Friday. 09/10//2015. 'Calzone with Ricotta, Pecorino, Mozzarella, Tomato and Pesto.'

This recipe comes from 'Gino's Veg Italia!' by Gino D'Acampo. Page 148.

First I must confess that I always wanted to learn how to make a Calzone. If I am good at making Pizza, a Calzone is not something that I had ever attempted. I will use my traditional excuse here, it was by lack of time and tiredness. As it is not the case anymore but also that my partner happened to be a fan of them, I just had to try my hand on that little gem of a recipe for it. The book picture was very attractive too, temptingly so. 

The Prep.

Second I have a home of big cheese lovers which means that the enumeration of so many cheeses in the title did not scare us away to have cheesy nightmares. On the contrary, the recipe of Gino D'Acampo had all the cheese appeal to hook us both.  250g of Ricotta, 50g of grated Pecorino, were duly put on the kitchen counter. As for the Mozzarella, as the recipe makes two Calzones, we did not use just one ball but we went for two... We do love it cheesy is our big excuse there for diverting by one ball of Buffalo Mozzarella.

The Pesto and Parmesan Topping.

In this recipe the first thing you have to do is the filling made of Ricotta and Pecorino Cheese. 
Then comes the turns of the topping which consists of Pesto 2 tbsp, olive oil 2 tbsp and 2 tbsp of  grated Parmesan cheese. All of those ingredients are constant residents in my home for we never have enough of them. 

Calzone dough prep.

Only then come the dough preparation, and if it felt topsy turvy to me, as the result was awesome I can not express one complaint. Sometimes the best thing you can do is just try, discover and learn plenty of new things in the meantime.  Sometimes you can not say you are right or wrong in doing this that way or not to anybody, just experience for yourself what others did from their own experiences. The beauty is that there is usually not one way, there are many and so great to explore and try at home. Until one day you find the perfect one which works for you, maybe with your own tweak and twist on it. 

Yeast and Salt on each side of the  Olive Oil Well 

Cover the Dough.

For the dough you will need 200g of strong white flour, 7g fast action yeast on one side of the flour in a bowl and 3/4 of a teaspoon of salt on the other side. But also 1 tbsp of fresh Rosemary, chopped which gives a fragrant taste to the dough. It makes it extra special, bellissima. Then you make the little well in the centre, put 2 tbsp of olive oil inside it before inserting 140 ml of warm water gradually with the handle of a spoon. It is another Topsy Turvy of Gino, to use the handle to stir rather than the big fat spoon bit, but trust me when I say it worked. 


Once the dough is kneaded for a good five minutes, you put your ball in an oiled bowl and brush it with oil. Then it is a matter of letting it rest for 20 minutes at room temperature.

The Proofed Dough Ball.

Once the dough is ready: It is rock and roll time. Divide the ball into two and roll them out into discs on a floured surface. Now this is not the easiest part in the recipe, I would say it is may be the trickiest to get those round even and make sure they have the right consistency throughout. about 1 cm thick to 2 recommended Gino.

Chorizo and Shallots.

After that comes the assembling. Ready at hand you will have the Ricotta and Pecorino cheese mixture. But I added a few extras and one ingredients was changed for lack of it. For the adds, it was a chopped and softened banana shallots and 80g of Chorizo cubes. I didn't want to get just a four out of five after all that efforts from my partner just because he has to have meat in a dish... So I went for a five and included meat in that one with the Chorizo. I must say it was a very welcome addition. 

Bumble Bee Tomatoes.

Cherry Tomatoes halved. 

For the change we had 10 red cherry tomatoes, halved, instead of the yellow ones that could not be found. A few weeks earlier, I would have used my 'Bumble Bee' tomatoes in that recipe, for a complete winner. And for that I would say that this recipe is seasonal and to plan it with tomato harvest will be best.

Half and Half. 

So on one half of the 25 cm disc, I put the cheese filling then my shallots and Chorizo, the tomatoes, and finish off with the blob of mozzarella torn apart to spread it evenly on top. Then it is a matter of closing the Calzone by pinching the edges together and crimping them. 

Adding the Pesto Topping.

The last stage is that after 7 minutes, halfway through cooking, you then brush the pesto topping on and sprinkle some Parmesan. This topping detail gives a nice finish to the Calzone so much so that it is worth watching the clock to not forget about it. (gas mark 7/220 C.)

The Result.

The all process I would say is not complicated, and the result was fantastic. We both loved it very much indeed and the dish got a high five from the two of us. I will make it again in the Summer, many times every Summer. This recipe is a big winner in my home.

Thursday. 08.10.2015. 'Aubergine Parmigiana.'

This recipe comes from 'Gino's Veg Italia!' by Gino D'Acampo. Page 187.

This dish is a big favourite of mine which I love ordering at the restaurant however I never made it at home. So I was very happy to have this recipe and try it for myself but also to share my love of it to my partner. As the picture in the book didn't look that fantastico, I relied completely on my efforts and that recipe to shine through taste alone. But to be honest a cheesy bake is not about looks but pure comfort. 

Sliced Aubergine.

Now, one of the key element of the dish is a vegetable which is I must admit one of the least liked in this household: the Aubergine. It hardly ever makes it to the shopping trolley or any online orders. However I do love Aubergine  in parmigiana so I went on a small incentive to grow more liking to that veg in our home. I tried to grow some this year to that effect but if I did get a plant, I did not get any veg from it. But we will keep trying until we get a nice aubergine, so next year, we will plant them again.

The Prep.

So the ingredients for this recipe are 3 Sliced Aubergines, olive oil a fair amount, I used more than the 4 tbsp indicated just by oiling every slice of aubergine before grilling them, 70g of Parmesan, 2 ball of mozzarella, (1 more from the recipe for extra cheezyness), 20 g of breadcrumbs. 

Plum Tomatoes.

I changed the tomato sauce a little though for I had six nice plum tomatoes to use up. So with them went 2 garlic cloves, 2 tins of chopped tomatoes, 15 basil leaves and salt and black pepper seasoning. The taste this sauce delivered to the dish compared to how easy it was to make and let it simmer for 20 minutes was amazing. 

Olive Oil Brushing of the slices.

The entire process is very well explained by Gino in his recipe. You start by doing the tomato sauce and while it is simmering you can start brushing with olive oil the aubergine slices.

The Griddling.

Then comes the griddling of the slices of Aubergines on a cast-iron chargrill pan. For me this part was the most technically demanding, but with a hob fully organised it makes the task easier. The trick here is to have the griddle pan very hot. Also the time spent oiling the slices of Aubergine makes all the difference at this stage so it is definitely not worth skipping.

A little Hob Organisation.

Griddled Aubergine Slices.

After that stage when all your slices of Aubergines got those beautiful griddled marks on, it is the time to build up the dish, layer after layer. Gino's recipe gives all the guidance for it very clearly which is fantastico.  I used 2 rather than 1 mozzarella ball (like in the recipe) just because we are fond of them. 

Breadcrumbs with a difference.

For the breadcrumbs, the one I used are shop bought, from Sainsbury's and flavoured: lemon and black pepper. I always have a pot of those in the cupboard for we enjoy their taste. However proper breadcrumbs are easy to do and it is my plan to make batches of those ready to be used when needed, and yes, I will flavour them with lemon zest and cracked black pepper. 

Building up the layers pic 1.

Building up the layers, pic 2.

Once the lovely layers of tomato sauce, Parmesan, Aubergine, and seasoning are repeated about three times, you finish off the dish with the rest of the tomato sauce  and the Mozzarella broken heavenly/evenly all over and 'Et voilà'. 



After 40 minutes in the oven at gas mark 4/180 C and 20 mins resting inside it, we had the Aubergine Parmigiana. 

Aubergine Parmigiana à la Gino D'Acampo: the Result.

For the first time I made it, I absolutely adored it. I admit that the entire process can appear demanding but face with the result in the end it is all worth it and I will keep that recipe of Gino D'Acampo as a standard one for Aubergine Parmigiana in my home. The only complaint my alter ego had was that the dish was completely vegetarian so he would have loved maybe just  a layer of prosciutto to give it a five. So it was a four for him on this aspect alone. However like me who is not a great fan of Aubergine, he found that this recipe did make him appreciate that veg much more. 

For me, it was, of course, a high five. We will do this recipe again and maybe with the prosciutto like suggested.