the ultimate in stuffed loaves

I don't know why we don't make one of these more often. I guess if there was always one in the fridge, and they can easily last a few days, it would be the perfect go to snack at any time of the day. That said, this really is picknicking taken to another level, if it ever gets to leave the house that is. There are no rules, no ingredients off limits, and certainly no restrictions on combinations. If it works for you say in a salad, or in a regular sandwich, it will work being stuffed and allowed to settle overnight before tucking in.

The stuffed picnic loaf to take down all picnic loaves

Serves about 4

1 decent round sourdough loaf

About 50g pesto

4 soft boiled eggs, quartered

8 good slices prosciutto

16 pieces of sun-dried tomatoes

1 large handful of fresh basil leaves

200g mozzarella, sliced

2 large roast peppers, peeled

2 courgettes, sliced and grilled

1 aubergine, sliced and grilled

Lots of olive oil, salt and pepper

Slice the top off the loaf and reserve as the lid of the stuffed loaf. Hollow out the bottom without breaking the crust. Keep the centre for breadcrumbs.

Thoroughly coat the inside edges and bottom of the lid with pesto, and season liberally.

Add a layer of prosciutto, then a layer of sun-dried tomatoes. Top with basil leaves, then a layer of your mozzarella. The next layer should be the peppers followed by courgette and aubergine. Finish with the eggs and a bit more basil before topping off with a last layer of prosciutto.

You should have doused each layer with a glug of olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper as you've built it, pressing well as you go. Finish with a bit more of the same before closing with the lid.

Wrap tightly in aluminium foil and place in the fridge with a chopping board on top weighted down with anything hefty to hand. Because we’re using sourdough, this could easily take an eight pack of beer at least, a softer bread vehicle and you’ll need to downgrade to a couple of tins of soup for example.

Leave in the fridge to chill and press for at least a few hours, overnight will yield much better results.

Don’t try to cut in advance, bring the whole beast to your end destination, unwrap, slice, serve and accept admiring nods from the masses.

bread and tomato salad

Tomatoes, flavour wise are never better than they are right now. This is a great use for them in season, a salad of bright flavours, quite raw and punchy. Don't hold back on anything but the very best olive oil and lively basil, make and eat without delay. 

 

Bread and tomato salad

 

Serves 4

 

250g open textured bread such as ciabatta

600g ripe and juicy tomatoes

1 small cucumber

1 fresh, new clove garlic

1 red or yellow pepper

1 large bunch basil

1 handful olives

8 anchovy fillets

150ml green and peppery olive oil

1 tblsp red wine vinegar

 

Set the oven at 180 c/gas 4. Slice the bread thickly - the pieces should be about 1 cm thick - and lay them on a baking sheet. Sprinkle each piece very lightly with olive oil then bake them for about 15 minutes, till they are lightly crisp.

 

Slice the tomatoes, but don't be tempted to peel or seed them. Put them in a large serving bowl. Peel and seed the cucumber and cut it into rough chunks, then add to the tomato.

 

Finely chop the garlic, cut the pepper into small dice and add both to the tomatoes. Tear the basil leaves from their stalks then add them to the bowl. Rinse the anchovies, then mix them in with the salad.

 

Put the oil and vinegar into a small dish, season it with salt, I think you can be quite generous here, and some black pepper. Toss the dressing, bread and salad gently together and then add the pieces of toasted bread. Eat before the bread gets too soggy.

tapas still has a long life to lead

London, the weather and the games have finally arrived. At this very moment there's honestly no city quite like it, and it is a privilege to be a part of it - so now onto championing the food of Spain...


The fad of tapas has come, gone, returned, faded and reignited more times of late than any other food stuff, but right here right now, there simply isn't anything else on offer (maybe a good barbecue aside) that ticks quite so many boxes.


London has finally stumbled upon the summer we've waited so long for, and simply anywhere with outside space to dine this week has never been so popular. Grazing the way through a delightful menu while watching the world pass you by is the way to go. If you have your own outdoor space, then there's little excuse not to have a go yourself, there really is nothing better than sharing some plates at home. Let the sun shine long!


Potato and octopus


Makes 8 plates


1 whole octopus, about 1.5kg

1 sliced onion

2 bay leaves 

1kg new potatoes, scrubbed

1 tsp salt flakes

2 tsp smoked pimenton

2 cloves garlic, chopped

100ml olive oil

Freezing octopus tenderizes it. No need to beat it. Blanch the thawed octopus in boiling water for one minute. Drain. Bring another pan of water to a boil with the slice of onion and the bay leaves. Add the octopus and let it cook at a simmer for about one hour. It should be tender, just a little chewy. Remove and let it cool slightly. 

When cool enough to handle, slide off the pinkish skin and discard. Cut the potatoes in half and add them to the same water in which the octopus cooked and cook them until tender. Cut the octopus into bite size pieces and if possible sear very quickly in a hot pan, a crispy edge to the pieces will make a difference. Arrange them on plates with the potatoes. Sprinkle with salt, pimenton, garlic, and drizzle with the oil.

Or a quick gazpacho

Makes another 8 neat portions

1kg really ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped

4 spring onions, chopped

3 garlic cloves

½ cucumber, peeled

75ml olive oil

30ml sherry vinegar

Put the chopped tomatoes, spring onions, garlic and cucumber in a blender and whizz until smooth. Pass through a fine sieve 2 or 3 times to remove most of the pulp.

Put the mix back in the blender and slowly add the olive oil and sherry vinegar and season well. Chill in the fridge before serving. Top with anything you fancy - a crumble of toasted bread, a few slices of spring onion and cucumber, a splosh of olive oil.

A mushy pea fritter by the sea, or fancy crispy squid?

There are few British delights left, that are quite quintessential as a poke of chips by the water. Whether it's on a promenade, a shingle beach, a pier or a pathway, this food sensation and the water's edge are destined to be. The fish and chip shop is as competitive a market as I've ever seen, and creativity abounds in a place where not so long ago you'd be hard pushed to see much more than cod or haddock, let alone an offering of posh prawn cocktail, followed by sea bass with a side of Caesar salad. But this is all good in the continuation of the British food movement forward, a subject close to more artery clogged hearts than you think.

Excuse the shabby phone pic, but this delight was from a pristinely clean place called Alexander's in Mudeford, Dorset. Where the 20 minute wait for the cooked to order cod, advertised at today's market price, was worth the lengthy queue. A splash of chilled pear cider and a seaside sunset and all was good with the world.


The thing that's most bothered me of late though, is the speed at which our chips go limp. No matter how quickly you get them out of the wrapping, or dig them from the bottom of the flower pot at the Bog and Chuckle I wanna be a Gastro pub, your chances of keeping them fresh are as slim as you'd be through the research process of such a dilemma. Anyways, don't think that the death of the chippy is upon us, far from it for that matter, but just in a let's spice things up with a wee bit of something super crispy from the kitchen.

Crispy paprika salt squid with aïoli

Enough for 4 to snack on

400g prepared squid tubes
vegetable oil, for deep frying
100g plain flour
1/2 tsp Spanish hot smoked paprika
1 tsp salt

For the aïoli
6 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 tsp fine salt
2 large egg yolks
60ml light extra virgin olive oil
100-125ml vegetable oil, such as sunflower

First make the aïoli: put the garlic and salt in a mortar and using the pestle, grind to a paste. Put the garlic in a small food processor, add the egg yolks and mix well. With the machine running, slowly add the combined oils, a little at a time, until the mixture is very thick. Use immediately, or transfer to an airtight container or jar and refrigerate for up to two days.

Rinse the squid under running cold water and pat dry using kitchen paper. Cut the tubes along one side to open them out. Using a sharp knife, lightly score the inside surface of each tube in a criss-cross pattern, making sure you do not cut right through.

Then cut them into about 4cm pieces. Cut the tentacles into bite-sized pieces. Fill a heavy-based saucepan with vegetable oil and heat to 190C, or until a small cube of bread turns golden in about 30 seconds. While the oil is heating, combine the flour, paprika and salt in a bowl. Add the squid and mix until well coated. Shake off the squid and add to the oil in batches, cooking for 1-2 minutes each batch, or until golden and crispy.

Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Serve warm with alioli on the side.

The ethics in fish and chips

From warm water shrimp and anchovies to haddock and cod, there are now almost 70 types of seafood that should remain in the sea and off the menu if we're going to tackle our sustainable lifestyles in a proper manner.

These lists, compiled by all manner of expertise, are an ever moving target. But you can be sure of one thing in that a little research and some local provenience doesn't take 5 minutes before you buy.


Just recently, a few more poor fish I've noticed being added to the not-to-eat list
include common and Dover sole from the North Sea or Irish Sea, albacore tuna from the Mediterranean and South Atlantic and certain types of Atlantic cod.


Some other fish I'd be happier if you avoid include Bay of Biscay anchovy, any type of large shrimp that has not been caught organically, Chilean seabass, conger eel, Atlantic halibut, wild Atlantic salmon, many types of shark, and nearly every type of skate. Herring too, unless from Norwegian waters are having a hard time right now too. I've just spent a few magical days in Stockholm where herring is an integral part of their daily lives, and was safely assured that everything I ate came from sustainable sources.


With a heavy heart I have to say one of my absolute favourites is in the red with all types of tuna needing to be avoided – apart from albacore tuna from
the American Albacore Fishing Association in the South Pacific and skipjack caught by pole and line methods in the Maldives or the western and central Pacific.

There is some light my friends. Hardshell cams and Pacific cod along with salmon certified by the Marine Stewardship Council, preferably from the Pacific or Alaska have moved into the category of fish that is safe and ethical to eat, along with scallops from farmed stocks. Coley and common mussels are also right up there in the good books right now too, so it's not all that bad for lovers of fish. There are always fantastic initiatives banging away to help, you just need to get out there and look. The always brilliant Lizzie has reported back on Crayfish Bob in London , tasty, fun and the absolute right thing to do to protect our water stocks.


The buzz here is buy local and in season, get to know your fish expert at the market or shop, limit yourself to fish a couple of days a week at most, and start eating more vegetables.

Lecture over, and happy (ethical) cooking!!


Clam pasta and chips for 2


What better dish to serve on a balmy summer evening than steaming plates of clam pasta. Sweet clams are steamed in a light broth of fresh tomatoes, onion, garlic and white wine and served with spaghetti or linguine pasta, topped with garlic chips for a spot of unique crunch. The ingredients here are few and simple as the clams give it most of its delicious flavour.


25 small clams
3 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4-5 garlic cloves finely sliced to fry
1 small brown onion, diced
100ml dry white wine
2 tblsp of finely chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp dried chili flakes
2 tbslp of olive oil, and 200ml or so to fry the garlic
1 tblsp of butter
Spaghetti or linguine for 2


Boil some water in a large pot for the pasta. Cook the pasta according to packet instructions and have it ready around the same time as the clams or just a bit before.


Thinly slice the garlic, on a japanese mandolin if you have the nerve, and drop in the hot oil to crisp, drain onto absorbent paper and season with salt.


Soak the clams in a bowl of cold water for about 10 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold running water.


Heat the oil and butter over a medium heat in a large, heavy-based pot. Add the onion and fry for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until translucent. Add the garlic, chili flakes and salt and stir for about 20 seconds.

Add the chopped tomatoes and fry for about 7 minutes until their juice starts to evaporate.


Turn the heat up to medium-high and add the clams to the pot. Cover with a lid. After about 2-3 minutes add the wine to the pot. Cover again and shake the pot from side to side.


Cook the clams for a further 5 minutes or until they open. Add the parsley and stir with a wooden spoon. Cover and shake pot again.


Drain the pasta and then pour the clam mixture on top. Stir well, sprinkle over the garlic chips and serve immediately.

The start of the tennis grass court season and its strawberries

So the tennis has moved from clay to grass just in time for the cats and dogs that live in the sky to start falling to the ground, or is it the other way round? Anyway, whatever is going on upstairs, the tennis, the rain and this time of year is when our strawberries really start to mean something. There honestly isn't anything quite like the taste of your own berries in season that haven't been in a fridge since they were picked, that is true honest flavour. Sat in the sun with their leaves still on for a few moments before devoured is yet another sensation altogether. 

Scented flowers and sweet herbs always work awfully well with summer fruits. Again and as with everything seasonal, look at what is in our hedgerows and farmer's markets this time of year. A few blackberry leaves and a pinch of elderflower buds would be a spectacular infusion. Have a look at Ms Marmitelover's fantastic recent magical elder moment here. This stock syrup keeps forever and can be scented with other herbs and flowers such as geranium or mint. There's also a wonderful strawberry yoghurt parfait worth a look at from the brilliant talent that is spice spoon should any of your crop be deserving of a bit more of a regal work out.

Strawberries with hibiscus and basil syrup

Serves 4

150ml light stock syrup
1 tblsp lemon juice
2 rosehip and hibiscus tea bags
2 large fresh basil leaves
500g fresh strawberries, hulled
Extra basil leaves to garnish

Place the stock syrup in a medium-sized pan, bring almost to the boil, and then stir in the lemon juice, tea bags and basil. Remove from the heat and allow to infuse for 20 minutes. Strain and set aside until needed.

Ten minutes before serving, place the strawberries in four bowls. Pour over the juice and leave to macerate at room temperature.

Garnish with extra basil leaves, maybe even a tiny twist of fresh black pepper and serve. Cream, ice cream or custard isn't wholly necessary, but I'm not judging if you insist.

The tomatoes are over, but I'm not over tomatoes

With the potential glut of tomatoes now that the fabulous season we've just been through is coming to a glorious close, here’s something that’ll please almost everybody for a while to come. Early season tomatoes have their best uses in fresh, lightly cooked tomato sauces for pasta or as a bruschetta topping for example. Some shallots, garlic and oregano helps to lift the youthful and maybe fairly underdeveloped flavours a bit.


Mid season brings us plant establishment, heavier sun and mature flavour - there's a period through July and August where during which little more than a pinch of good salt and a twist of pepper is often all that's needed to dress a fully ripe tomato. Now in their final scene, with the branches withering and the fruit seeming a little tougher skinned and drained of colour, this recipe for ketchup to take us into the next season does the trick.


This yields rather a lot, but it will keep for at least a month in a covered container in the fridge.


Proper tomato ketchup


5kg ripe tomatoes
4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
4 tsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp four spice mix
1½ tsp ground ginger
1½ tsp salt
4 tblsp icing sugar
1 tblsp white wine vinegar


Core the tomatoes and reserve the stems. Place the tomatoes in a pressure cooker and add water to a depth of 1cm. Bring the cooker to full pressure for 20 minutes and then allow to cool. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, slowly cook the tomatoes over a medium-low heat for about 45 minutes. Pass the tomatoes and liquid through a sieve, discarding the leftovers.


Add all the other ingredients, except the icing sugar, the vinegar and the stems, to the tomatoes. Place in a pan and simmer slowly over a low heat until it is reduced by half - this will take about 4 hours. Pass the mixture through a sieve again. Add the icing sugar, return to the pan and continue to reduce over a low heat until it reaches a ketchup-like consistency - this will take just over an hour.


Allow to cool, and then add the vinegar. Finally, place the reserved tomato stems into the ketchup mixture for a few hours to infuse it with the fresh vine odour - it’s important to do this after the mixture has cooled, as the vine aroma is destroyed by heat. Discard the stems before serving.

Ricotta salata

The Italian ricotta which we've come to know and love is typically made from the whey of either sheep, cow, goat and even buffalo milk. I'm still coming to terms with life in America where it is pretty much only ever made with the whey of cow's milk. The shame being that in my opinion the sheep's variety is the more interesting of the set with a nutty, slightly sweet finish, while the cow's tends to be blander and wetter, and therefore more neutral in cooking.

In the absence of fresh Italian ricotta being readily available here, I've taken a shine to the pressed, salted and dried variety of the cheese known as ricotta salata. A milky white firm cheese best used for grating or shaving, and a fine challenger to a good Pecorino Sardo.

The main reason for this urge to get passionate about all things ricotta came from a heated discussion around the kitchen table at www.przman.com earlier, and I bestowed the virtues of this much overlooked cheese to the point where todays lunch for me was inspired by it, determined by it and had an outstanding starring roll in it. The sharp salty cheese sat happily alongside some super ripe avocado, pastrami and proper wholegrain mustard on fresh warm sourdough and lunchtime for me was totally complete.

I have just enough left for a couple of plates of salad for dinner later tonight, so here's what I'm going to do with it, and the prz team can start bidding now for an invite!

Ricotta, courgette and pea shoot salad

Serves 2

A pretty, fresh salad to celebrate the late summer. Pea shoots are worth hunting down for their delicious leafy-pea flavour. Find them in whole food shops and some greengrocers, growing in punnets. Failing that, use rocket or watercress.

1 yellow courgette

1 green courgette

2 tblsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tblsp freshly grated ricotta salata

Small handful of pea shoots

1 dessertspoon of fresh peas, lightly cooked (or use frozen)

1 strip of lemon zest, cut into fine threads

A few sprigs of fresh mint

For the dressing

6 tblsp Greek yogurt

1 tsp lemon juice

½ tsp honey

6 mint leaves, chopped

Using a potato peeler, cut the courgettes lengthways into ribbons. Season with salt and pepper and toss in the olive oil. Mix the dressing ingredients and season with salt and black pepper.

Mingle the cheese with the courgettes, pea shoots, peas and lemon zest. Drizzle dressing over it and scatter with the mint sprigs. Serve without delay.

Be sure to sign up at www.przman.com to get the latest updates that will help you negotiate your next raise, make a meal that impresses your date, and keep you ahead of the game when it comes to the news men (and the women who love them) care about.

Vegetable tartlets with marinated anchovies

All the farmers markets now seem to be laden with pumpkins, apples and not much else really, and as our Summer sadly draws towards closure in the garden and the abundance of vegetables that once was now seems to be just the season stragglers. A few last hurrahs are needed before we finally turn over to our Autumnal harvest. This recipe is a fantastic use of a few late season vegetables if you still have them and easily serves 4 with a bit of hot bread and maybe a few bitter leaves tossed with lemon juice and olive oil on the side. Don't be afraid of swapping out ingredients to make use of what you have either in your garden or lurking at the back of your fridge, and the anchovies might not be for everybody, but they sure make a difference in the end result.

Pastry
100g flour
100g butter
100g parmesan cheese, grated
1 egg

Filling
2 tblsp olive oil
40g white onions, finely chopped
1 white leek, shredded
250g Swiss chard
250g baby spinach leaves
100g small broad beans
1 espelette pepper, finely chopped
2 tblsp fresh cream cheese
30 anchovy fillets
Juice of 1 lemon
Herbs to garnish

Heat the olive oil and gently fry the onions and leek. Add the Swiss chard, spinach, beans and herbs. Once the leaves are tender, strain the mixture and chop finely. Taste for seasoning. Mix with the cream cheese.

Marinate the anchovies in olive oil, the rest of the pepper and the lemon juice while you make the pastry.

Preheat oven to 170c/350f.

Beat together the flour and butter and stir in the Parmesan. Beat the egg in a separate bowl and stir into the flour mixture.

Form into four dough rounds and roll them out until about 3mm thick. Place into greased tart moulds on a baking tray and put in the oven. Cook for 20 mins and then allow to cool.

Fill the tarts with the vegetables, and pass back through the oven for a final 5 minutes then arrange the anchovies on top and decorate with a handful of ripped herbs.

Pizza at home

Making your own dough, bringing it to life, feeling it growing in your hands. Picking the tomatoes and the herbs from the garden. Cooking that sauce out to the right consistency slowly and lovingly. Choosing the right cheese at the right time for the right reason. Put all this together with your oven cranked up as high as it'll go and I've fallen back in love with the home made pizza just one more time. Yesterday began with a wee debate over the onion over the shallot. Personally I love both of them, particularly now as when I was an obnoxious child I declared a hatred for the onion, my Gran fixed that by telling me everything I picked out of my food which looked like an onion was actually a leek. Of course I didn't mind leeks so I happily carried on eating while she happily kept feeding me onions. 


There is a time and a place for both, but yesterday the shallot got the edge. I wanted both them and a good quantity of garlic to form the base of my tomato sauce. The toms were sun warmed and perfect to eat as they were, but that extra sweetness only a slowly caramelised shallot can give off was what they needed to make a difference. A bit each of basil, thyme and oregano is all that was added, cooked for easily an hour just plopping away happily.

The tomatoes here are bang at the height of their season, and the varieties I'm pulling out of the garden quite outstanding. So much so that each and every meal this week so far has had to have a tom theme. Even out for dinner the other night I attempted to order a gnocchi dish with slow roasted tomatoes. The gnocchi never showed up and the waiter pretty much argued that I never placed the order in the first place, but that's a whole other story, and kind of confirms how much more satisfying it is when you take care of the cooking yourself. Anyhow, suffice to say, I'd be delighted to have the growing season last as long as possible this year, nowhere near to getting tomato fatigue just yet. 


So, last night was as simple as this. A couple of those toms, roughly cut up, lots of good quality salt flakes and fresh pepper, half a handful of ripped oregano leaves, a good hit of decent olive oil from the Italian place in Arlington and a bit of the pizza dough just smeared with the oil and oregano and slapped in the oven to form a kind of softish flat bread, ripped up and scattered over the salad like you would do croutons. Really so so simple but quite delicious if I do say so myself. 


Then the pizza. Pizza is simply exactly what you want it to be. The base isn't really so difficult, toppings are all about what your mood is. The key really is the heat, and the hotter you have your oven the better chances you have of a true result. 


The one that worked last night was as simple as this. The base - as thin as absolutely possible, even to the point of the dough tearing in a few places, adds to the charm. The sauce - thick and sweet, fresh and still warm from cooking, try not to fridge it, kills off that sunny glow they have when first picked. And the rest - which was a few slices of roasted portobello mushrooms, a few torn basil leaves and a sprinkling of parmesan, perfect.


Quickly, here's an easy pizza dough recipe which will take a maximum of 10 minutes out of your life, don't ever buy a pre cooked base ever again, you have been warned.


Pizza base
Makes enough for 4


500g strong bread flour
2 tsp dried yeast
2 tsp sugar
300 ml lukewarm water
1/2 tsp salt
4 tblsp olive oil


Mix the yeast, sugar and 50ml of the water in a jug, leave for 10 minutes to begin frothing up. Meanwhile, blend together the flour, salt, olive oil and remaining water, forming a dough by gradually drawing the flour into the liquid. Add the yeast water and continue to knead until you have a smooth, springy dough.


Place the ball of dough in a large clean bowl, cover with a damp cloth and place somewhere warm for about an hour until the dough has doubled 


Take the dough on a flour dusted surface and knead it again to push the air out. Ideally now is the time to use it, but will keep happily for a while wrapped tightly in cling film.