Calzone

Calzone

Calzone is an italian dish similar to a folded pizza but has some traditional ingredients that make it very different to your average pizza.

For my calzone I went with ham, pepperoni, chorizo and cheese filling but you can really put just about anything, just experiment!

You will need:

Pizza dough: (It's not cheating buying a sachet of pizza dough mix with the yeast already in!)

Ham 1 pack
Pepperoni 100g
Chorizo 100g
Passata 200g
Fresh tomato sauce 800g (Or 2 tins of chopped tomatoes, basil, tomato puree, onion, garlic and seasoning)
Half an onion
4 Cloves of garlic
Fresh basil
Seasoning

Start by frying off the garlic and onion, then add the meat and seal if you are using chicken or similar. Now add the sauce, passata, basil, salt, pepper and some sugar and bring to the boil. Now simmer for at least 10 minutes.

While it is simmering roll out the pizza dough and make big oval shapes about half a centimetre thick. Place 2 on some baking paper and in a baking tray, each with one half hanging out of the tray ready to fold over.

Once the sauce is ready spoon a enough into each calzone to almost fill it then add a load of cheese, mozzarella or simple cheddar is good.

Now fold over the dough and press around the edge with a fork. Roll the edge up slightly and use water or egg wash to get a good seal. Remember to pierce a few holes in the top to allow air to escape.

Bake until they are golden brown and enjoy!

Butterscotch Sauce

Butterscotch sauce is great with apple pie. Just saying.

Want to give it a go? Here's what you need:

4 heaped tablespoons of butter
100g of brown sugar (light is best)
120ml of double cream
2 pinches of salt
1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

And here's how you make it:

First melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the rest of the ingredients and give it a whisk. Now cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, then finally remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

Banoffee Cake

Banoffee Cake

If you have ever had a banoffee pie and thought there needs to be a bit more substance then this recipe could be for you!

First take a can of condensed milk, place in a pan and cover with water. Now bring to boil and simmer for around and hour.

Then blend 5 bananas with a few tablespoons of sugar (brown is best).

Now add an egg and the condensed milk (careful when opening!) to the blended banana and use an electric whisk for around 5 minutes. 

Pour onto a biscuit base made from digestive or bourbon (or both) biscuits (1 pack) and a knob of butter.

Bake in a medium heat oven for about 15 minutes or until it browns on top.

Finally top with banana and whipped cream!

Aubergine Crisps

Aubergine crisps. Slice an aubergine, rub some oil on each side, sprinkle salt and then bake for 15 minutes!

Land Lover's Fish Pie

A Fish Pie

A fairly simple recipe to make but really is fantastic.

Ingredients

Half of 1 Onion

3 Cloves of Garlic

2 Potatoes (1 per pie)

3 Rashers of bacon

2 Frozen white fish pieces

2 Frozen Salmon pieces

300ml of Milk

3 tbsp of Flour

200g Shortcrust Pastry

Method

Place the fish in a large pan and cover with the milk. Bring it to the boil and simmer for 8-10 minutes. Meanwhile fry the onion, garlic and bacon and put the potatoes on to boil.

Once the fish is cooked smush it with the back of a spoon into flakes. Now pour this into the pan with the bacon and onion. 

Add the flour to thicken if it needs it then leave to keep warm. Now mash the potato and add some butter and/or milk.

Grease and flour 2 ramekins and then push pastry to half a centimeter thickness around the inside surface.

Now fill the ramekins with the fish bacon sauce and top with mash potato swirls. (Use a piping bag to do this properly)

Then bake in the oven until the potato is golden brown.

Chilli Oil

Chilli oil can add that something special to anything you make. Why not try it drizzled over pizza or jazz up a simple salad with a splash.

Ingredients

500ml of Oil (Olive is best but sunflower works, also this makes about the same amount of chilli oil so just change this quantity for how much you need)

10-15g of chilli flakes (Or blend some dried chillis)

3-4 Whole dried chillis

Method

If you are planning on keeping your oil for some time (And remember it gets hotter with time so you should keep it for a few weeks before use) then you should sterilise the bottle first by washing in warm water, rinsing and then placing in an oven for 10-15 minutes at 160C.

Now heat the oil for a few minutes and then add the chilli. Cook for around 4 minutes and then transfer into the warm bottles. This prevents any germs being in the bottle. Be careful when putting the oil in the bottles as it can splash around!

Grove Tuesday!

 Pancake day! (Incase you didn't get the "Grove" reference Student Cookery lives on a street called The Grove so I changed shrove to grove! Clever ay?)

Any way a big disaster in that Tesco ran out of Nutella!!!! No!!!

So I had to whip up my own chocolate sauce for the pancakes and I must say it was a success!

100g dark chocolate, 1 and a half tablespoons of butter, 1 tablespoon heaped of icing sugar, in a pan (sugar last after its melted), making sure to not burn the chocolate. Whack it in on or around your pancake and enjoy! (It's fairly rich so be sparing!)