buckwheat focaccia

I have a friend that has introduced me to the wonderful pizzoccheri, a kind of pasta/soup from the northern Italian region of Valtellina. 

Pizzoccheri ain't a light dish! My friend uses 250gr of fried butter to dress them for 4 people eating. Now this is a problem for me....But I do love the taste of buckwheat so I have started using in other recipes just like normal flour.

This focaccia is made with 250gr buckwheat and 250gr plain white flours. 

The dough : 500gr flour, 14gr dried yeast, 250/350ml lukewarm water, honey 1 tsp, salt 1 pinch, EVOoil about 3 tbsp is made as per linked recipe http://madebypaola.blogspot.co.uk/baking.html, substituting the butter with the oil. 

For the filling I have used 350gr broccoli sprouts, 250 ricotta, 100gr hard cheese and 100gr grated Parmesan, 2 onions and chili peppers.

For speed I have cooked the chopped sprouts and onions together in boiling water for about 15 mins.

When ready dress them with some EVOoil, salt, pepper and finely chopped fresh chili, to taste. Then mix in the ricotta and Parmesan.

Roll the dough to a very large circle with a diameter larger than the baking tray (consider you want to overlap the dough to the filling at least 3 cm- my tray is 30cm). Place on the oiled tray, scatter chopped hard cheese to the base and poor in the ricotta mix.  Flip over the dough wings and bake on a preheated oven at 200º for about 15/20 mins. 

Please check timing because it does vary from oven to oven.  

petits gâteaux au chocolat

a very simple classic french recipe, adapted:

100gr 70% best quality dark chocolate;

100gr butter;

100gr caster sugar;

50gr plain flour;

2 eggs.

Whisk the eggwhites until stiff.

In a bowl melt the chocolate and the butter. 

Mix the yolks with the sugar, until foamy and pale.

Add mix to slighlty cooled choc+butter, add flour.

Incorporate eggwhites step by step, taking care in not letting the air escape.

Pour on a small square 1/2 pint shape if you have or in 4 moulds as i have done.

Bake in a preheated moderate 180º oven for 25 mins.

You want the centre still moisten so pay attention from the 25th minute.

Valentine's dinner

Baking, like frying, gives amazing satisfaction in the cooking department. 

Everything that prove and grows is a wonder. 

Recently for Valentine's day I have been preparing LOVE parcels, fried and baked. 


Making a basic fat read mixture is dead-easy and actually involves only a little patience. 
I have learned never to mix salt and yeast, never to mix too hot water, and also to work the dough once, then let it rest for 30 minutes, then punch the air out and shape it and let your creation rest for further 20 mins.

For two people I have used 350gr plain flour, about 180ml lukewarm water, 1 tsp dry yeast, 1 heaped tsp of honey, pinch of salt, 30 gr butter. The way to do it is to:

form a volcano of flour; 

in the centre pour the 1/2 amount of water already mixed with yeast and honey; 

incorporate SOME flour from the volcano;

scatter the chopped butter and a pinch of salt round the crater;

let it rest in a warmed oven (switched off) for about 20 mins.
add now little by little the remaining water

then beat all together for at least 5 mins.

let it rest 30 mins

work it again to let the air out and shape it/fill it etc.

In this case I have prepared heart shape parcels, without a cookie cutter....I had to shape my own hearts, hence the imperfections...because it was so complicated to perfectly form the filled shapes I have also fried some plain dough and baked some other balls (same filling) with an egg wash + sesame heart drawn on top. 

for the filling  i have put together fried aubergine, chopped ham and mozzarella.

This is the result. I was pleased!