No Knead Focaccia

You need this recipe for No Knead Focaccia!  It comes from the SBS TV website and is made with basic ingredients and very little effort. My Grandson loves helping make this "fox-shar" so I hope you do too!  Stir the ingredients together the day before you want to bake and leave overnight in the fridge. Childs-play ! (with supervision!) It only takes a few minutes arranging simple herbs and a few sliced vegetables to make it 'Arty' and fun.  Delicious dunked in a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar or with a smudge of butter.  Best eaten on the day it is baked - which won't be a problem!   Enjoy!  Colleen

Preparation    10 minutes 
Resting           1 hour plus overnight plus approx 45 minutes before baking
Baking             20 - 30 minutes

Ingredients

4 cups   00  Tipo Flour (bread flour)

1 teaspoon instant yeast (I sometimes use one sachet) 

1 teaspoon Salt

Olive oil (1 1/2 tablespoons) plus more for baking later

2 cups barely lukewarm water, a tiny bit warmer than room temperature but not warm

slices of vegetables and herbs for decoration if desired

Sea salt flakes to sprinkle before baking

Method

Use a large mixing bowl as the dough will expand on rising. 

Combine the flour, instant yeast and salt and stir well.  I use a Danish Dough Hook but a regular spatula or  large spoon is okay.

Mix the oil into the water and pour gently into the flour mixture

Stir really well to mix together into a sticky dough.

Leave the dough in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside for an hour.

Check after an hour that the dough is starting to rise and pop the bowl into the fridge overnight. You can leave for 2 nights if you prefer, I have only done overnight.

Next day

Generously oil a baking pan - mine was 24cm x 34cm x3cm

Tip the dough onto the pan and oil your hands then moosh with your fingers so the dough gets to the edges

Preheat oven to 200 ℃

Leave the pan of dough in a warm place to rise again - approx 30 mins and it will rise by about a quarter size

Oil your fingertips again and push indents into dough again. Decorate as desired and sprinkle with some sea salt flakes.  Allow to rise again approx 10 minutes.

Drizzle with some more Olive Oil

Bake for approx 20 - 30 minutes until middle of loaf springs back when pressed  and crust is lightly golden.

Enjoy!    Colleen

Roast chicken with rosemary and garlic rub

 Sometimes the most delicious dinners are the most simple. Start with the very best ingredients a small addition of some dried and fresh herbs and you have a winner.  In this recipe I have used Tweed Real Food's Garlic and Rosemary rub combined with some fresh herbs from my garden.  I usually roast chicken with lemon wedges, but have you seen the price! I did have some of my parents organic limes so substituted lime for the lemon.

I like to support Australian farmers so I subscribe to  Piggy in the Middle and receive fresh chicken, pork and eggs direct from the farm each month.

The added benefit of this rub is that it has no added sugar so fits in with my kids eating Whole 30 and hubby's keto diet.

       

Ingredients

1 x Organic/Free Range Chicken

1 x sachet Tweed Real Food Garlic and Rosemary Rub (or substitute)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Dried Chilli Flakes

Lemon/lime

Fresh Rosemary, Bay Leaves

1 x head of good garlic

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius

Give the chicken a quick rinse under running water inside and out.  

Pat dry with paper towel

Cut chicken into 2 with kitchen scissors (Can leave whole)

Pop fresh herbs and lime into a baking dish, place chicken halves on top.

Drizzle a little EVOO over the chicken then sprinkle on rub and dried chilli flakes.  

I add a whole garlic because the family love the taste of squishy baked garlic cloves.

Pop the roasting dish into the oven and cook for 50- 60 minutes depending on the size of the chicken.

Mamma Marmalade

Pistachio Pinwheel Biscuits

I finally discovered the easiest way to have delicious biscuit treats in my kitchen - give a lovely person a fabulous cookbook for their birthday and they make them for you ! Perfect! This recipe is from "Dessert Person" by Claire Saffitz and a big Thank You to an even sweeter Claire for cooking and bringing these nutty swirls along to share!  

Hope you enjoy these too - Colleen

Preparation       45 min plus 1 - 1 1/4 hours refrigeration 

Baking               15 - 20 minutes

Makes                32

Ingredients

90 gram  (2/3 cup) shelled pistachios
170 gram butter, room temperature, diced

3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons icing sugar 

2 large egg yolks   - only yolks needed in this recipe

1/2 teaspoon Almond Extract

1 cup Plain Flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/3 cups Almond flour

1/2 cup Demerara sugar (for rolling)

Method

Finely grind pistachios in a food processor until gravelly but NOT fine or a paste. Tip into a small bowl.

Re-use the food processor to mix the butter and icing sugar until smooth and creamy.

Add yolks and almond extract pulsing until smooth and light.

Add flour and salt and barely pulse to a stiff dough, scrape down sides as needed.

Remove 2/3rd of dough to a medium bowl and use a flexible spatula to combine added almond flour (into medium bowl)

Tip the medium bowl dough onto a piece of baking paper about 36 cm long. that is on a baking sheet - a tray without 3 edges, so you can roll per below.

Pat the dough into a thinner layer and top with another piece of baking paper.  Roll the dough until it is about 12x8 inches or 30x20 cm and about 1/4 inch thick.

Uncover the dough and leave on tray, refrigerate until firm approx 15 min.

The remaining 1/3rd of dough is still in the food processor. Add the ground pistachios and pulse about 7 times until blended and green. Set aside at room temperature.

Remove the slab dough from fridge and plop tablespoon size blobs of pistachio dough across surface of dough.  Use an offset spatula to spread pistachio dough across in an even layer but leave a 1/2 inch border on the 2 longer sides. (If desired, have the pistachio dough a little thinner at the ends for the final 1/2 inch of it's layer, helps with the swirl effect)

Start at one of the longer sides using baking paper to assist. Roll dough into tight spiraled log. Wrap the rolled log in baking paper and refrigerate until dough is firm, approx 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 180 ℃ and line 2 large rimmed baking trays with baking paper.

Have an upper and lower oven rack in place in the oven.

Sprinkle the demerara sugar over a cutting board.

Remove log from fridge, unwrap and roll across the sugar, pressing down firmly as you roll so sugar adheres to entire log.

Use a sharp knife and cut the thinnest slice from both ends to neaten and expose the swirl pattern.

Cut the log in half across the middle crosswise, then cut these in half again to make quarter logs. then cut all logs in half again to make eighths - this makes for even slices. 

NB before each cut - roll the  log pieces on the cutting board to keep them round.

Cut each of the eighth pieces into four slices so you will have 32 biscuits.

Place the biscuits evenly over the 2 trays with space to spread slightly.

Bake on upper and lower oven racks - halfway switch and also rotate trays.

Bake until golden around edges approx 15 to 20 minutes in total. Check regularly so they don't overbake.

Remove from oven and cool on baking sheets.

Enjoy!   Colleen ... and Claire .... and Claire!

Chicken and Ham Pot Pie

 Now if like me, you have some leftover cooked chicken and a leg of ham that needs to be used and you have exhausted all recipes, I suggest you give this a try.  It's very tasty and ideal if you are following a keto or low carb diet. In truth no one will tell the difference.

Pie by Feed Your Inner Cook

Pie by Feed Your Inner Cook

           

Ingredients

300g cooked chicken (or thereabouts) cut into cubes

200g ham (or thereabouts) cut into cubes, you can substitute with bacon

1 Tablespoon butter

Olive Oil

1 small or 1/2 medium carrot, diced

2 medium stalks of celery, diced

1/3 cup leek or onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 Tablespoon of fresh thyme or parsley, chopped

110g cream cheese (1/2 cup)

1 cup of thickened cream

1/4 cup of chicken stock

Salt and Pepper to taste

Dough

1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella 

2 Tablespoon cream cheese

2/3 cup almond flour

1 medium egg beaten, to brush the top 

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius

Heat 1 Tablespoon of butter, plus a dash of olive oil and saute leek/onion, carrots, garlic, celery and thyme.

Cook until soft and golden, about 6 minutes.

Add cooked chicken and ham and combine.

Add cream cheese, cream, stock salt and pepper, bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer and cook 1-2 minutes until cream cheese has melted and all ingredients incorporated.

Take off the heat and make the dough.

Place the mozzarella and cream cheese in a small saucepan, stir until melted and combined.  Add almond flour and mix to form a dough.

Roll the dough between 2 sheets of baking paper to approx 1/2 cm thick.

Use the top of the individual pot pie dish to cut a circle with a sharp knife.

Spoon the chicken mixture into the individual pots. Place the circles of dough on top sealing the edges.  Cut to slots in the pastry lid with a knife and brush the some beaten egg.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden.

Mamma Marmalade