stage.

6.  Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin.  Bake for at least 1 hour, until a clean skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Carefully remove the cake from the tin and allow to cool on a wire rack.

* As an alternative to the apples, try diced pear.

Roma Pizza & Pasta Flour (Farina Tipo "00")

The other day whilst I was very busy beavering away at some important task or other I decided to allow myself 30 seconds to check Twitter for updates.  A little tweet from Damien Mulley informed any Irish Foodies who might be interested in receiving some Pizza & Pasta Flour from Roma that they need only send an email for their wish to be granted.  Being a lover of all things pizza and pasta related I thought to myself sure why not, and hit send.

A couple of days later the lovely Adam from Roma sent a little parcel my way.  When I openend the door to the postman it was like Christmas, there he was brandishing 2 lovely parcels for me, 1 from Roma and the other, my Amazon order.  When I opened the parcel it contained the flour as promised and also some Roma pasta, a lovely little storage tin and a recipe card containing recipes for calzone and ravioli.  I had great intentions to make the calzones last Friday but then 'stuff' cropped up and there was no time for that, a very busy bank holiday followed chock full of eating out and entertaining at home so that was the weekend gone. 

When I woke on Tuesday I was more than a little tired and possibly a little grumpy, but with only myself and my shadow in the house I can neither confirm or deny that.  Things started to look a little brighter when I opened the fridge, there staring back at me was a pack of parma ham.  We had a little chat and the general consensus was that the ham was prepared to sacrifice itself for the good of mankind and the love of pizza.  Now, I know what yiz are all thinking.  Pizza. For dinner. Of a Tuesday.  I know, I know but I was tired, I'm weak and I love pizza so I gave in to temptation.

As I hadn't planned on having pizza I hadn't removed my sourdough starter from the freezer and so needed a quick fix recipe for a thin and crispy base.  A little googling yielded the recipe I used.  It is quite similar to the original pizza recipe I posted a few weeks back, in it's texture.  The main difference between the 2 is obviously the inclusion of yeast in this one.  It did however have the advantage of a thin crispy outer crust.  Mr Boo ate the lot, my ahem little tummy could only manage 3/4's of mine, but it was yum and great if you need a quick fix recipe that doesn't require forward planning as is the case with the sourdough recipe. 

Roma's Pizza and Pasta flour feels slightly different to regulair plain or cream flour.  When I looked at it in the bowl it looked a little 'fluffier' (sorry, that's the only word I can think of to describe it) to me so naturally I wanted to stick my hands in to investigate further.  As I lifted the flour in each hand and allowed it to fall back into the bowl it felt much softer than regular flour.  The flour mixed to form a nice elastic dough and the base when cooked was crisp around the edges and light and airy under the toppings.  I will definitely use this flour again when making pizza and will see how it compares when used to make my favourite sourdough base.  I am also looking forward to making some ravioli with it.

*Roma Pasta & Pizza Flour (Farina Tipo "00") is available from Dunnes Stores and Superquinn.

Thin and Crispy Pizza Base
(yields 3 x 11" bases)

•500g Roma Pizza & Pasta Flour (Farina Tipo "00")
•4 tbsp Olive Oil
•1 tsp Salt
•300 ml lukewarm Water
•2 tsp (1 x 7g sachet) Dried Yeast
•1/2 tsp Sugar 

 
1.  Place the flour in a large bowl.
2.  Mix the yeast with the sugar and 50ml of the lukewarm water and stir, allow to sit for 10 minutes until it develops a nice foam on top.

3.  Add the olive oil and salt to the flour.

4.  Now add the yeast mix to the flour, oil and salt and add the rest of the lukewarm water (250 ml). Mix with your hands and knead until you have a smooth dough.

5.  Cover the dough with a clean, dry tea towel and let it sit for an hour.

6.  Once the dough has risen preheat your oven to 250C/481F/Gas Mark 9.
7.  Break off 1/3 of the dough and roll it with a rolling pin until you are happy with the depth of the dough (mine was approximately 5mm).

8.  Place onto a floured baking sheet and dress with sauce and toppings of your choice.

9.  Place into the preheated oven and bake for between 10 and 20 minutes (depending on how thick you roll your base you will need to adjust cooking times, my 5mm base was ready after 10 minutes so check at regular intervals after 10 minutes).
10. Enjoy!

Ciabatta

I have mentioned in a previous post that Mr. Boo and myself had a dinner party on Saturday night. I usually put all of my efforts into preparing the main body of the meal from scratch and extras like bread and dips and nibbles tend to be store bought but this time I decided to do it all myself.

For starters we served Moules Mariniere so I wanted bread that would be nice for mopping up the sauce once all of the lovely mussels had been devoured. I decided ciabatta would do the job and I wasn’t disappointed, it was perfect.

The following recipe yielded 3 ciabatta loaves. We managed to get through them between dinner, breakfast and parcels happily taken home by our guests. You may want to divide the recipe or simply make the full amount and freeze dough or baked loaves for a later date.

Ciabatta

30g/1oz Fresh Yeast, or 3 x 7g sachets Dried Yeast
30g/1oz Honey
625ml/just over 1 pint of Tepid Water
1kg/2.25lb Plain Flour
30g/1oz Salt
6tbsp Olive Oil
Extra Flour and some Semolina for dusting

1. Dissolve the yeast and honey in half the tepid water.

2. Place the flour and salt in a very large bowl and make a well in the centre.

3. Pour the dissolved yeast mixture into the well. With your fingers and working from the centre outwards start to incorporate some of the dry ingredients into the yeast mixture.

4. Pour in the remaining tepid water and gradually incorporate all of the flour until you have a most dough. (If you feel the consistency is not quite right feel free to add some more water/flour a little at a time until you achieve a nice dough)

5. Knead the dough for approx 5 minutes until it is nice and elastic. (If your bowl is not big enough to knead in flour a work surface and tip the dough on to that)

6. Flour your hands and the top of the dough and shape it into a nice ball (place back in the bowl if you removed it). Cover the bowl with cling film and leave in a warm, draught free area (I use the airing cupboard) for 45 minutes to prove.

7. After 45 minutes the dough should have doubled in size. Knock it back (knead to remove all of the air).

8. Add the olive oil and knead once again to incorporate throughout the dough.

9. Split the dough into 3 equal parts and roll each piece into a 25cm/10” roll. Flatten the length of each roll with the heel of your hand.

10. Dust 2 or 3 baking sheets (depending on their size you may only need 2) with flour and semolina. Place the dough rolls onto the baking sheets. Dust the dough with flour and semolina and score each one approximately 5 times.

11. It is now time for the dough’s 2nd prove so once again leave in a warm/ draught free place for 45 minutes.

12. Preheat the oven to 225C/425F/Gas Mark 7.

13. Once the bread has proved for the 45 minutes place in the preheated oven and bake for about 25 minutes.

14. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about ½ an hour before eating.

When the Moon Hits Your Eye, Like A Big Pizza Pie...

I think it was The Glutton who mentioned homemade pizza on Thursday afternoon.  I had a huge longing for that exact thing earlier that day but as it was Thursday and as I try to eat healthy meals on weekdays I banished all such yummy thoughts from my head.  Then she just had to go and dangle it in my face again.  A little discussion arose on Beaut.ie with some of the lovely ladies advising that as it was homemade it couldn't be all that bad for a person and to go on ahead and indulge myself.  I held my resolve though and decided no, not a morsel of pizza would pass my lips before the officialdom of the weekend.  A request was then submitted for a pizza base recipe which I duly posted and on Friday morning I was informed by Emz that she had made said pizza and twas yum and munched with great appreciation from her Mr. I caved and decided that instead of waiting until Saturday night as I had resolved to do I would have to, HAVE TO, have pizza on the menu for Friday instead.  It was gorgeous, so much nicer than any shop bought, frozen or takeaway options. Which brings me smoothly on to the best pizza I have ever eaten.

We are gonna have to take a little stroll over to New York for this one peeps, so pop on your most comfortable walking shoes.  On our first trip stateside, Mr. Boo and I, travelled with a group of friends, one of who is a professional holidayer (it is a word before you go off and check, well maybe not, but it is now).  He researches everything, checks out all of the best restaurants and bars and does a little map recy so he knows exactly how to get everywhere with minimum hassle and time.  This is the best type of person to make a virgin voyage to New York with in my humble opinion.  It is such an overwhelming place that an out of towner could feel a little intimidated by it's size and pace and miss out on so much.  So with our tour guide at the helm we were bound to find some greats whilst there.

On our 1st night, weary from travel and time zone changes we decided to ease ourselves in with his recommendation, John's Pizzeria in Greenwich Village.  We ordered 3 pizzas between 8 and in all my life as a little Irish cailin I had never seen pizzas as big, well except in Friends and the like.  They were mahoosive, and oh so yummy.  We filled our tummies and were reenergized for the rest of our holiday.  Almost as good as the pizza themselves is the atmosphere that is always present.  The place is a hive of activity, always, and the graffitied wooden wall panels fit it just perfectly.  John's has remained our 1st night haunt every time we have visited since.

We started our honeymoon in New York and as always had planned a trip to John's on arriving.  We were both pretty whacked; understandably, we had just planned a wedding and had the most hectic week of our lives.  I decided a quick shower to freshen up was the order of the day and then a little 'rest' on the bed while Mr. Boo showered.  When he emerged form the shower I was out cold and no amount of prodding or poking from him could wake me.  We both woke the next morning, me feeling completely refreshed, him feeling a little off colour.  That evening he was still not 100% but would not hear any suggestions from me that we head back to the hotel and order room service so he could rest. No, he couldn't come to New York and NOT visit John's so off we went.

We were seated in a booth along the wall.  Next to us was a long table with a large group of friends, and we both remarked how it was reminiscent of our own group on that first trip.  Our pizza was delivered to the table and perched atop one of those stands usually reserved for an order of two pizzas.  We both ate a slice but it was clear Mr Boo would not be able for anymore.  He reached for his drink and as he did so he knocked the pizza from it's stand and sent it flying through the air.  We both looked on open mouthed as it flew up into the air and then came crashing to the floor with a very large bang, smearing it's toppings down the jacket of the man sitting with his back to us.  Not good.

At this stage everyone was looking at us, except one person who was looking at his jacket.  Oh no, I was wrong, now he's looking at us too.  Crap!  Our waiter was at our side in a jiffy, cleaning up the mess and apologising.  We were blushing horrendously and apologising.  Your man was attempting to clean his jacket and scowling.  Our waiter then declared he would be back shortly with a replacement and would not take no for an answer.  We just wanted to leave.  Mr Boo could not face eating another bite and now he was going to have to eat at least two slices to be polite.  Your man was still scowling and making exaggerated attempts to clean his jacket.  OK, OK we know we just destroyed it, we're sorry.  A couple of pitchers of beer sent to their table by means of an apology and it would seem we made a friend for life, no more scowling and a very warm goodbye as he left.  Phew!  Now we just had to worry about how we would get through a fresh pizza.  We managed it, we ate enough to be polite, left a very generous tip for our kind waiter and have returned since to enjoy the hospitality and our pizzas, event free, thankfully.  So there you have it, my favourite pizza ever comes courtesy of John's Pizzeria, but the ones that are made in my own kitchen are definitely my second favourite, hands down.

Yeast Free Pizza Base

425g Flour
1tsp salt
2tsp baking powder
200mls milk
80mls olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas 7.
2. Combine all of the ingredients and knead the dough for 3 mins.
3. Place the dough in a bowl, cover with cling film and rest for 20 mins.

4. Divide the dough in half.
5. Roll out the dough to 5mm thickness.

6. Place on a baking tray.
7. Dress with toppings of your choice.
8. Place in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Tomato Sauce
(this recipe will yield enough to cover the 2 pizza bases from the above dough recipe)
This recipe is not from a book, it is just one that I have made to accompany the base and is to my taste.  Feel free to make any adjustments to suit your own tastes.

2tbsp Olive Oil
2 Cloves Garlic (finely chopped)
2tsp Dried Rosemary
350ml Tomato Passata
1tsp Sugar
Salt and Black Pepper to season

1.  Heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat and when it is warm add the garlic and rosemary.
2.  Allow the garlic to cook for a couple of mins to release it's flavour and then add the tomato passata.
3.  Add the sugar and stir to ensure it is evenly distributed.
4.  Turn up the heat and allow the passata to bubble, reduce the heat again and leave to simmer for at least 5 mins.
5.  When the sauce has thickened slightly taste and season with salt and pepper if required.
6.  When ready to dress the pizza base spoon on some of the tomato sauce and spread evenly over the dough stopping approx 5mm short of the edge.

I dressed my pizza with buffalo mozzerella, parma ham, black olives, green olives stuffed with pimento paste, capers and sundried tomatoes.  You can choose toppings of your choice.

Stay tuned peeps as I plan a follow up to this post over the next few days.  I'm sure you just can't wait.

Bord Bia Pork Pack

I have been invited to attend a food blogger event by Donal Skehan of the Good Mood Food Blog  this coming Thursday, and as a result Klara from Bord Bia sent me an Irish pork pack in advance of the event.  I say a pork pack, it was a loin of pork to be precise.  As there are only the two of us in the house I knew we would not get through the beast in one sitting so decided to spread it out over two meals.  On friday night Mr Boo carved off two steaks and trimmed them of any excess fat.  They were cooked as follows:

Lemon, Thyme and Garlic Pork Steaks

1 handful of thyme, picked
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 clove of garlic
zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
2 pork steaks or chops

(the marinade recipe will stretch to 4 cuts of meat)

1.  Pound the thyme in a pestle and mortar with 1tsp of salt.
2.  When the thyme is pulped add the garlic and 1tsp of black pepper and pound again.
3.  Stir in the lemon zest, juice and olive oil.
4.  Smear the mixture over the meat and leave to marinade for at least 10 minutes or longer if you have time.
5.  Heat a pan to a very high heat and fry on both sides for 4 minutes each.  They should be golden and nicely charred but be careful not to burn them.
6.  Remove from the heat and rest for 4 minutes.

I served these with Donal Skehan's Zingy Purple Potato Salad (obviously I didn't have purple potatoes) and some rocket.

Last night the remaining pork was roasted, and two very hung over people received a welcome invitation to come and help us eat it.  The recipe is as follows:

Before this we all got stuck into some popovers from my previous blog post

Rosemary, Thyme and Garlic Roast Loin of Pork

2 tbsp of Salt and some fresh black pepper
3 large cloves garlic, sliced finely
8 stalks rosemary, stripped
1 handful thyme, picked
4tbsp Olive oil
Pork loin

1.  Place the salt, pepper, garlic, rosemary, thyme and olive oil in a bowl and stir until well mixed.
2.  With a sharp knife pierce the pork all over.
3.  Pour the oil and herb mixture onto the pork and rub all over, pushing the herbs and garlic into the pierced holes.
4.  Heat some oil in a pan and brown the meat all over on a medium heat to seal.
5.  Place in a roasting dish and roast fat side down for 30 mins.
6.  Turn the meat and roast for another 20-30 mins until cooked through.
7.  Remove from the oven, cover loosely with foil and allow to rest for 10 mins before serving.

I served this with a creamy potato gratin and some roasted carrots. Yum.

I have no pictures of this as my camera had died, sorry.