Chicken Cacciatore

INGREDIENTS

8 chicken lovely legs

200g bacon or prosciutto

olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 large cloves garlic, crushed

400g button mushrooms (can use half brown mushrooms)

3 cups chicken stock

1 cup white wine

2 cans chopped tomatoes

1 can cannelini beans

2 handfuls of olives

continental parsley

METHOD

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil.

Add bacon and cook for 5 minutes on a medium heat.

Add chicken and cook until browned.

Add mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes.

Add tomatoes, stock and wine.

Simmer for 30 to 45 minutes.

Add beans and olives.

Serve with fresh white bread and butter, boiled or mashed potatoes or pasta.

Sprinkle with lots of chopped continental parsley.

SERVINGS

8

SOURCE

Juliette

The Best Pizza Toppings

INGREDIENTS
Gourmet Vegetarian: Pesto, Pumpkin, Spinach and Feta
tub of Pesto
1/4 pumpkin, sliced thinly and roasted
spinach leaves
feta, crumbled
pine nuts
mozzarella, grated

Supreme: Salami, Olives, Mushrooms and Capsicum
tomato pasta sauce
salami, sliced
olives, pitted and halved
champignons or button mushrooms, halved
capsicum, sliced
mozzarella, grated

Satay Chicken
tomato paste
1 quantity of satay chicken
spanish onion, sliced thinly
mozzarella, grated
coriander

METHOD
Prepare pizza bases with fresh pizza dough, or slice turkish bread in half lengthways.
For each different topping:
Spread pizza base with sauce.
Add toppings.
Sprinkle with mozzarella.
Bake at 250C for 7 - 10 minutes until golden and crispy.

SERVINGS
10

SOURCE
Vikki

Basic Pizza Dough

INGREDIENTS
800g strong white bread flour
200g fine ground semolina flour or strong white bread flour
1 level tablespoon fine sea salt
2x7g sachets dried yeast
1 tbs golden caster sugar
650mL lukewarm water

METHOD
Add the yeast and sugar to the tepid water.
Mix with a fork and leave for a few minutes.
Pile the flours and salt on to a clean surface and make an 18cm well in the centre.
Pour yeast mixture into well.
Using a fork and a circular movement, slowly bring in the flour from the inner edge of the well and mix into the water- it will look like stodgy porridge.
Continue to mix, bringing in all the flour.
When the dough comes together and becomes too hard to mix with the fork, flour your hands and begin to pat it into a ball.
Knead the dough by rolling it backwards and forwards, using your left hand to stretch the dough towards you and your right hand to push the dough away from you at the same time.
Repeat this for 10 minutes until you have a smooth springy soft dough.
Flour the top of the dough.
Cover with clingfilm and let rest for at least 15 minutes at room temperature - this will make it easier to roll it thinly.
Divide the dough into as many balls as you want to make pizzas - small or large - 6 is a good quantity for this amount of dough.
Roll pizzas out 15 to 30 minutes before you start to cook them. If you want to work more in advance, keep the dough in clingfilm in the fridge.
Take a piece of the dough.
Dust your surface and the dough with a little flour, and roll it out into a rough circle about 0.5cm thick.
Tear off an appropriately sized piece of tinfoil, rub it with olive oil, dust it well with flour and place pizza base on top.
Continue doing the same with other pieces and then, if you dust them with a little flour, you can pile them up into a stack, cover them with clingfilm and put in the fridge.
Preheat oven to 250C.
Apply toppings.
Cook for 7 to 10 minutes, until the pizzas are golden and crispy.

SERVINGS
6 - 8 medium sized pizza bases

SOURCE
Jamie's Italy

Spaghetti Bolognese

INGREDIENTS
1 onion
1 carrot
1 stick celery
2 rashers bacon
1 clove garlic
2 Tbsp oil
500g mince
3 Tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp oregano
2 stock cubes
1 cup water
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp fruit chutney
375g spaghetti
120g grated cheese

METHOD
Peel and chop onion and grate carrot.
Slice celery finely and chop bacon and garlic.
Heat oil in frypan and add veges and bacon.
Saute till onion is golden brown.
Add mince and stir til brown.
Add tomato paste, oregano, stock, water, sauce and chutney.
Mix well and bring to the boil.
Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes till liquid has almost evaporated.
Cook spaghetti in boiling water for 20 minutes.
Drain and rinse under hot running water.
Mix half the cheese through spaghetti.
Pile spaghetti onto serving plates and spoon sauce over.
Sprinkle with remaining grated cheese.

SOURCE
Melissa