Basic Pizza Dough

This recipe is an excellent addition to your cookery knowledge, and should really be learnt so that you can make it without consulting the actual recipe. It is also, in my opinion, much better than a shop bought pizza base in terms of both taste and texture.


100g plain white flour
250g white bread flour
2 tsp salt
1tsp caster sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
240ml warm water
2tsp dried yeast



Step 1
Sift the flour, salt and sugar into a bowl and make a well in the centre of the mix. Add the yeast to the water, and add a bit of the flour mix then stir well. Cover the water and leave in a warm place for 10 minutes. Add the water to the flour and mix to a dough, first using your fingers and then the whole hand. wipe the bowl clean with the dough, adding more water for more dry bits, or more flour if the dough is too sticky. Knead the dough for at least 3 minutes, or until it develops a sheen.

Step 2
Return the dough to the bowl, cover with oiled clingfilm, and leave to rise for about an hour at room temperature or until doubled in size. Pre-heat the oven to 230°C along with a pizza stone or baking sheet. Tip the dough out onto a work surface sprinkled with flour to prevent it from sticking. Knock the air out of the dough and knead for a few seconds to shape into two or three balls. Dust a rolling pin and roll out the dough into shape. Finish stretching out the dough with your hands, working out from the centre to make a fairly thin-based pizza.

Step 3
Put toppings on the pizza, and bake on a high shelf in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the crust is golden brown, then remove the pizza and serve hot.



Some good suggestions for the pizza topping are tomato sauce, either on its own or with other toppings, or garlic butter. Some suggestions for toppings with the tomato sauce are: chicken and peppers; four cheese; pepperami and salami; ham and pineapple; or even just the simple cheddar cheese option. The pizzas shown below are topped with the tomato sauce recipe, and courgette, chicken and cheese.

So fresh the lens is steaming up

Thin and crisp, perfect.

Just look at that crust, perfectly cooked

Basic Tomato Sauce

This is a great basic tomato sauce and it can be used on many things, like pizza or pasta, or added to to create a more exciting sauce. This is something that everyone should know how to cook as it's simple and easy to do.

2 medium onions, chopped
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
2 medium garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp tomato puree
2 tsp fresh basil, chopped
2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to season


Step 1
Heat the oil in a saucepan on a medium heat, and add the onion and garlic. Heat slowly over a medium-low heat till translucent. Add the tinned tomatoes and tomato puree, and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat and leave to simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Step 2
Add the herbs and seasoning to the sauce, and add to the dish.




How long this sauce is cooked for can vary depending on what dish it is to be used with, as a pasta sauce can be fairly 'wet', while a sauce used for topping a pizza would be better as a thick sauce.

Breaded Chicken on Spinach with a Balsamc Dressing

This is a dish I came up with for dinner. It's a simple salad style dish with a smal twist, the only oil used is in making the breaded chicken, the rest of the frying is done with the fat from the chicken itself, which helps to flavour everything.


5 chicken drumsticks and thighs with skin
150g spinach
1-2 eggs
150g plain flour
300g bread, left out overnight uncovered
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
12 cherry tomatoes on the vine
200ml balsamic vinegar
sunflower oil
1 pepper, quartered
Cress to garnish
salt and pepper to season


Step 1
Place the chicken skin side down into a frying pan over a low heat, leaving room between the chicken. Once some fat has been rendered from the chicken turn up to a medium heat, turn the chicken every 5-10 minutes for about 30 minutes. Once the chicken has turned pale all over remove from the pan with a slotted spoon, fry any remaining chicken and keep the pan witht he juices. Since the aim here is to get the fat out of the chicken and to make the chicken easier to remove from the bone, as it will be fried later it can be undercooked. Meanwhile place the bread into a food processor/blender and reduce to crumbs. Place the breadcrumbs into a medium sized food bag, and into another food bag place the flour and some salt and pepper.


Step 2
Allow the chicken time to cool, then remove the meat from the bone and skin, either discard the bone or keep for stock and place the skin back in the frying pan with the juices. When removing the meat use your fingers to tear the meat, trying to keep the pieces bite sized. Break the two eggs into a bowl and lightly beat them. Into a deep frying pan place about 1/2 inch of sunflower oil and put on a high heat.Lightly coat the chicken pieces in beaten egg and place into the bag with the flour and shake, then transfer across to the bag of breadcrumbs and shake again. Then transfer to the deep frying pan and cook until crispy and golden, turning to get a good golden crunch all over. Once cooked, remove the chicken from the pan and place onto a plate covered with kitchen paper to drain.


Step 3
Meanwhile heat the frying pan containing the chicken skins on a medium-high heat. Squash the skin down with a spatula or spoon in order to get the most of the fat out of the skins, then remove them with a slotted spoon and discard. Either open a window or use an extractor fan at this stage, and start adding the vinegar, sugar and seasoning and sitr with a spoon or mix with a whisk. Reduce the vinegar a little to thicken the dressing, then add the cherry tomatoes, still on the vine, and a few spinach leaves before removing from the heat.


Step 4
Place the remaining spinach leaves on a plate and top with the breaded chicken pieces. Arrange the cherry tomatoes, the quartered pepper, then drizzle the dressing over before scattering the cress. Serve imediately.



This dish can be served with the chicken hot or cold, but the dressing needs to be served hot as it contains chicken fat, which would thicken if cold. Use sunflower oil to get the best crispness out of the breaded chicken as it has a higher boiling point than some other cooking oils. To add some spice to the dish you can add paprika or other spices to the flour. Spinach is just one of the leaves that can be used here, for a change you can use watercress, or any other salad leaf. You can also leave out the spinach leaves from in the dressing, and reduce it down more so it is more of a glaze than a dressing.

Toad in the Hole with Mustard and Spring Onion Mash and Onion Gravy

Toad in the hole is a classic dish that goes well with mashed potato. When the batter is cooked to perfection it's just so crisp on the outside and light on the inside, but it needs a hot oven.

6 pork sausages
1tbsp oil

for the batter
75g plain flour
1 large egg
75ml milk
55ml water
salt and pepper to season

for the gravy
2 large onions, sliced
2 tsp oil
1tsp caster sugar
1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1tsp mustard
1tbsp plain flour
425ml vegetable stock
salt and pepper to season

for the potato
4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
25g butter
50-100ml milk
2tsp wholegrain mustard
2 spring onions, finely chopped
50g double Gloucester cheese


Step 1
Sieve the flour into a large bowl, then make a well in the centre of the flour for the egg. Add the egg, and salt and pepper to season, and beat into the flour. As you mix the egg and flour, slowly add the milk and the water to the mixture, making sure to whisk the flour from around the edges until the batter has a smooth consistency. Cover with cling film, and leave to rest.

Step 2
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220°C place the sliced onions in a bowl with one teaspoon of the oil and sugar, then mix gently to coat the onions before spreading on a baking tray. Arrange the sausages in a roasting tin and place the onions on a high shelf in the oven and the sausages on a lower shelf. After 10 minutes remove the sausages, after another 5 remove the onions. Heat the sausages on the hob and add the tablespoon of oil if there's not much fat in the pan. When the tin is really hot and the oil is searing hot quickly pour in the batter and return to the hot oven, on the highest shelf, for 30 minutes.

Step 3
Add the Worcestershire sauce and mustard to the stock, then add the onions and remaining oil to a saucepan and stir in the plain flour using a wooden spoon. Stir it in, on a medium heat, until it starts getting too thick, then switch to a whisk and slowly add the stock, whisking until the liquid is smooth. Turn up the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Step 4
Meanwhile boil the cubed potatoes until par-boiled then drain. Add the butter and mash with a masher, then slowly add the milk and mix well with a fork until the potato is the desired texture, a more creamy mash will need more milk. Then add the mustard and spring onions and mix into the mash before spooning the mixture into a small oven-proof dish and topping with the cheese. Place this into the oven with the toad in the hole for 15 minutes.

For a slight variation on the dish add chives to the batter in step 1. For a more flavoursome gravy you can drain off the fat from the sausages and use it in the gravy, use in place of the an equivalent amount of oil, in step 4, so as to not make the gravy too fatty. You can use any cheese on the mash instead of the double Gloucester, but the colour of it looks really striking against the white of the mash.

Chilli Con Carne

A great dish when done properly, Chilli con carne is a delicious taste of home and a really tasty dish. You can make it properly with thin strips of steak, or you can substitute minced steak, or beef, instead. Instead of the can of tomatoes you could prepare your own, but canned is easier and quicker.


1.2kg lean braising steak/minced beef
2tbsp sunflower oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed or finely chopped
1tbsp plain flour
300ml red wine
300ml beef stock
2tbsp tomato puree
salt and pepper for seasoning

For the Beans
2tsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 fresh red chilli, de-seeded and chopped
2 x 400g cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
400g can chopped tomatoes


Step 1
If using the braising steak cut into thin strips and then cut crossways to make cubes of the meat. Heat the sunflower oil in a large saucepan and add the chopped onion and the garlic and cook on a low heat until softened, not browned. Remove the onion and garlic with a slotted spoon, and season the flour with salt and pepper before coating the cubes of meat with it and adding them to the pan on a high heat and brown. If using mince, make small balls of mince and roll in the seasoned flour, and when browning break up the ball.

Step 2
Return the onion and garlic to the pan and stir in the wine, stock and tomato puree and bring to the boil on a high heat, reduce the heat and let the beef mixture simmer for 45 minutes or until tender, if using whole steak; or for 30 minutes if using mince. Reduce the liquid until thickened and taste, and add more seasoning if required.

Step 3
Meanwhile heat the olive oil in a large, deep frying pan and cook the onion and chilli on a low heat until softened. stir in the beans and tomatoes and simmer gently to reduce the liquid for 25-30 minutes until the mixture has thickened. Serve with the beans topping the meat

Ideally serve this with basmati rice, and you can have guacamole, salsa, and sour cream on the side. Top with chopped coriander leaves as a garnish to add a little extra flavour. For those who like their food with less spice you can reduce the amount of chilli, about half a chilli will reduce the heat while still giving the flavour. If, on the other hand, you like more spice then you can add either more chilli, some tobasco sauce, or use a hotter chilli pepper. Also, I like to mix together the meat and the bean just before serving, or for an interesting take you could always try having three strips, one of the meat, one of the rice, and one of the beans, artfully aranged on the plate. As you can see from the pictures I also added celery and carrots to the mix. If you do this add them with the beans and tomatoes in step 3.

Chocolate Chip Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Icing

Vanilla cupcakes are the most basic cupcakes, and adding chocolate chips can make them a little bit more decadent and give them more body. The versatility of the classic vanilla cupcake means that you can spice it up with things like the chocolate chips, and add different icings and decorations.

110g unsalted butter at room temperature
225g caster sugar
2 large eggs
150g self-raising flour
125g plain flour
120ml milk at room temperature
1tsp vanilla extract
120g chocolate chip

110g unsalted butter at room temperature
60ml milk at room temperature
1tsp vanilla extract
500g icing sugar
food colouring

Step 1
In a large mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar together until you have a smooth, pale mixture. Add the eggs one at a time and mixing thoroughly after each addition. Sift the flours into a seperate bowl and mix the milk and vanilla in a jug. Add about a third of the flour to the creamed mixture, beating thoroughly, then a third of the milk, again beathing thoroughly. Repeat until all the flour and milk has been used. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Step 2
 Preheat the oven to 170°C, and line a muffing tray with cupcake cases. Carefully transfer the mixture into the cupcake cases filling them two thirds full. Transfer to the oven and cook for 20-30 minutes, until golden brown and slightly raised. Check the centre of the cake with a skewer or thin knife, it should come out clean if it is properly cooked. Remove the cupcakes from the oen and leave to cool on a wire rack. Once cool you can add icing.

Step 3
I a large mixing bowl beat all the icing ingredients, except the food colouring and only half the icing sugar, together. Slowly add the remaining icing sugar and beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. If you are adding food colouring add it carefully and beat thoroughly after each addition tobuild up to your desired shade. Once achieved use a pallet knife, or a spatula, to spread the icing over the top of the cupcake.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

For this recipe you can have either spaghetti or another long pasta, I made mine with long strips of homemade pasta.

Spaghetti

1 onion, finely chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
1tsp tomato puree
1tsp fresh basil, chopped
1tsp fresh chives, chopped
1glass white wine

250g minced meat
50g breadcrumbs
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1tsp fresh chives, chopped
1tsp paprika
1 egg
plain flour
salt and pepper to season


Step 1
Add the chopped onion and garlic to a saucepan with a little oil and sweat on a low heat. When the onion becomes transluscent add half the wine and reduce on a high heat. Add the tin of tomatoes and the tomato puree, and simmer on a low heat.

Step 2
Put the meat, 1/2 an onion, chives, egg, paprika, breadcrumbs, and seasoning into a mixing bowl and use your hand to mix the ingredients well. If the mixture is a little sticky add a little plain flour to help bind it. In a deep fryingpan heat a little oil, meanwhile shape the mixture into small balls, using a little flour on your hands to prevent the mixture from sticking, and place the balls into the oil. Brown one side then turn.

Step 3
Add the tomato sauce to the frying pan with the last half a glass of wine and salt and pepper. Cook on a medium-high heat to finish cooking the meatballs and to reduce the sauce. Once reduced add the chives and basil and stir through before removing from the heat.

Step 4
Meanwhile have a large saucepan with slightly salted boiling water at the ready. If using home-made pasta add to the water when reducing the tomato sauce with the meatballs, otherwise leave sufficient time to properly cook the pasta. Once cooked serve immediately topping with the sauce and meatballs.

I used beef for the meatballs, but you can use any other meat, or even meat subsititute.Using the amounts given, and assuming a diameter of about 1 inch for the meatballs, you should be able to make about a dozen meatballs.
This dish would be enhanced with a delicious side of garlic bread, or even just a side of bread and garlic butter cooked in the oven for a few minutes until crisp, like these