turkish pizza

This is a wonderful pizza style dish inspired by the Turkish pide and lahmacun. I am led to believe from my Turkish friends that you place your salad on top of the pide/lahmacun then roll it up. A variation on this recipe would be to break an egg on to the top of the lamb mince a few minutes before it has finished cooking. Also, if lamb isn't your thing you would no doubt get some excellent results using minced beef, perhaps even minced turkey. You could use any basic bread or pizza dough for the base, mine is below.

The dough
1 kg strong white bread flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
14g fast action dried yeast
4 tbsp olive oil
approx 600-700ml warm water

Topping
500g minced lamb
1/2 red pepper, finely diced
1/2 large onion, finely diced
1/2 green pepper, finely diced
4 small tomatoes, skinned and finely diced
bunch each of fresh parsley and dill (about 3 tbsps of each when chopped)
1 tsp chilli flakes
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp all spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
pine nuts (optional)

Salad
Roughly equal quantities of the following, all finely diced/sliced according to your preference:
1/4 cucumber
10 radishes
5 tomatoes
2 spring onions
large bunch of flat leaf parsley
Juice of half a lemon
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

1. Put all the dry dough ingredients into a large bowl, make a well in the centre and pour in the oil, Using a butter knife or your hands start to bring the ingredients together. Gradually add the water, little by little, until you have a rough dough. You may not use all the water or you may need to add a little more. Knead the dough in between each addition.
2. Once you have a rough dough turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for around 10 minutes or until you have a smooth springy dough. 
3. Place dough in a bowl, cover with lightly oiled cling film then leave in a warm place to rise for about and hour or so.
4. In the mean time combine all the topping ingredients in a large bowl until evenly mixed. Cover and set to one side until needed.
5. Once the dough has risen uncover it, knock it back and divide into your required number of portions. I split mine into four balls. Each ball will serve 2-3 people generously. Roll the dough out as thin as you can, 2mm is ideal, place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, brush with a little olive oil then leave to rise for another 15 mins. In the mean time preheat the oven to 210C.
6. Cover the dough base with an even scattering of the mince topping, sprinkle over a few pine nuts if you wish then bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until golden and cooked completely.
7. Prepare your salad while the pizza is in the oven. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl then set to one side.
8. Serve topped with salad, roll it up and eat with your hands. Delicious.

chorizo, potato and pumpkin stew with butter beans and spinach

I rarely have a particular plan when I visit the local farmers market, I just go looking for whatever looks tastiest and is the best deal. Today I came home with chorizo, potatoes and pumpkin and couldn't resist putting together a tasty stew. The nights are getting colder and there's nothing I like more than something warming and a little spicy on nights like this.

Ingredients
700g pumpkin/sweet potato/butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into bite size chunks
1 medium sized onion, finely diced
1kg potatoes (any will work, I used 'exquisite' potatoes)
1 ring of chorizo picante (use the dulce type if you prefer, picante is my favourite though)
1 x 400g can of butter beans or chick peas drained
1 x 400g can of tomatoes in juice
2 chicken stock cubes
2 tbsp hot smoked paprika
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp dried oregano
2-3 bay leaves (I used fresh ones from my garden)
1/2 tsp ground all spice
1 cup decent red wine
water
120g spinach, washed and chopped
Sliced spring onions and feta cheese to garnish

1. Peel the thin skin off the chorizo and cut into bite sized chunks.
2. Heat a large saucepan/casserole dish over a high heat then add the chorizo and cook for around 5 minutes or until the oils and spices are released and the meat is crispy on the edges.
3. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes until translucent and soft.
4. Throw in the fennel seeds, oregano and all spice followed by the red wine and bubble away for 5 minutes or so until you can no longer smell the harshness of the alcohol.
5. Now you will need to add the bay leaves, paprika, chicken stock cubes and tinned tomatoes, stir throroughly.
6. Add the the potatoes and pumpkin, stir so that it is coated in the tomatoey spicey goodness then fill the tomato can with water and then pour into the pan.
7. Cover and allow to bubble away until the potatoes and pumpkin are cooked, around 20-30 minutes. The pumpkin may well disappear into the sauce and break down more than the potatoes. This is a good think as it will help to thicken the sauce. If you don't want this to happen cook the potatoes for 5 minutes or so on their own then add the pumpkin later, or cut it into bigger chunks.
8. Add the butter beans and cook for a further 5 minutes until everything is cooked through. 
9. Throw in the spinach, stir through until it has wilted completely.
10. Serve garnished with some finely sliced up spring onions, crumbled feta and some chopped parsley if you have it. Some good crusty bread and glass of dry sherry or a red wine would be pretty awesome too.