Basic Pizza

Ingredients

For the dough (makes enough for 8 to 10 • medium-sized thin pizza bases)
• 800g strong white bread flour 
• 200g fine ground semolina flour or strong • white bread flour 
• 1 level tablespoon fine sea salt 
• 2 x 7g sachets of dried yeast 
• 1 tablespoon golden caster sugar 
• around 650ml lukewarm water
For the tomato sauce (makes enough for 4 pizzas)
• 1 clove of garlic
• a small bunch of fresh basil
• olive oil
• 1 x 400g tin good-quality plum tomatoes
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 
For the topping (enough for 4 pizzas) 
• 85g mozzarella 
• extra virgin olive oil


Directions


To make the dough:

1. Pile the flour and salt on to a clean surface and make an 18cm well in the centre. Add your yeast and sugar to the lukewarm water, mix up with a fork and leave for a few minutes, then pour into the well.
2. Using a fork and a circular movement, slowly bring in the flour from the inner edge of the well and mix into the water. It will look like thick porridge. Continue to mix, bringing in all the flour. When the dough comes together and becomes too hard to mix with your fork, flour your hands and begin to pat it into a ball.
3. Knead the dough by rolling it backward and forward, using your left hand to stretch the dough toward you and your right hand to push the dough away from you at the same time. Repeat this for 10 minutes, until you have a smooth, springy, soft dough.
4. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let double in size for about 45 minutes.

To make the sauce:

1. Peel and finely slice the garlic. Pick the basil leaves and discard the stalks. Heat a saucepan on a medium-low heat and add a splash of olive oil and the garlic. Cook gently until the garlic starts to turn golden, then add most of the basil leaves, the tomatoes, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook gently for around 20 minutes, or until smooth, mashing the tomatoes up with a wooden spoon as it cooks.
2. When done, have a little taste, and season again if needed.

To make the pizza:

1. Divide the dough in two. Wrap one half in plastic wrap and freeze for another batch (see Jamie's tips above). With the other half, divide the dough into 4 balls. Flour and cover each ball with plastic wrap, and let it rest for about 15 minutes. This will make it easier to roll it thinly.
2. Take a piece of the dough, dust your surface and the dough with a little flour or semolina, and roll it out into a rough circle about 0.5cm thick. Tear off an appropriately sized piece of tin foil, rub it with olive oil, dust it well with flour or semolina and place the pizza base on top. Continue doing the same with the other pieces and then, if you dust them with a little flour, you can pile them up into a stack, cover them with cling film and put them in the fridge
3. When you're ready to cook them, preheat your oven to 250°C/500°F/gas 9.
4. Put two of the rolled-out dough rounds onto each of two oiled baking sheets. At this stage you can apply your topping. Smear the tomato sauce over the base of your pizzas and spread it out to the edges. Tear over the mozzarella and scatter with the remaining basil leaves. Drizzle with a tiny bit of extra virgin olive oil and add a pinch of salt and pepper. If you can, cook the pizzas on a piece of granite in your conventional oven – if not, do them one by one on pieces of tin foil directly on the bars of the oven shelf, towards the bottom of the oven (If you're going to cook your pizzas on the bars of the oven, make sure they're not too big – otherwise they'll be difficult to manoeuvre). Cook for 7 to 10 minutes, until the pizzas are golden and crispy.

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Baked Pappardelle With Pancetta And Porcini

Ingredients
500ml milk
20g dried porcini mushrooms
40g butter
25g plain flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
100g pappardelle
50g pancetta, cut into 2cm pieces
4-5 tbsp freshly grated parmesan


Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
2. Warm the milk in a saucepan, add the porcini mushrooms, remove from the heat and soak for 10 minutes. Strain through a sieve suspended over a bowl, pressing lightly on the mushrooms with the back of ladle to extract all the milk.
3. Heat the butter in a clean saucepan, add the flour and stir over a low heat for 2-3 minutes without colouring the roux.
4. Pour in the porcini-flavoured milk all in one go and whisk together vigorously until smooth. Cook the sauce for a further 10 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened. Season lightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper and set aside.
5. Bring a large pan of salted water to a rolling boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain in a colander, tip into a roomy bowl and carefully stir in the sauce, porcini and pancetta until well combined.
6. Place the pasta into a lightly buttered oven-proof dish. Smooth the surface and cover with two tablespoons of the parmesan. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes, or until bubbling around the edges and golden-brown.
7. Serve the dish piping hot at the dinner table and have extra cheese at the ready.

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Barbecued Chicken With Warm Green Bean Salad

Ingredients


2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves picked 
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 
Zest and juice of 1 lemon 
4 chicken breasts, preferably higher welfare, skin removed 
1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard 
olive oil 
24 cherry tomatoes on the vine 
400g green beans, topped with the curly end still on

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 100ºC. Pound the rosemary leaves with a pinch of salt in a pestle and mortar or flavour shaker. Mix with the olive oil and half the lemon juice and zest. 
2. Lay the chicken on a chopping board. Slice one of the breasts horizontally, as if you were going to cut it in half. Cut it 80 per cent of the way through, then open it up like a book. Flatten it out with the heel of your hand and repeat with the other three. 
3. Pour the rosemary marinade over the chicken and put to one side to marinate for a few minutes. Make the dressing by mixing the mustard with the rest of the lemon juice and twice as much olive oil. To roast your tomatoes, place on a tray, season and roast for 20 minutes. 
4. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the beans for 5 minutes. Drain and toss them in the mustard dressing, then add the roasted tomatoes. 
5. Preheat a griddle pan or barbecue. Grill the chicken breasts for 2½ minutes on each side. Check they’re cooked through and serve with the warm beans and tomatoes. 
6. Tip: The longer you leave the chicken in the marinade, the better it’ll taste!

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Oven-Baked Rigatoni With Wild Boar Salami

Ingredients

a good glug of extra virgin olive oil
½ a wild boar salami, sliced (or use Napoli salami)
1 red onion, peeled and sliced
1 clove garlic, peeled and sliced
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
400g tin chopped tomatoes
3 tablespoons crème fraîche
a large bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked and chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
300g rigatoni
a ball of buffalo mozzarella, sliced


Directions

1. This is a great dish for when you've got mates coming round as it's easy to make and looks fantastic. The wild boar salami tastes great, and as well as cooking with it you can use it in sandwiches.
2. Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5.
3. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, and fry half the salami until quite crisp. Add the onion and garlic and cook slowly until the onion is soft. Add the balsamic vinegar, chopped tomatoes, crème fraîche and basil. Mix together, season to taste, and simmer for a few minutes.
4. Cook the rigatoni according to the packet instructions until 'al dente'. Drain, and drizzle over a little olive oil and seasoning. Tip into a baking dish and pour over the sauce.
5. Lay the mozzarella over the top with the rest of the salami. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes until golden. Delicious.

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