This was originally going to be something and watercress pizza but something went wrong with out shopping order and we ended up with peashoots instead. I had selected watercress because the English stuff is just coming into season, these peashoots were from Portugal so not exactly food-mile friendly but tasty nonetheless.

We tossed the raw peashoots in some pesto before adding them to the cooked pizza, a technique we’ve used before with rocket. We also reserved some of the mozarella and added that with the peashoots, a good way to lighten everything up.

Pizza is a Friday night staple in our house. It’s fun food, the varieties are endless and it’s also quick and easy which is perfect for a relaxing night at home following a busy week. I was out on Friday night though and since we had decided to try the purple sprouting brocolli topping and didn’t want to wait another week, we went crazy and had pizza on a Saturday night instead. I know, mad aren’t we?

As it turned out, we had a busy Saturday too so we made the dough in advance and left it to rise while we finished off the last of the day’s chores (not that much of a chore actually, since we spent the afternoon at Vagabond, a local wine shop that has a tasting fridge).

The combination (brocolli, chilli, anchovies and lemon zest) is a good one, it’s a classic that works well with pasta, which generally always makes for good pizza topping. We added whole anchovies which were a little over-powering and would have been better simmered in the tomato sauce. The chilli flakes were hot but tasteless, fresh chilli would have been a better option. The brocolli was very good though, adding a depth and richness which reminded us both of the cavolo nero pizza we loved so much last year.

Yep, BACON jam. Jam, made of BACON. It’s jam but it’s got BACON in it. How great does that sound?

I’ve had variations of this recipe saved for ages since it was doing the rounds of the American food blogs a couple of years ago. It was only during the recent recipe-clearout that I came across it again and, since then, it’s never been far from my thoughts. I originally thought it would be great to serve with a selection of cheeses but then, in a moment of inspiration, it occurred to me that it would be brilliant with cheese scones. And what better way to spend a rainy Saturday than in the kitchen, baking scones and making jam?

I’ve only attempted scones once in recent years and I think it’s fair to say they were a disaster. So much so that I haven’t bothered since. I used to make these particular cheese scones a lot when I was much younger though and they always turned out okay so I felt pretty confident as I started making the dough. I made sure to handle the dough carefully and not over-work it and I worked quickly so as to not expose the mixture to the heat of the kitchen for too long. And they turned out well, if a little browner than I would have liked on top. The two smaller “chef’s treats” we made with the leftover dough tasted promising and we left the others to cool.

While I was doing that, Stephen started making up the bacon jam. It’s not a quick process but it isn’t complicated either. When the initial stages were complete, we had to wait two hours for it to reduce and for all the flavours to combine so we did the only thing we could have done in this situation: we went to the pub. When we came back, we removed the jam from the oven and left it to cool overnight. This afternoon, we completed the final blending step and then sat down for a spot of Sunday tea. The jam was very sweet but had a complex, smoky flavour from the chilli and the bourbon which complemented the sharp cheese scones very well. Not a traditional afternoon tea but an interesting, tasty one nonetheless.

Cheese Scones (very slightly adapted from Delia’s recipe in the Complete Cookery Course)
Makes about six scones

175g self-raising flour
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp paprika
25g butter
75g Cheddar cheese
1 egg
2 tbsps milk

Start by sieving together the flour, mustard powder, salt and paprika. Mix well.

Next, lightly rub in the butter using only your fingertips. Be careful not to over-work the mixture and stop when you have a crumby texture. Now add most of the cheese, leaving a little for the tops of the finished scones.

Mix together the egg and the milk and then tip that into the flour mixture. Work the liquid into the flour but again, use your fingertips and try to be light-handed. You want the final dough to be smooth but don’t knead the mixture as you would bread dough.

Roll the dough out on a floured surface to a thickness of about 3 cms. Cut the scones using a 4 cm cutter. You should be able to get six with a little leftover which you can form into a smaller scone but remember it will need less cooking time.

Lay the scones onto a buttered baking sheet, brush the tops with some milk, add the leftover cheese and sprinkle with a little paprika (this will go very dark though so you can leave this out if you wish) and then bake for 15 minutes at 220 degrees. I checked the scones at 15 minutes and they didn’t seem to be cooked so I put them back for another 3 minutes, the eating tells me I should have pulled them out at 15 minutes though. Test with a knife, they are cooked when the knife comes out clean.

Bacon Jam (from this blog)
Makes one jar

450g smoked, streaky bacon, cut into 1″ pieces
1 large onion, sliced
3 tbsps light brown sugar
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Pinch ground cloves
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
125ml strong coffee
60ml cider vinegar
125ml bourbon (we used Four Roses bourbon, a bottle of which was sent to us for cooking with some time ago but we didn’t get around to using)
60ml maple syrup
1 tablespoon chilli sauce

Start by cooking the bacon over a medium heat until it begins to brown. You want the edges to be crispy but you don’t want to cook all the fat out. Once cooked, remove the bacon from the pan and set aside on some kitchen paper to drain.

Remove most of the oil from the frying pan and then add the onions and the sugar. Cook over a medium heat until the onions have cooked right down and started to caramelise. Now add the garlic and spices and cook for about another five minutes.

Add all of the liquids and return the bacon to the pan. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for two hours, checking that there is enough liquid as it cooks.

Let the mixture cool and then blend to a jam-like consistency, don’t puree the mixture too much though, you want some distinct pieces of bacon left in there.

This was so good, we ate it two nights in a row. Admittedly, we did have pizza dough left over, as well as a surplus of artichokes but this really was worth cooking again.

Unlike the artichokes we cooked when making salad, we didn’t parboil these but just sliced them finely on a mandoline and then fried them quickly over a high heat. This method worked much better, resulting in crispier artichokes which soaked up less oil. It also produced a much more concentrated, nutty flavour which worked very well with the sweet salami. A scrape of lemon zest provided a good balance on the first night with capers instead tonight. The lemon just edged it.

We use Jamie Oliver’s pizza dough recipe which we’ve documented here, I experimented by adding a little more sugar (maybe another quarter tsp) and yeast (7g instead of 6g)this time which seemed to work well resulting in a crispy, light base.

Today’s tube strike meant that any exciting plans we had for dinner where shelved fairly quickly since both of us got home too late and too tired to do anything other than the bare minimum.

The lentils, avocado and halloumi we had a couple of weeks ago was a huge success and it was the first thing we both thought of when we realised we needed something quick. We had some lentils in the freezer which just needed heating up while we mashed an avocado, fried the halloumi and toasted some bread.

What I really love about this is that it tastes like so much more than the sum of it’s parts, which are essentially leftovers with some avocado and cheese added. And it’s incredibly forgiving: no avocado? Skip it then, it’s just as good without. No halloumi? Of course, almost everything is better with cheese but the lentils work so well with the avocado and toast that you won’t miss is desperately if you don’t have it. You could even leave out the bread if you wanted to although I think it makes all the difference.

I first heard about Hotel TerraVina online some time last year. It’s a boutique hotel situated in the New Forest and was devised by the people who put together the Hotel du Vin chain. The emphasis is on good food and wine (two of our favourite things) and while staying there, you can also learn the art of sabrage.

When we were in Champagne a few years ago, we saw lots of people taking the tops off Champagne bottles with swords but never got the chance to try it ourselves. It seemed like the perfect birthday present for Stephen so I booked it and tried to keep it a secret until the day arrived.

I’m not very good at keeping secrets but I managed this one and on Wednesday afternoon, we drove down to the hotel where we were greeted warmly by the staff before checking into a beautifully decorated bedroom with a view over the nearby forest. The rooms are all named after different types of wine and are all individually decorated, many with roll-top baths in the rooms. The emphasis is definitely on quality with handmade toiletries from nearby Wiltshire in the bathroom and bespoke furniture in the bedroom made by local craftsmen.

As lovely as the room was, we were keen to investigate the well-appointed bar that we had spotted on our arrival. After perusing the open-faced wine cellar, we chose a glass from the extensive and well-researched wine list that specialised in Californian wine. Not the nasty, over-oaked type that was once associated with California but the perfectly balanced, full-bodied examples that we both love. After finishing our wine, we were led outside where Stephen was shown how to use the sabre to remove the Champagne cork by one of the hotel’s expert sommeliers. After the short lesson, it was Stephen’s turn and he did a great job of taking the cork off while making the whole thing look very easy.

Back in the warmth of the bar and while enjoying our Champagne, we were presented with the evening’s menu which had a good selection of both meat and fish dishes (there were probably some vegetarian dishes too but we didn’t register those) with a heavy bias on seasonal and local produce. We struggled to choose as everything sounded wonderful and it was obvious that a lot of time and thought had been put into creating a compact menu with quality ingredients.

I opted for the lasagne of crab and langoustine to start and Stephen chose the loin of rabbit. The presentation of both dishes was beautiful and the flavours certainly didn’t disappoint. Crab and langoustine lasagne is one of my favourite starters and the execution of this dish was stunning. The basil added a slightly unusual note that I hadn’t come across in this dish before but, coupled with the lemongrass, was a fragrant compliment to the sweet and perfectly cooked fish.

Stephen’s rabbit dish was heartier than my fish but was well balanced and just the right size to not be too heavy. Even though I’m not a big fan of beetroot, I could tell that this worked well with the earthy rabbit and was a great nod towards the change in season.

Neither of us could decide between the pork and the venison main courses so we had both with the intention of sharing. I preferred the venison and Stephen the pork so the decision was made for us quite quickly. The standout for me was the slow roast venison which just melted in the mouth. We fought over that as we did the black pudding that accompanied Stephen’s pork: a great combination and one I’ll definitely try again at home.

By the end of the two courses we were both reaching capacity but were so enjoying our time in the restaurant that we ordered a plate of cheese to share which we polished off with some dessert wine. I can’t remember what all the cheeses were but they were the perfect way to finish off a brilliant meal.

Things got a little hazy after that, for which I’ll blame the absinthe fountain. It was great fun and made even more enjoyable by the knowledgeable and charming barman who was happy to answer our questions. The full English breakfast we ate the next morning was definitely required to heal our heads and was prepared with just the same level of care and attention as the food had been the night before.

It was a brilliant trip and I can’t fault the food, the wine or the service. Since it was a gift, I can’t reveal the price here but it was great value and if you’re looking for a slightly unusual way to celebrate then I would definitely recommend the sabrage break. The hotel also offers a number of other wine breaks often with visiting winemakers which we hope to return for next year.

Another week without any posts. This is becoming embarassing. And, as is usual when this happens, there isn’t anything particularly worth waiting for.

This had potential but I can’t quite remember what that potential was since it was so long ago that we ate it. There was chilli, garlic and anchovies in here, along with some mushrooms and some cavolo nero. And that odd looking pasta that, while tasty, was impossible to eat.

This is our second attempt at using cavolo nero in a pasta dish and it was much better than last time. I think I just need to stop trying to be healthy and throw a load of salami and mozarella at it. And write it up more quickly so I can remember what I did and what I need to do next time.

I’ve been thinking about this for a while but wasn’t entirely sure it was going to work. I considered swapping the cavolo nero for spinach and making a more traditional fiorentina pizza but was intrigued enough by the idea to continue and risk ruining our favourite Friday night dinner.

We both love the rich, irony flavour of the cavolo nero but knew it would take some balancing to work as a pizza topping. Our usual tomato sauce is light and fresh but this time, we made a deeper, more heavily reduced sauce with plenty of garlic and oregano to stand up to the greens.

Stephen cleverly suggested tossing the previously-steamed cavolo nero in some grated lemon zest to add an acidic note and, as well as the cooked mozarella and salami, we kept some aside and added it to the pizza when it came out of the oven. The fresh salami added some sweetness and the “raw” mozarella provided a lightness.

We both said it was the best pizza we’ve ever had. The flavour combinations all worked together brilliantly and, without being too immodest, were as perfectly balanced as we could have hoped for. I’m looking forward to trying a similar combination next week with pasta but I might just cook this again. And again.

We always keep halloumi in the fridge since it has a long shelf life and it’s so useful if you find yourself in a cheese-based emergency. It wasn’t exactly an emergency this evening but we had planned to go out and changed our minds at the last minute. There wasn’t much else around the kitchen would could be turned into a meal so out came the halloumi. I had planned to chop the avocado into the lentils but forgot so hastily threw it on the top just before Stephen took the picture. We ended up mashing it onto the toast and then piling the lentils and halloumi on top and it was brilliant. In fact, I think it’s one of the best things I’ve eaten for a while and considering it was made up of store-cupboard ingredients and took very little time to put together pleases me even more.

No need for a recipe, just cook the puy lentils and then dress with some salt and pepper, red onion, olive oil, lemon juice and herbs. Fry the halloumi and serve on avocado toast.

We met up with a friend for lunch yesterday and while waiting for him, popped into a small Italian deli for some coffee. I love the unusual pasta shapes you can find in these kinds of places and managed to limit myself to buying just two. This type is called caserecci and has a great rough texture that really encourages sauce to cling to it.

We picked up some mozarella while we were there which we added to a tomato sauce flavoured with capers and olives, a little like puttanesca but without the richness that comes from the anchovies. It worked quite well but was a bit soupy in consistency. Next time we’ll leave the juice from the tomatoes behind. We’ll also need to tear the cheese into smaller pieces so that I don’t have to think up excuses to make Stephen leave the table so I can steal from his plate.