Tomato and Mozzarella Pizza

Taken From "Healthy Food Guide" Sep 2012

(serves: 4)


Tomato and Mozzarella Pizza
250g passata

275g plain flour (or gluten-free plain flour)
7g sachet fast action dried yeast (easy bake yeast that does not require reconstituting in water)
1 tsp caster sugar
1 medium egg, beaten
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp sugar
Handful of basil leaves
2 x 125g reduced-fat mozzarella balls, drained, sliced
350g large vine tomatoes, sliced and drained on kitchen paper

Put flour, yeast, 1 tsp caster sugar in large bowl
Mix egg with 125ml warm water and pour into the dry ingredients. (* I add about a tbsp of olive oil in as well)
Mix well and knead lightly to make a soft dough, adding more water if needed.
Divide in two and roll out thinly. (* I try not to use too much extra flour and use a little veg oil to spot it sticking - and roll as big as the tin/tray I'm cooking it on)
Transfer to baking trays, cover with cling film and leave in a warm place for 30min (*GREASED TRAYS! or they stick!)

Preheat oven to Gas 6 / 200C / Fan 180C. 

Heat passata, oregano and 1 tsp sugar in a pan for 5 mins until thick. Add torn basil reserving a few leaves
Top each base with the tomato sauce, then the mozzarella and tomato slices.Season with black pepper and cook for 25-30min until crusts are golden and the cheese has melted. Garnish with the reserved basil.

*** I make my own tomato sauce.
1 400g tin toms (can be chopped or whole)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
dried herbs
tom puree
1 tsp sugar
salt, pepper

Put the onion, garlic in a pan with 1 tsp (or so) oil and cook gently for a few mins until soft.
Add the tinned toms (if whole, chop up with spatula/wooden spoon - I don't mind chunks of tomato), add in the dried herbs (oregano / basil / mixed herbs - whatever is in cupboard), add in sugar and a squeeze of tom puree (about a tbsp). Cook on a gentle blip until excess water has evaporated and sauce is thick. Season. Cool slightly before topping pizza.
Does make extra sauce which you can freeze and use in pasta sauces...etc...

I made the above dough and made 3 pizzas:
a small 6" Cheese and Tomato pizza for my son (watch it when cooking as it may not need as long in oven - I think I cooked for around 15 mins).
a medium sized Pepperoni and Red Onion Pizza for Mr Leaf
a medium sized Veg Pizza for me (red onion, green pepper, mushroom, fresh sliced tomato and once cooked,  topped with wild rocket leaves) 

The dough is quick and easy to prepare, and is wonderfully light and crispy.  I have made it using gluten-free flour too and it works brilliantly!

You can adapt the pizzas anyway you like, Ham & Pineapple; Cooked Chicken and Pesto Sauce; Goats Cheese and Red Pepper; Bacon, Mushroom & Tomato....the permutations are endless :)

Cod Fish Cakes & Crab Cakes

Fish is good for you and we should aim to eat 2-3 portions a week.  That's what is drummed to into us and so I have tried to lead a healthier lifestyle - after all, it means you can treat yourself and be naughty once in a while!  As I see my mum most Mondays, we get our first fish portion then.  Mid-week I need to make sure we have something  seafoody and Friday is another fish-day.  (Tonight hubby will be buying fish and chips on his way home!  Yum!  Yum!)  Wednesday, I attempted to make both crab & fish cakes.

My mother in law was a good cook.  Or so I gather.  I never had the opportunity to meet her as I didn't meet my husband until she had passed away some years previously.  My husband tells me about the things she used to make and cook from scratch, however, when I ask him how it was made he often hasn't any idea.  He was too busy playing to be helping his mum in the kitchen and sadly all her recipes are gone too.
One of the things she would make was cuttlefish cakes - like the ones you eat at dim-sum (we always order those - hubbs favourite).  Hubbs tells me he'll make them for me.  Am still waiting.

Anyway, I had a large fish fillet of cod to use (500 g) and if I still lived at home, I'd make a fish pie.  Hubbs isn't a fan - so scratch that idea.  I thought I'd try making fish cakes - not the western style which is cooked flaked fish mixed with mashed potato, but the bouncy Chinese ones. 
Fish cakes I did make, bouncy?  No.  Maybe its the wrong type of fish, maybe it doesn't have a gluey past- like quality to it that is needed for the bounce.  Maybe it wasn't beaten enough.

Not having a food processor, I skinned the fish fillet, then realised I should've just scraped the flesh off the skin and muscle with a spoon.  I did as best I could to break up the meat before mincing it with a large cook's knife.  I then placed the fish into the bowl of my mixer and added 4 Chinese soup spoons of water, some salt, white pepper and 1 tablespoon of cornflour.  I turned the mixer on to beat it for 10 minutes.  It turned into a smooth looking paste.  Next was 2 tablespoons of chopped dill and another mix.  The mixture was formed into small patties and fried in shallow oil until golden on both sides.  It wasn't too mushy, but it wasn't bouncy either.

For the crab cakes, I had a vague idea of what I was doing from a Rick Stein episode (I can't recall which series) where he was making Maryland Crab Cakes.  Basically it's crab meat, crushed crumbs, lemon juice mayonnaise and seasoning.  I had a tin of crab meat, drained it (100 g) and to it, added 3 crushed cream crackers.  I seasoned and squirted about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and a tablespoon of mayonnaise.  To make it more interesting I chopped up some spring onions and threw them in too.  A good ol' mix before leaving in fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.  Then they were simple formed into patties and gently fried until golden.

We ate our fish & crab cakes with new potatoes and salad.  Simple and that was our fish quota for the day.

Munch Munch....Mussel Spaghetti

Ever too hungry greedy to take photos of your kitchen creations before it's eaten?  Err...that's me.  Especially when its dinner.  Baking cake or bread is a different matter.  They aren't wolfed down immediately.

I fancied Seafood Pasta for dinner today.  Dinner usually is where I rustle things without referring to a recipe.  I may get an idea here and there but when it comes to the creating of the dish it's all heat of the moment and can be a dash of this here....splash of that there....no idea of quantity but what I think looks right at the time. 

I saw a net of fresh mussels in their shells in the supermarket and decided dinner was going to be Mussel Spaghetti.  They are Scottish Mussels which I think are rope-grown, ie farmed or cultivated as opposed to wild.  (Just checked the packaging - they are from Loch Roag, rope-grown in the Outer Hebrides.)

I didn't stop to think of taking photos so I could blog this - it's only whilst I was chomping my pasta and got some appreciatory nods and "Well done dear." from the hubbs that made me think......should've taken photos so I can blog this dish!  You will have to make do with the small portion in a tub which will be hubbs lunch-box for tomorrow.  Hardly very artistic I hasten to add!



If you want to know what I did, read on, amounts are a guesstimate as I don't measure what I create for dinner - baking is more of an exact science so they are often measured.

Mussel Spaghetti

1kg net of mussels
4 shallots - sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
knob of butter
handful of parsley, chopped
50ml sherry (should be white wine, but had Amontillado Sherry to hand!)
4 small tomatoes, roughly chopped (I like on the vine tomatoes)
100ml double cream
Spaghetti for 2 persons

First clean the mussels.  (I placed them in a bowl of cold water to wash them and I pulled off the hairy beards.  I discarded any that had a cracked broken shell and any that were open and didn't close when I squeezed the shell shut.  Then I placed them in a colander.)
Cook the spaghetti according to pack instructions.  (I used linguine and simmered for 9 minutes before draining and returning to the pan.)
Whilst the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the shallots and garlic and fry gently for 2 minutes until they soften and begin to colour.
Tip in the mussels, add the sherry and place lid on pan.  Shake occasionally so mussels can cook evenly.  Let the mussels steam for 4-6 minutes until they open.  (I didn't want to overcook them so they turn tough as they would be cooked again briefly.)
Tip the mussels into a colander and reserve the cooking liquor.  Pick out the mussel meat from the shells and keep aside in a bowl.
Clean out the large saucepan and pour the reserved liquor back into the pan but leave the last little bit of liquid as it may contain sand or grit.  Add the drained spaghetti to the pan and warm through, tip in the mussel meat and pour in any juices that may be in the bowl - again leave last bit of liquid behind in case of any grit. 
Add the chopped tomatoes and cream, stir and cook for a minute.
Stir in the parsley, remove from heat and serve.  Lovely with crusty bread to dip in the juices.  If the spaghetti looks too dry for your liking, add a splash or water or milk to the pan and heat through before serving.

The recipe is basically the same as for Moules Mariniere but with added cream and tomatoes.  The cream adds richness to the sauce but it is classically made with white wine.  I liked the addition of tomato as it not only provided colour but I think it gave a little sharpness to the finished dish.  Fresh parsley always tastes refreshing in a dish too.  It may not be text-book correct but it's what I made and it was enjoyed by my hubbs and myself.