Farmersgirl Kitchen

Monday, 4 May 2015

The Woolton Pizza Pie for VE Day 70th Anniversary Celebrations

To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe (VE Day – 8 May 1945), Potato Pete is being brought back to life through wartime recipes which have been given a modern makeover. Though times have changed, potatoes remain a British favourite and are still helping the country enjoy a healthy, balanced diet.

Potato Pete was a fun character created by the Ministry of Agriculture & Food to inspire people to eat more potatoes and maintain their health during the Second World War. Families were encouraged to make use of their gardens or allotments to grow vegetables through the ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign. At its peak, there were 1.4 million allotments in Britain.

Kate Cox of the Potato Council says, “Potatoes were a staple ingredient in Britain during the war and a key component of the ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign, so it seemed only fitting to celebrate VE Day by revamping wartime recipes that are still just as tasty and nutritious today!”

Dietitians argue that wartime diets were amongst the healthiest the British population has ever eaten, which in turn led to improvements in the nation's health.

Sian Porter, dietitian says, “Food during the Second World War was all about sustainability, minimising waste and nutrition. Today we are seeing a renewed interest in where our food comes from, how it is grown, avoiding waste as well as maximising nutrition. Ingredients such as potatoes were relevant then and are relevant now.”

Potatoes are the original superfood, with research* showing children get more Vitamin C, B1, B6, Folate, Iron, Magnesium and Potassium from potatoes than from the 5 superfoods; beetroot, bananas, nuts, broccoli and avocado combined.

Average intakes of potassium, iodine, folate and vitamin B6 are more than 10% higher in adults who regularly consume more potatoes rather than alternative carbohydrates such as pasta or rice. The average intakes of potassium, folate, vitamin A and vitamin B6 are also more than 6% higher in children who consume potatoes regularly.

Woolton Pie is a tasty and nutritious vegetable pie that could still be made during times of rationing and food shortages. It's one of the most famous war time recipes, named after Lord Woolton, he helped to make the recipe popular when he became Minister of Food in 1940. I've taken that recipe and updated it to make the kind of 'pie' that many of us enjoy weekly - a pizza pie!

The Woolton Pizza Pie
Serves 6

For the base
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp milk
60ml water
115g mashed Maris Piper potatoes
2tbsp butter
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
270g strong white flour
2 tsp fast action yeast

For the topping
6 new Charlotte potatoes
1/2 a small turnip (swede)
2 carrots
Florets from 1/2 a medium cauliflower
5 cloves of garlic, skins on
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sweet smoked paprika (pimenton)
2 tbsp finely chopped spring onions
50g finely chopped parsley
I made my dough in the bread maker, but to make it by hand:

Put the flour in a large bowl and add the sugar, salt and the yeast, keeping the the salt and yeast away from each other.
Add the olive oil, butter, milk and potatoes and mix.
Add the water a little at a time until you have a smooth, soft dough.
Tip the dough onto an oiled surface and knead for 5-10 minutes until smooth. Leave to rise until doubled in size.

5. When the dough is rising, prepare the vegetables.
6. Heat the oven to 180C
7. Parboil the potatoes until tender but not fully cooked, leave to cool.
8. Slice the swede and carrots very thinly, I used a mandoline
9. Slice the cauliflower florets slightly more thickly or they will disintegrate
10. Place the swede, carrots and cloves of garlic in roasting tin with the oil and sprinkle with the paprika, mix together so the oil and paprika cover the vegetables.
11. Roast for 10 minutes until the vegetables start to soften, then add the cauliflower, mix it in with the oil and other vegetables and roast for another 5 minutes.
12. Remove and leave to cool.

To assemble

The dough is quite soft, so using oiled hands, press it into a circle on your baking tray.
Squeeze the softened garlic from the roasted garlic cloves and spread over the dough.
Place the swede around the edge,overlapping the slices
Place the carrots in circles from the inner edge of the swede to the centre of the pizza
Slice the potatoes and make a circle as shown above
Fill the centre with the roasted cauliflower florets, adding a single carrot slice in the centre if liked.
Cover with cling film and leave to rise again for 30 minutes.
Bake at 200C for 20-30 minutes until the base is golden brown, if the vegetables start to brown to quickly, cover with a piece of foil.
Serve hot from the oven sprinkled with parsley and spring onions.

The Woolton Pizza Pie tasted amazing, way better than I had hoped. The potato bread dough was really light and fluffy, the swede and carrots added sweetness, the potatoes added substance to the topping and the cauliflower roasted with smoked paprika was really delicious. A little fresh greenery on top lifted the flavours and the pizza was very filling as well as being really cheap to make. I served it with a salad of leaves, cucumber. celery and grated carrot. The Woolton Pizza is also very good cold, in fact cold potatoes are one of my favourite things.

Commissioned by the Potato Council

If you are interested in more potato recipes you can find a huge range of recipes at Love Potatoes including more retro recipes with a modern twist.

Some of my wartime cookery books and leaflets

For more Wartime recipes follow the Wartime Kitchen Pinterest Board which I share with Karen at Lavender and Lovage. Karen is also celebrating VE Day with a recipe for 'Whit Salad' a very clever way to overcome the egg ration, so make sure you visit her amazing blog.

Galina at Chez Maximka is also featuring a VE Day potato recipe, her grandfather's favourite potato vareniki with a poignant family story.

Just for a fun, here is how our family celebrated the 50th Anniversary of VE Day in 1995, with a mince pie and hand decorated napkins.

* SACN identified 14 micronutrients where there is evidence of low intakes and/or low nutritional status in the UK population (SACN 2008). Potatoes contribute 10% or more of intakes of many of these micronutrients in the UK, namely vitamin B6 (19%), potassium (18%), vitamin C (15%), thiamine (13%), folate (12%) and magnesium (10%) (Henderson et al. 2002). Source: 2010 British Nutrition Foundation Nutrition Bulletin, 35, pg 326

Labels: 70th Anniversary Celebrations, Dig for Victory, Pizza, Potato Pete, potatoes, VE Day, Vegetables, Vitamins, Wartime Kitchen, WW2

Friday, 1 August 2014

July in Review at Farmersgirl Kitchen

I thought I'd have a look back at what I had posted during July and was surprised by just how many posts I found. Some of the events took place earlier but all have been written and posted in July, here is a little reminder of the food and the fun!

Berrytastic Strawberry and Blueberry Cake; Peanut Butter, Oat and Chocolate Chip Cookies, The Slow Cooker Cookbook Giveaway, Crab Cakes by the Ocean at Pictou Lodge.

Hugh's Honey and Peanut Butter Flapjacks; At the Royal Highland Show with Quality Meat Scotland (and Chef Jacqueline O'Donnell); Appleby and Ullswater Staycation: On My Kitchen Table.

Super Simple Chicken Curry from Dhruv Baker's new book Spice; Mexican Chicken in the Slow Cooker and Courgette and Hummus Pizza.

Fruity Iced Tea made 'Cold Brew'

The Slow Cooker Challenge Round Up - Summer Slow Cooker

Labels: chocolate chip cookie, curry, flapjacks, Hotel Chocolat, iced tea, July, Pizza, Round Up, slow cooker, strawberries, Ullswater

Saturday, 26 July 2014

Courgette and Hummus Pizza

I saw a photograph of a Courgette (Zucchini) and Hummus Pizza on Pinterest, unfortunately the link went to a blog that was private so I wasn't able to get the recipe, however I was intrigued by this unusual topping, so decided to have a go myself.

Having recently returned from Appleby and the Lake District via Little Salkeld Mill, near Penrith, where you can see the flour milled, enjoy the delights of the cafe and stock up on all the organic goodies.

Courgette and Hummus Pizza

For the dough
2 tsp fast action dried yeast
300ml milk
200g spelt flour
300g strong white flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
3 tbsp plain yogurt
30g butter, melted

This quantity of flour will make one large pizza and three flat breads or two large pizzas. Just half the quantities if you only want enough for one pizza.

For the topping
1 large courgette (zucchini) finely sliced
200g hummus (I used homemade, if you can try and find one that is not completely smooth but any will do)
100g Tickler Extra Mature Cheddar with Red Onions (or cheese of your choice)

I made my dough in the bread maker, but if you want to make it by hand, put all the ingredients in a large bowl and add the salt and the yeast keeping them away from each other. Add the olive oil and 150ml of the water and mix. Add the remaining water a little at a time until you have a smooth, soft dough.

Tip the dough onto an oiled surface and knead for 5-10 minutes until smooth. Leave to rise until doubled in size.

Split off enough dough for your pizza and roll is or press it onto a tray, spread the hummus in a thick layer over the dough, place the slices of courgette over the hummus. Crumble the mature cheddar and scatter over the pizza.

Cover the pizza with oiled cling film and leave to rise for a further 30 minutes.

Bake at 200C for 20-30 minutes until the base is cooked, the courgettes have crisped and the cheese is melted and golden.

The combination of the hummus and courgette was absolutely brilliant! The spelt base was soft rather than crispy but full of flavour, the red onion in the cheese also worked well with the combination, but you could add some finely chopped red onion to the topping to compensate if you don't have this cheese.

I had the opportunity to try out the new Clean Cut Pizza Wheel from OXO Good Grips, so here is the result, it was easy to hold and cut through the topping and base with ease. I also liked the plastic cover for the sharp blade although it can be a little tricky to get the cover off! See the pizza cutter in action in this little video.

Clean Cut Pizza Wheel: For the perfect pizza party, use the OXO Good Grips Clean Cut Pizza Wheel. This hand-held pizza slicer provides leverage and control for easy slicing and the 10cm stainless steel wheel easily cuts through thin- or thick-crust pizza. The soft, comfortable, non-slip grip will make portioning out slices for everyone a breeze. The handle comes apart and blade removes for easy cleaning, and the blade guard snaps on to protect the blade and hands for storage. The Pizza Wheel is dishwasher safe. RRP £10

Labels: Cheddar, Clean Cut Pizza Wheel, courgette, hummus, OXO Good Grips, Pizza, spelt flour, Tickler, zucchini

Monday, 23 June 2014

A Local Tasting Tour South of Morris Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia

Downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia is really easy to navigate. When I met up with my blogging colleagues, Karen, Helen and Aoife, later in the trip, they were amused by how I knew my way around (well most of the time!). It helps that there is a hill behind you leading down to the waterfront and the streets are in a grid pattern, so you can quickly get our bearings, and Halifax is a definitely a place where walking is a good way to get around.

I walked down from Citadel Hill to the waterfront boardwalk and enjoyed seeing the ships, restaurants and the stunning view across to Dartmouth and Fort George.

Fort George

I was heading to the Halifax Seaport Market to meet with up with Emily Forrest proprietor of Local Tasting Tours and my guide Elena Cremonese, who was ready to take me on the SOMO (South of Morris Street) Food Tour. "Local Tasting Tours highlights the local side of Halifax cuisine, from the unique culinary style of local chefs, to the diverse dishes offered in locally owned ethnic eateries, to fresh Nova Scotia-grown produce and dishes inspired by our local bounty" The tour includes visits to six local eateries in the area 'south of Morris Street' to taste dishes prepared especially for you by award winning chefs.

Norbert's Good Food is Halifax’s first and only farm to table eatery sell their own produce grown at their own organic farm, Selwood Green. Norbert's was the first stop on my Food Tour, it's located at the Seaport Farmers’ Market. I had a very tasty salad topped with sprouts and dressed with a simple oil, vinegar and honey dressing.

A short walk along the waterfront and we arrived at Sugah, a store full of chocolate, toffees, sweets, ice cream and Rum Cake! All of Sugah 's products are crafted by hand in Nova Scotia using traditional methods and using fresh butter, cream sugar and nuts. The sweets are cooked in the old-fashioned copper kettle and worked on the marble slabs. The chocolates feature finest Belgian Chocolate and as well as some traditional flavours there are great ideas like the Kracken Krunch, blended with Nova Scotian Seaweed; The Brew Bar made with a unique combination of fruit, nuts and spices and the Fog Burner which combines chocolate with Fog Burner coffee grounds. I brought home quite a few bars of Sugah chocolate as gifts, they really are unique flavours.

I was offered samples of the S'mores chocolate which was far too sweet for my taste, I preferred the 'Tall and Dark' Brew Bar. The Bacon Praline was also good, but not a patch on the one made by Wee Sweetie, her praline is just packed with bacon and much more robust than the one at Sugah (I've been spoiled!). Sugah is owned by The Uncommon Group who also run the Uncommon Grounds coffee shops in Nova Scotia.

Next I returned to The Halliburton (read about it in The Bridge, The Bison and the Four Poster Bed ) and was presented with this beautiful plate of 'Pan seared, rice paper wrapped sea scallops, ginger sesame vinaigrette', oh my goodness what a delight! I also had a chance to speak to the chef and compliment him on the meal I had eaten the evening before.

Just up the road from the Halliburton on Morris Street East is the Morris East who specialise in wood-fired pizzas. My tasting dish was a slice of Peach Woodfired topped with peaches, goat cheese, shallots,
prosciutto, maple rosemary aioli and microgreens. I'm not a huge fan of goat cheese but it combined well with the sweet peaches and salty prosciutto. The base of the wood fired pizza was superb, it was thin and managed to be crisp underneath and soft on top, just perfect.

If you are a fan of cocktails, I would recommend you have a look at the Morris East cocktail menu, some great combinations of liquor served there.

I think the place that I warmed to most was Cafe Chianti. Italian food is my favourite cuisine and the risotto with asparagus and spinach with a parmesan crisp on top was absolutely delicious. But there is more to a restaurant than just delcious food and Cafe Chianti has that something special.

I was fortunate to meet the owner, Jan Wicha, who gave me a warm welcome and sat with me and Elena as we ate our risotto. He told me how his restaurant had burned down and he thought his days as a restaurateur were over, however the continued demand from former customers persuaded him to start again. I also learned about the beautifully painted murals on the walls, some of them reclaimed from the original restaurant. Of all the places on the food tour this is the one that I would most like to revisit as it felt very comfortable and the menus are excellent.

We finished our tour at Elements on Hollis, the restaurant in The Westin, Nova Scotian Hotel. Chef Steve Galvin brought me this lovely plate of belly pork in a barbecue sauce, a recipe he had recently developed. I know belly pork is very popular, but it's not my favourite cut of meat, too fatty for me. However, once again I was proved wrong and I really enjoyed this rich and tender dish. There will be more about Elements on Hollis in a later post as I ate there again when I returned to Halifax.

A little about my delightful guide: Elena Cremonese is a recent graduate of Dalhousie University in Halifax and a committed foodie! Hailing originally from Ottowa, Ontario she has travelled in Europe and Asia and, although she was relatively new to her job with Local Tasting Tours, Elena was a font of knowledge about the restaurants, the history of the SOMO area of Halifax and about food in general. I enjoyed her company and we chatted easily about all sorts, thanks Elena for making my tour such a pleasure.

It was now time for me get back into my Jeep SUV and head across The Macdonald Bridge towards Pictou, I hope you'll join me on the next leg of my journey in Nova Scotia.

This is the third in a series of posts about my trip to Nova Scotia. Read the other posts in my Nova Scotia adventure:

1. The Bridge, The Bison and the Four Poster Bed
2. The Citadel, Halifax : Sporrans, Rifles and the School Room

You can follow me on Twitter: @FarmersgirlCook, Facebook: Farmersgirl Kitchen Instagram: FarmersgirlCook and the Pinterest Board  Atlantic Canada Eats which I share with Lavender and Lovage. You can also follow the hashtags #AtlanticCanadaEats #VisitNovaScotia and #ExploreCanada to see photos and posts on all of these social media sites.

Disclaimer: I was the guest of the Canadian Tourism Commission and  Nova Scotia Tourism and all my flights, car hire, accommodation and meals were included, as well as all trips, excursions and special cookery sessions with local chefs. I'd like to thank the host organisations and everyone who made this a truly memorable trip.
Photo Montage templates from The Coffee Shop

Labels: Chianti Cafe, chocolate, Elements on hollis, Halifax, Local Tasting Tour, Morris East, Norbert's Good Food, Nova Scotia, Pizza, risotto, salad, scallop, sesame, Stories, Sugah

Tuesday, 10 June 2014

May No Waste Food Challenge Round Up

MAY 2014 - ROUND UP

Apologies for the lateness of the round-up. Those of you who follow me on social media, will know that I've

been away in Nova Scotia, Canada so am posting a little late. Thanks to Elizabeth for her patience and kindness.

First up is Deon at Food Jam with a puff pastry based 'Cheats Pizza' topped with left over bits and pieces from her fridge, perfect No Waste Food Challenge recipe!

Dear Dom at Belleau Kitchen scavenged around in his fridge and freezer and guess what? He found some chicken thighs! This dish reminds me of the beautiful cottage garden at Belleau, and I'm sure it tasted just as good as it looks.

Matty B is a newish blogger at Matty B Bakes and he has embraced the art of food blogging with a vengeance! There are loads of recipes on his blog already including this "Waste not, want not" Chicken Stock which is his entry for the No Waste Food Challenge.

Helen at Food-Friends-Family brings us a pesto made from spinach from her organic veg box and some bits and pieces in her fridge and store cupboard, to come up with this beautiful green plateful of Spinach Artichoke Pesto and Spaghetti.

Sometimes lunch can be a bit boring, but not at Vohn's Vittles where the provided the ingredients for this Mangetout Blue Cheese and Hazelnut Toastie I don't think I've ever had mangetout on toast before, but it does look very good.

I wasn't the only one to use up bananas for the challenge this month. Anne at Anne's Kitchen used her over ripe banana to make Banana and Chocolate Chip Cookies and they proved to be a big success.

Jane at Onions and Paper was very 'punny' with her 'No Waste' Me-USE-li made by clearing out odds and ends from her baking cupboard. Great idea!

The Gluten-free Alchemist lived up to her name and created this spectacular Tarte au Framboise with an excess of raspberries in the freezer and a couple of lemons that had seen better days from the fridge. I love raspberries and will be coming back to this recipe very soon!

Ness at Jibber Jabber has baked a tasty looking Chocolate Malt Cake which is a super-frugal cake to make, costing only 95p and used up some Ovaltine which was in danger of being thrown out.

Another entry from Helen at Family-Friends-Food, this time a Nutella Bread and Butter Pudding. Looks very tasty.

The ripe banana is definitely the friend of the No Waste Food Challenger. Corina at Searching for Spice used hers to make Oaty Banana Bites small chewy clusters of oats, held together with sticky banana and raisins.

This looks like such a delicious tart, named the Three Allium Smoked Chilli Tart by Choclette at Chocolate Log Blog as it features onions, leeks and garlic as well as the courgettes you can see on top.

Spicy, Quirky, Serendipitous is a blog I haven't come across before, but I like the sound of it! We are back to our best friend THE BANANA, this time made into a pancake with finger millet or ragi flour, great for breakfast or tea time.

Leftover Lamb and Rosemary Patties, these could have been made for me. I often roast lamb and prefer it to pork, rosemary is also my favourite herb, so thanks to Annie at A Working Mum's Cookbook for this lovely recipe.

Thanks to everyone for your amazing entries, head over to Utterly Scrummy for the June No Waste Food Challenge.

Labels: Banana and Chocolate Chip Cookies, chicken stock, No Waste Food Challenge, Pesto, Pizza, raspberries, Tarte au Framboise

Saturday, 20 April 2013

Baking flatbreads for National Bread Week

It's National Bread Week 16 - 22 April, 2013. Bread has been a part of our staple diet for over 5000 years. It all started in the stone age and has continued to evolve from unleavened breads through natural 'sourdough' yeasts, brewers yeast breads and now the sourdoughs are coming back into favour again! And I'm sure you will agree there is nothing more inviting than the smell of freshly baked bread. In honour of this celebration of baking bread, I have a couple of flatbreads to share with you.

I received this Mermaid Baking Sheet to help me with my bread baking. Mermaid is a range of hard anodised aluminium cookware that offers a solution for every culinary need.

Chorizo and Pepper Pizza

250g strong white bread flour
5g salt
5g fast-action dried yeast
2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for oiling
180ml cool water

I used the bread maker and just put all the ingredients in the machine and set it for dough. However, if you don't have one you can make it by hand.

Put all the ingredients in a large bowl and add the salt and the yeast keeping them away from each other. Add the olive oil and 150ml of the water and mix. Add the remaining water a little at a time until you have a smooth, soft dough.

Tip the dough onto an oiled surface and knead for 5-10 minutes until smooth. Leave to rise until doubled in size.

Meanwhile make your topping:

2 red peppers, cored and sliced
1 yellow pepper, cored and sliced
1 large tomato thickly sliced
1 onion, peeled and sliced
1 chorizo sausage sliced
100g grated cheese
2 tbsp olive oil

Heat the oven to 200C, pour the oil into the Mermaid Deep Sided Handled Roaster and add the onions, peppers and tomato and coat in the oil, roast for 20 minutes, then add the sliced chorizo and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool slightly.

Once risen, roll the pizza dough out and place on the tray add the topping and scatter with a mixture of grated cheddar and parmesan cheese.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until the bread is golden and, risen and the cheese is bubbling.

Serve immediately.

50-50 Spelt Naan Bread

2 tsp fast action dried yeast
300ml milk
200g spelt flour
300g strong white flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
3 tbsp plain yogurt
30g butter, melted

The technique for making the Naan Bread is pretty much the same as making the pizza dough. If you don't have spelt flour or prefer not to use it, then you can make all white flour Naans, but reduce the milk to 250ml.

The Naan bread rising.

Bake at 220C for 10 to 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and stack the breads on top of each other and voer with a clean, dry cloth to keep the cursts soft and preven them drying out.

Naan bread is brilliant for soaking up all the delicious sauce in a curry or other stews and gravies.

I was a little disappointed that the Naan bread stuck to the baking tray even though I had oiled it. I will have to try the semolina trick that Paul Hollywood uses to keep the dough from sticking.

Labels: Bread, Mermaid Bakeware, Naan, National Bread Week, Pizza

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