Recipes

What’s the best spaghetti bolognese you ever had?

When you have the time try our 6 hour bolognese. 
It takes about 1 hour to get it to the slow cooking stage but the effort will be well rewarded. Once you have it slowly cooking simmer it on a very low heat for 5 hours, it’s truly worth it. Best advice, use 1 bottle of good red wine, I used a shiraz we made in 2001 and remember, cook it for 6 hours.
We’ve included the recipe, once you try it you’ll never use a bottle sauce again, it’s well worth the effort.

THESE ingredients will make enough to ensure you have sauce leftover for another meal or to freeze. If you’re cooking for 2 this recipe will give you 5 meals for 2 in total.

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 6 hours, I know it’s 6 hours but it will be worth it.
Skills needed: Basic
You will need:

Extra Virgin olive oil
40g butter
2 medium carrots, diced small
3 medium brown onions, diced small
6 slices of Serrano ham, diced small
2 celery sticks, diced small

Handy hint:
Use a food processor to dice the vegetables and ham, it’s quicker. Make sure you don’t over process them. Put carrots and onions together and celery and ham together.
Cook off onion/carrot mix first then add celery/ham mix.

1 tbsp soft brown sugar
4 cloves garlic, peeled, chopped and crushed
4 tbsp tomato paste
500g of veal mince
500g of pork mince
1 lemon
1 bottle of good quality red wine, if you wouldn’t drink it don’t cook with it
3 bay leaves
Generous splash Worcestershire sauce
2 cans tinned tomatoes
500ml beef stock
1 large pack of spaghetti 
150g Italian parmesan cheese 
1 loaf crusty bread and a green salad for serving

Place a large pot on the heat. 

To make soffritto: 

Pour in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and 40g butter into the hot pan. 
When the butter is melted and the oil hot, throw in the carrots, onion and bacon. 
Cook for 4 minutes, stirring. Add in the celery. 
Cook until veg is soft and going translucent at the edges.
Sprinkle over 1 tbsp of brown sugar and stir through. 
Add garlic and tomato paste. Move this all round the pan to cook out for 4 minutes. 
Scrape the tomatoey soffritto into a bowl. 

Next:

Splash in some more olive oil. 
When it is hot, throw in the mince and cook until browned.
Important: Stir the meat the whole time so it cooks evenly and breaks up the mince.
Cut a 4cm long ribbon of lemon peel (without pith) and cut the lemon in half.
Scrape meat into the soffritto bowl.
Turn up the heat and deglaze using the bottle of red wine. 
When the wine has reduced by half, add back in meat, soffritto, bay leaves, a couple of good dashes of Worcestershire sauce, lemon peel, tomatoes and stock. Stir.
Season with salt and a good squeeze of lemon juice from one half of the lemon. Reserve the rest.
Bring to the boil covered, then remove lid and turn the heat right down.
Cook very gently for 6 hours. Stir occasionally to ensure the sauce doesn't stick and burn. 
If the sauce gets too thick, add some more stock and stir it in. 
Just before you take your 6 hour bolognese sauce off the stove taste it and if needed season with a little more salt, pepper and lemon juice as required.
You can now either serve it straight away or cool it and refrigerate before using the next day. 

Cook your pasta in plenty of salted boiling water in a large pan. 
When the pasta is cooked but still a little firm to the bite, drain and return to pot, add a little extra virgin olive oil, stir it through the pasta.
You’re now ready to plate up.
Using kitchen tongs place the spaghetti into bowls then put a generous ladle of the bolognese sauce on top. 
Serve it with grated parmesan, bread for mopping up the leftover sauce and crisp green salad.

Pizza Dough
Makes 2 bases

2 cups pizza flour - make sure you use a pizza specific flour available at the supermarket
3/4 tsp of dried yeast
200 ml of luke warm water
3/4 tsp of sea salt
1/8 cup of olive oil, plus more for oiling the bowl and after kneading the dough

Now the fun starts:

Combine yeast and water in a bowl and leave in a warm place until foamy, about 10 minutes.
Place flour in a large bowl, add the yeast mixture, olive oil and sea salt and combine until mix comes together.
Turn out onto a lightly floured bench - using your pizza flour.
Knead your mixture for another 8 minutes or until smooth and elastic,
don't short cut with the kneading, spend the 8 minutes on it, you won't regret it. Think of it as a mini workout.
If you are using the dough that day do this - transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat mixture evenly. Cover and leave in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
 

Handy Hint:

If you can make your dough the day before and let it slowly rise in the fridge, this is the best way to go.
Still transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat mixture evenly then cover it and place in your fridge.
Take the dough out of the fridge about 1 hour before you roll out your pizza bases.
You'll be amazed at how different the dough is making it a day ahead with the slow cool rise.
This is how all the really good pizza restaurants do it.

Middle Eastern lamb pizza

If you’re looking for a different pizza topping that’s just bloody delicious, the adventurous should try this. There's no fussy arrangement of toppings on this beautiful lamb pizza. Just fry it all up together and spread it on your freshly made pizza dough.

Pizza Dough

Makes 2 bases
2 cups pizza flour - make sure you use a pizza specific flour available at the supermarket
3/4 tsp of dried yeast
200 ml of luke warm water
3/4 tsp of sea salt
1/8 cup of olive oil, plus more for oiling the bowl and after kneading the dough

Now the fun starts:

Combine yeast and water in a bowl and leave in a warm place until foamy, about 10 minutes.
Place flour in a large bowl, add the yeast mixture, olive oil and sea salt and combine until mix comes together.
Turn out onto a lightly floured bench - using your pizza flour.
Knead your mixture for another 8 minutes or until smooth and elastic, don't short cut with the kneading, spend the 8 minutes on it, you won't regret it. Think of it as a mini workout.

If you are using the dough that day do this - transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat mixture evenly. Cover and leave in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Handy Hint:

If you can make your dough the day before and let it slowly rise in the fridge, this is the best way to go.
Still transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat mixture evenly then cover it and place in your fridge.
Take the dough out of the fridge about 1 hour before you roll out your pizza bases.
You'll be amazed at how different the dough is making it a day ahead with the slow cool rise.
This is how all the really good pizza restaurants do it.

Topping

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 red onion, finely sliced
350g lamb mince
2 tbsp harissa paste
¼ cup currants
2 tomatoes, halved, coarsely grated, skin discarded
pinch castor sugar
salt and pepper, to season
2 tsp poppy seeds
1/2 cup (140g) Greek-style yoghurt
1/2 lemon, rind finely grated, juiced
1/2 small bunch coriander, chopped
1/2 small bunch mint, leaves picked and torn

Method

For topping 

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Fry the garlic and onion until golden, about three to five minutes. Add the mince and break up with a wooden spoon. Cook until browned, about five minutes. Add the harissa, currants, tomato flesh, sugar, salt and pepper. Cook for a further two minutes, until the tomato has thickened. Set aside to cool.
Top the pizza base with the lamb mixture, then carefully sprinkle the poppy seeds around the edge and lightly press into the crust. Bake in the oven until the base is golden and cooked, about 10 minutes.
If you’re lucky enough to have a wood fired oven, it will take about 2 to 3 minutes to cook but make sure you keep rotating the pizza so it doesn’t burn on the edge.
Finally, combine the yoghurt, lemon rind and juice in a separate bowl, and season. Scatter the pizza with the herbs and drizzle with the yoghurt dressing to serve.

Now all you have to do is stand back and wait for the compliment’s, as this is the best lamb pizza anyone will ever taste.

Good luck!