Recipes for National Cooking Programme – Week Four

We’re very excited to launch our National Cooking Programme – an ‘oven-ready’ programme of x20 FREE online interactive classes for teenagers wanting to learn to cook. Here is what we’ll be cooking on Wednesday 7 July 2021 at 5.30pm which will be livestreamed on Instagram and YouTube.  Please get prepared with the ingredients and familiarise yourself with the recipe so you can cook along with us.

Shopping list

Firstly, here is a handy shopping list for all of the ingredients required

strong white flour
dried instant yeast
olive oil
salt
1 onion
garlic
handful of fresh parsley
dried oregano
450g tin chopped tomatoes
tomato paste or puree

plus your favourite pizza toppings

Pizza

 

Ingredients for the dough

450g/1 lb strong white flour
2 teaspoons dried instant yeast
225ml/8 ozs warm water
3 tablespoons olive oil
pinch salt

Method

1. Place the flour and salt in a mixing bowl along with instant yeast.
2. Pour on the olive oil and about 130ml/6 ozs of the warm water.
3. Mix this together these ingredients using one hand, whilst the other hand holds the bowl. If the dough is too dry, add warm water to it. If the dough is too sticky, add a few tablespoons of extra flour. Mix the dough together to form a rough ball and then knead it on a work surface until it is smooth and pliable. It should be like soft-ish play dough.
4. Place the dough back into the bowl and coat with a little olive oil.
5. Cover the bowl with a tea towel or plate and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled
in volume. This will take approximately ½ hour in a warm environment.
6. While the dough is rising, prepare the toppings and make a tomato sauce (see below)
7. When the dough has doubled in volume, knock it down gently. Pat or roll it into desired shape – either one large pizza or several smaller ones. Spread the dough out by working from the middle outwards, easing it gently all the time. Do not be tempted to stretch the dough because it will simply shrink back. Place the rolled dough onto a lightly greased and floured baking tray.
8. Turn on your oven to the hottest temperature that it can reach. This is usually between
230ºC – 250ºC/450ºF – 500ºF. Your pizza needs to go into a pre-heated oven.
9. Most pizzas start with a layer of tomato sauce being spread thinly over the top. Spread
some tomato sauce onto the dough base. Do not use too much or spread it too thickly
as that could make the pizza soggy.
10. Then arrange the various toppings on it. Having started with the tomato sauce, add the
cheese, followed by any of your favourite toppings.
11. Bake the pizza for about 20 minutes for a large pizza, for a shorter time for individual
pizza. You will know that it is baked when it is browned and looking tempting.
12. Serve hot directly from the oven.

Some suggested toppings but you can use your favourite ones

Tomato sauce
Mozzarella cheese cut into small cubes
Finely chopped parsley
Oregano dried
Olives – black or green

Rich Tomato Sauce

 

Ingredients

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium sized onion finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic chopped
450g tin chopped tomatoes
3 tablespoons tomato paste
teaspoonful of dried oregano
handful of parsley chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Fry the chopped onions in the olive oil until golden brown.
2. Add the chopped garlic and fry for about thirty seconds but do not brown it or it will be bitter.
3. Add the tinned tomatoes and the tomato paste, which gives a lovely rich flavour.
4. Add the parsley and dried oregano to the mixture.
5. Fill the tin, in which the tomatoes came, with cold water and add that to the saucepan too.
6. Bring the mixture up to the boil and then turn it down to cook more slowly or simmer for about twenty minutes. This will allow the sauce to cook without becoming dry. It will give the
ingredients a chance to blend together and develop a delicious flavour. A sauce must be ‘saucy’ and not dry. If too dry, add a little cold water and continue to cook again for a short while.
7. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Category
Classes