The pizza grand finale It must have a crust that’s puffed and well speckled like the coat of a leopard. It must also be round and regular in shape and nicely charred on the base, with a soft centre and melted but not burnt cheese.
A confession and a transgression Basil leaves scattered on top are supposed to be baked with the pizza. That’s the rule. But… I never do it. By cooking the fresh leaves you destroy their character, so I add them at the end.
Parisian pizza
When it comes to eating pizza, apparently only the USA consumes more than France and – humbly – it’s probably thanks to me that we’re in second place at all.
Serves 3
150g [5½oz] young asparagus spears
115g [4oz] cooked ham
75g [2¾oz] button mushrooms
75g [2¾oz] fresh goat cheese
1 Tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
salt and pepper
chopped fresh tarragon, to garnish
For super-legit pizza dough (this makes enough for 3 large pizza bases)
350ml [1½ cups] warm (not hot) water
1 Tbsp salt
525g [4 cups] flour type 00
a pinch of instant yeast
For the super-legit pizza dough, pour the water into a large bowl. Add the salt and leave until dissolved.
Whisk in 50g [scant ½ cup] of the flour, mixing well. Add the yeast and gradually mix in the rest of the flour to make a dough.
Knead the dough for about 20 minutes or until it is smooth. Cover with clingfilm [plastic wrap] and leave to rise at room temperature for 2 hours.
Portion the dough into 3 equal pieces and roll into balls. Put them in an airtight container – the container must be very wide so the dough balls don’t stick together as they expand. Leave to rise at room temperature for 6 hours or, better still, for 12–36 hours in the refrigerator, as this will give the dough a better texture and flavour. Bravo! You’ve just made my super legit pizza dough. (If you are not using all 3 balls of dough straightaway, put the unused balls in a lightly greased bowl, cover with cling film and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Or put in sealed bags and freeze for up to 3 months; thaw in the refrigerator overnight and allow to come to room temperature before using.)
Now start your topping. Remove any tough scales from the asparagus spears, chop the ham and halve the mushrooms, leaving very tiny mushrooms whole.
Mix together the goat cheese and olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Preheat the oven to its highest setting and, if you don’t have a pizza stone, preheat an upturned griddle pan in the oven. Roll out one ball of pizza dough with a rolling pin until about 25cm [10in] in diameter. Place the pizza base on a sheet of baking parchment and spread with the goat cheese mixture. Top with the asparagus, ham and mushrooms. Drizzle with a little extra olive oil.
Slide the pizza onto the pizza stone or preheated griddle pan and bake for 5–10 minutes or until the edges of the dough are lightly charred and puffed up. Serve at once sprinkled with chopped tarragon.
Pizza marinière
The term ‘marinière’ usually applies to the mussels cooked in a white wine-shallot-parsley sauce that one devours greedily by the sea, eating them with your fingers, of course, and taking great care not to leave a single drop of the precious buttery juices at the bottom of the pot. Here the idea is the same but served on a pizza.
Serves 3
300g [10½oz] mussels in their shells
½ bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 medium shallots
1 tsp butter
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 garlic clove, sliced
pepper
200ml [scant 1 cup] dry white wine or, if you don’t want to use alcohol, substitute with 175ml [¾ cup] vegetable stock with a few drops of cider vinegar added
1 Tbsp plain [all-purpose] flour
1 Tbsp double [heavy] cream
1 ball of uncooked pizza dough, ready to roll out
Clean the mussels thoroughly by rinsing under cold running water. Using a small knife, pull away the ‘beards’ and scrape off any barnacles. Discard any mussels with broken shells or that are already open and do not close immediately when firmly tapped.
Separate the parsley stalks and leaves. Finely chop 2 shallots and the parsley stalks. Heat the butter in a large pan with a lid over a medium heat, add the chopped shallots, thyme, garlic and chopped parsley stalks and fry uncovered until softened. Increase the heat under the pan to high, add the mussels, season with pepper and pour in the wine or stock. Cover the pan immediately and cook for 3 minutes. Take the lid off the pan, stir the mussels, put the lid back on and cook for a further 3 minutes. All the shells should have opened – discard any that remain tightly closed.
Drain the mussels from their cooking liquid and pour the liquid into a saucepan. Place the pan over a high heat and whisk in the flour until smooth. Boil until reduced by half and then add the cream. (As we’re making a pizza, the sauce has to be thick.)
Preheat the oven to its highest setting and, if you don’t have a pizza stone, preheat an upturned griddle pan in the oven. Roll out the ball of pizza dough with a rolling pin until about 25cm [10in] in diameter. Lay the pizza base on a sheet of baking parchment, spread the sauce over it and arrange the open mussels on top. Chop the remaining shallot and scatter over. Personally, I like to leave the mussels in their shells – it’s a style thing.
Slide the pizza onto the pizza stone or preheated griddle pan and bake for 5–10 minutes or until the edges of the dough are lightly charred and puffed up. Serve at once sprinkled with chopped parsley.
Picture.
The more you know
Marinière also refers to a striped sweater worn by sailors – or hipsters – all over France. Just so you know, I’ve already gone sailing.
Pissaladière pizza
As usual this is an adaptation of a traditional recipe, my inspiration coming this time from the ‘pissaladière’, a savoury tart from Provence in south-east France.
Serves 3
3 canned sardines, drained
6 canned anchovies, drained
olive oil
3 large onions, finely chopped
salt
1 ball of uncooked pizza dough, ready to roll out
1 small red [bell] pepper, deseeded and thinly sliced
1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced
handful of pitted black olives
chopped thyme and rosemary leaves (fresh are best but dried are fine as well)
Blend the sardines with the anchovies. Add about 5 tablespoons of olive oil and blend again until you have a smooth paste. This is the base of our dish.
Heat 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a casserole dish or large pan with a lid, add the chopped onions and season with salt. Cover the pan and cook over a low heat for at least 1 hour. I know this sounds like hard work but you’ll be able to use this onion ‘compote’ in all sorts of dishes. It will also keep for easily a week in the refrigerator, covered with oil, in a sealed jar.
Preheat the oven to its highest setting and, if you don’t have a pizza stone, preheat an upturned griddle pan in the oven. Roll out the ball of pizza dough with a rolling pin until about 25cm [10in] in diameter. Place the pizza base on a sheet of baking parchment and spread 3 tablespoons of sardine paste over it. Beware – it’s very salty and the flavour is powerful. Spread 8 tablespoons of onion compote on top and scatter over the pepper and fennel. Sprinkle over the thyme and rosemary and drizzle with olive oil.
Slide the pizza onto the pizza stone or preheated griddle pan and bake for 5–10 minutes or until the edges of the dough are lightly charred and puffed up.
What to do?
If you detest anchovies, you can replace them with sardines, or if that suggestion doesn’t help, replace the fish with olive tapenade. If you don’t like olives either, WHAT DO YOU LIKE, DAMN IT??
Tarte flambée pizza
Tarte flambée is a speciality of Alsace in e
astern France, where it’s also known as flammekueche. To me it’s every inch a pizza: in shape, in how it’s made and how it’s cooked. The pastry was the only thing I had a problem with as I found it a bit dry and less flavoursome than those wonderful crusts from Naples. Well, problem solved. As you can tell, it’s exactly the same.
Serves 3
50g [2oz] good-quality smoked bacon rashers [slices] – don’t stint on these
a little olive oil
1 small onion. chopped
100g [scant ½ cup] ricotta or full-fat natural Greek yogurt
4 Tbsp thick crème fraîche, 30% fat
salt and pepper
freshly grated nutmeg
1 ball of uncooked pizza dough, ready to roll out
Cut the bacon into small lardons.
Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan [skillet] and fry the bacon and onions over a very low heat until the onions are translucent.
In a bowl, mix together the ricotta or yogurt and crème fraîche. Season with salt and pepper and a little grated nutmeg.
Preheat the oven to its highest setting and, if you don’t have a pizza stone, preheat an upturned griddle pan in the oven. Roll out one ball of pizza dough with a rolling pin until about 20–25cm [8–10in] in diameter. Place the round of pizza dough on a sheet of baking parchment and spread the cream mixture over it. Top with the onions and bacon lardons.
Slide the pizza onto the pizza stone or preheated griddle pan and bake for 5–10 minutes or until the edges of the dough are lightly charred and puffed up.
DON’T PANIC
Making pizza dough needs a bit of time to master. You’ll find the recipe, with plenty of helpful tips on the preceding page, but if your courage fails you, ready-made dough bought from a supermarket will do the job. And don’t be too hard on yourself as we don’t always have time to make everything from scratch.
Comté cacio e pepe pasta
Comfort food Italian style, except I’ve made it French. Spaghetti, pici, tonarelli, linguine... you could use almost any type of pasta for this recipe but go for round shapes rather than flat ones. The challenge is to transform a hard and dry cheese into a silky, smooth sauce – which I’m here to show you how to do.
Serves 4
300g [10½oz] pasta of your choice
150g [1½ cups] grated Comté cheese at room temperature, plus a little extra to serve
freshly ground or cracked black pepper
Cook the pasta in a wide, deep pan, as you would for making a risotto. You want just enough salted water in the pan to cover the pasta. Using just a little water increases the amount of starch it contains from the pasta, which will make producing a smooth sauce easier later.
After 5 minutes of cooking the pasta, transfer 225ml [1 cup] of the cooking water to a separate bowl and replace it in the pan with fresh boiling water. Finish cooking the pasta according to the instructions on the packet.
Put the grated cheese and 4 grinds of black pepper in a large dish and very slowly beat in the water drained from the pasta, as though you wanted to make a mayonnaise. The idea is to achieve a syrupy sauce.
Add the drained pasta and mix well, making sure every piece of pasta is coated in sauce. Add a little more of the cooking water from the pasta if necessary.
Serve at once with a little more cheese sprinkled over each serving and a final grind of the pepper mill.
GOOD TO KNOW
I’ve used the French cheese Comté for this recipe. You can find it pretty much everywhere but if you have trouble tracking it down or you’re feeling frugal (in French, when you don’t want to spend much money, we say ‘if you have sea urchins in your pockets’ – ouch!, you can of course use any hard cheese such as Parmesan, Grana Padano, Pecorino...)
Potato gnocchi with butter
This recipe came about because I don’t always have potatoes at home but I do have a packet of instant potato flakes – they’re super for making mash for my son and his fantastic dad me!. I’ve included 4 tasty butters to up the gnocchi’s ‘wow’ factor.
Serves 4
125g [1 cup] plain [all-purpose] flour, plus extra for rolling out
200g [2 cups] instant potato flakes
1 egg, beaten
225ml [1 cup] water
½ tsp fine sea [kosher] salt
salted butter or one of the flavoured butters opposite, to serve
Put the flour and potato flakes in a large bowl and stir to mix. Make a well in the centre and pour in the egg and water and add the salt. Stir everything together to make a soft, smooth dough, dust the worktop lightly with flour and roll the dough into long cylinders, about 2cm [¾in] in diameter with your hands. Cut into roughly 2-cm [¾-in] lengths with a knife. We call these ‘small pillows’ in French – yes, really.
Cook the dough pieces in a saucepan of boiling water for about 2 minutes – when they float they are ready. Drain and serve hot tossed with salted or flavoured butter. These gnocchi are one of the most comforting dishes I know. You can even serve them cold without butter and they’re still pretty good to eat.
French fries and poutine
Now here’s a confession: French fries aren’t French. They actually come from Belgium and I have to say the Belgians are extremely good at making them. Crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and beautifully golden, they’re absolutely nothing like the limp, barely-cooked sticks you find all the time in fast food places.
Serves 4
1kg [2lb 4oz] large potatoes, e.g. Maris Piper, Sebago, Bintje, Russet
groundnut [peanut] oil for deep-frying
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp plain [all-purpose] flour
about 350ml [1½ cups] dark beef stock
salt
60g [about ½ cup] white Cheddar cheese curds or chunks of semi-dry mozzarella
Peel the potatoes and cut them into sticks, 1cm [½in] thick. If they’re too thin, they’ll overcook when you fry them and if they’re too thick, they’ll be raw in the centre… Just saying.
Pour the oil into a large, heavy-based saucepan or deep-fryer – but don’t fill the pan more than half-full – and heat the oil to 130ºC [270ºF]. It’s important to use a cooking thermometer and to check it regularly to make sure the oil is at just the right temperature.
Fry the potatoes in batches for 7–10 minutes or until they are tender when pierced with a skewer or the tip of a knife but they haven’t started to colour. Drain each batch onto a plate lined with kitchen paper [paper towels] before you add the next to the pan.
Heat the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. When melted, take the pan off the heat and stir in the flour until smooth and then cook until the mixture becomes caramel-coloured. Gradually stir in the stock and bring to the boil, stirring constantly until smooth and syrupy – the amount of stock you add will depend on how thick you want your sauce to be. Instant gravy – done.
Keep the gravy warm over a low heat while you finish frying the chips. Reheat the oil to a higher temperature this time – 180ºC [350ºF] – to ensure the fries are really crisp. Fry all the potatoes in one go until they are done to your liking – personally I prefer them brown rather than golden so in my case I’d do this for 4 minutes but you might prefer yours golden, so reduce the frying time a bit. Drain as above and immediately sprinkle the fries generously with salt.
Divide the fries between serving bowls, scatter over the cheese and spoon over the hot gravy.
Another confession
La poutine is a Canadian dish from Quebec so, as far as I can see, there’s nothing very French about this recipe...
Jewelled Persian rice
This recipe might have been called: ‘How to finally master the art of cooking basmati rice, make it really colourful and pretty with saffron, and add different sweet and savoury textures’. I then said to myself ‘maybe that’s a bit long for a title’ but it does tell you everything you need to know.
Serves 4
350g [1¾ cups] of the best basmati rice you can buy
12 saffron threads
1 large orange
50g [2oz] shelled unsalted pistachios
2 Tbsp dried barberries (or chopped sour cherries)
Put the rice in a large bowl and pour over enough cold water to cover. Stir with your hand and when the water becomes cloudy, replace it with fresh. Repeat this process at least 3 times. “Why?”, you ask. Well, it’s a fair question. The reason is that by soaking and rinsing the rice, you get rid of the natural starch it contains that makes the grains stick together as they cook. So – OK – when you’re making a risotto, you don’t rinse the rice. Get it?
Cover the rice with fresh water one last time and let it soak for 20 minutes. Drain in a colander and run cold water through to rinse it. Tip the rice into a saucepan and add 900ml [3¾ cups] cold water.
Crush the saffron threads and place in a small, heatproof jar. Add 2 tablespoons of boiling water and screw the lid on the jar.
Bring the rice to the boil, lower the heat, put a lid on the pan and stand the warm, sealed jar on top. Leave the jar there while simmering the rice for 10–12 minutes. Now remove the jar, leave the lid on the pan and let the rice sit for 5 minutes. Finally, lightly fork through the grains to fluff them up.
Transfer half the cooked rice to a bowl and pour in the infused saffron. Stir gently with a fork until the liquid from the saffron has been absorbed by the rice.
Using a speed [swivel] peeler, shave the zest from the orange in wide ribbons and then cut these into very fine strips. Chop the pistachios.
Spoon the white rice and yellow rice into a shallow dish and add half the strips of orange zest, half the pistachios and half the barberries. Stir gently to mix everything together, but without crushing the rice grains, and scatter over the remaining orange zest, pistachios and barberries.
Just a French Guy Cooking Page 6