Black pizza: balsamic reduction, date, walnut, fennel and goat cheese

I had forgotten how good this combination is. It is inspired by a pizza we ate by the waterfront in San Francisco once upon a time. We loved the combination of sweet and strong flavours. Then S suggested it when we were making pizza on a Sauna Wednesday in Norwich, and M helped us make the balsamic reduction that first time. S got really excited about pizza recently, because we are back on the dairy since moving to DK, and because our high-speed pizza dough has been especially good since we got here - perhaps the fresh yeast?

(makes 2 medium-small thin-crust pizzas)

1 cup balsamic vinegar
1-2 tbsp sugar
1/2-2/3 batch of high speed bread dough (must be made in advance)
flour for rolling
cornmeal, semolina or grahamsmel for the baking sheet
6 dates, stoned and roughly chopped
10 walnut halves, broken into pieces
1 smallish bulb of fennel, thinly sliced (or onion)
about 50 g of goat cheese (or mild creamy blue cheese eg gorgonzola), roughly chopped

Heat the oven to 220C. Put the balsamic vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan and heat at a high heat until it is just starting to thicken. Take off the heat. Separate the dough into two balls, and roll each out to about 3 mm thick. Sprinkle two baking sheets with cornmeal and transfer the pizza bases to them. Spread the balsamic reduction over the pizza bases. Sprinkle the dates, walnuts, fennel and goat cheese generously over the top. Put in the oven and bake for about 20 min, until starting to brown. Take out and let cool for five minutes or so before chopping into pieces (I favour scissors) and eating.

Diced cucumber, tomato and feta salad with chickpeas

Cucumbers are so deliciously crunchy and crisp and delicately tasty and juicy. Perfect antidote to accidentally drinking too much coffee... again. Why not cut them into chickpea-sized pieces along with some cucumbers and a little bit of feta... add parsley and tasty bits and pieces, and crunch on it along with a bit of bread... whenever I cook chickpeas they disappear so fast!

1/2 cucumber, diced
6 ish small-medium tomatoes, diced
1 in piece of feta, diced
cupful of cooked chickpeas
2 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp chopped capers
1 tbsp chopped sundried tomatoes
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt+pepper

Mix everything together, dress with olive oil, balsamic, salt+pepper. Done.


Nothing but simple food, and especially salads at the moment. S has been bringing lunch to work as well since we moved here, so it's kind of a fun challenge thinking of what will feed my appetite plus his.

Pear and gorgonzola salad with balsamic reduction

We've been working quite a lot lately, or travelling / with visitors (e.g. sauna tour), so not much time in the kitchen. Keeping up (food) exploring though - went to a cute veggie cafe (Cafe N) on Tuesday; found a nice coffee shop near our house yesterday (Sweet Treats). We're on the hunt for a place walking distance from our house, not too expensive but with tables and somewhere comfortable to sit, with good veggie options and non-veg stuff too - feel like we need to have somewhere like this in mind for when we have visitors. So far we've failed to find anywhere that fits the bill - nice-looking places have no veg stuff, cafe-type places that close early and don't have much seating have veg options but no real dinner options, our few fave place so far are further away or are a bit fancy...

Anyway, dinners have mostly been quite simple, taking advantage of all the readily-available awesome breads, and my sojourn into eating eggs and dairy again, and since it warmed up we've been making quite a lot of salads.

This was yesterday's. There was one nice ripe pear in the bowl, and I thought I'd make it go as far as I could. I guess this is a pretty typical veg option type of a salad, but tasty nonetheless, especially when you can control the levels of all those strong flavours to your liking. It comes together really fast - try and make sure it does, and gets eaten fast, as it would be a shame to let a good pear go brown...

4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tsp sugar
2-3 handfuls rocket
1 ripe conference pear, cored and chopped into medium slices
2 in piece of gorgonzola, chopped into cubes
handful walnuts, crumbled
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
salt+pepper

Get the balsamic reduction on while you prep the rest of the salad: put balsamic and sugar in a small pan and simmer pretty high for 5-10 min until it reduced and syrupy. Take off the heat.

Meanwhile, wash the rocket and put it in a serving dish. Prep and add the pear, gorgonzola and walnuts. Drizzle balsamic reduction over the top, along with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Eat right away, with some good bread.

Warm beluga lentil salad with tomato, parsley and feta

A bag of beluga lentils was an impulse buy at my current favourite shop in Copenhagen, a Turkish grocer's in the southerly part of Norrebro. They were the same price as the other lentils, that's why: I think I'd always thought of them as the fancy expensive kind of lentils so the level pricing clinched the deal...

When I cooked them I saw why they have a reputation. They hold their shape well, and like forbidden/black/purple rice they develop a wonderfully deep dark purplish black colour (hence beluga). Good solid earthy taste too.

My go-to for lentils of the brown-green-black varieties is to turn them into a quick salad, with some elements of spices (coriander, cumin, cinnamon, paprika, chilli, sumac are favourites), olive oil, acid (balsamic vinegar or lemon juice), herbs (coriander, chives, parsley, mint), powerful flavour pockets (sundried tomatoes, capers, caramelized onions+garlic, olives), crunch (toasted seeds or chopped nuts), and probably something a bit creamy (thick yoghurt, tahini, feta) and something fresh (chopped tomatoes, leaves, maybe cucumber). I thought I must have written out a million of these salads on here, but on checking found not that many. Endless variants possible!

The beluga lentils were so pretty and tasty I wanted to keep it relatively simple, so cut back on spices etc and made a salad with just some basic components.

1 cup beluga lentils cooked with a bay leaf and a couple of peeled cloves of garlic in 1 3/4 cups water
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt+pepper
2 tbsp chopped parsley
6 medium-small tomatoes, chopped (or sundried tomatoes)
2 cm lump of feta, crumbled
2 tbsp chopped hazelnuts (optional)

Cook the beluga lentils with bay leaf and garlic. They should take about 15-20 min. When done (slight bite remaining, no liquid left), mix the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper in the bottom of a serving bowl, tip the lentils in and mix together. Taste to check seasoning. Once they have cooled a little, add parsley, tomatoes and feta and toss. Add hazelnuts if using, check seasoning, and serve.


Very pretty: purple lentils, white feta, red tomatoes, green parsley. And just as tasty as its more complicated relatives.

Beetroot, lentils and wheatberries

This is a meal in a bowl, with all sorts of depths and exciting tastes and textures and colours. You might call it a salad? It comes together really quickly if you have the beetroot, lentils and wheatberries (or you could sub chickpeas and brown rice) already cooked and in the fridge. I had baked the beetroot while I had the oven on to roast some other veg a couple of days ago, so when I wanted to eat this I just had to cook the lentils and wheatberries and prep the other stuff. If I'd done the lentils and wheatberries previously it would have been even faster; as it was the remaining food prep pretty much fitted into the time they were cooking, so still quite speedy.

Baked beetroot:
~5 medium beetroot, washed and trimmed
few sprigs thyme
3-4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp water
salt+pepper

Boiled lentils and wheatberries:
1 cup wheatberries
1 cup brown or green lentils
1 bay leaf
stock powder

Seeds, herbs and spices:
1 tbsp coriander seed
1 tsp cumin seed
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp sunflower seeds
1/2 tbsp sesame seeds
zest of 1/2 a lemon
1-2 tbsp chives, chopped
1-2 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 tbsp mint, chopped

Dressing:
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp honey
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
1 tsp white miso
1-2 tbsp olive oil
salt+pepper

To prepare the beetroot, heat the oven to 400F. Wash the beetroot thoroughly and trim. Chop into large / even sized chunks (in half or quarters) and put in a lidded ovenproof dish. Add whole, peeled garlic cloves, thyme (fresh or dried), seasoning, olive oil and water. Put the lid on, put in the oven and bake for 30-40 min, until tender to the point of a knife. Remove from the oven, let cool, then cut into chunky dice.

Put the lentils in a small pan with enough water to cover them by 1cm. Add the bay leaf and a sprinkling of stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for ~30 min, until done. Put the wheatberries in a different pan with ~1 1/2 cups water and a sprinkling of stock. Bring to the boil and simmer 25-30 min, until tender.

Heat a frying pan and dry fry the coriander and cumin seed until fragrant. Let cool a little, then transfer to a spice mill and grind. In the same pan, dry toast the sunflower and sesame seeds until lightly golden and starting to pop. Chop the herbs and zest the lemon.

In a serving bowl, beat the dressing ingredients together with a fork. Add the cooked, still warm wheatberries and lentils and mix well together. Add the beetroot (and garlic and juices) and ground spices and toss some more. Check it is not too hot, then, immediately before serving, add the toasted seeds and fresh herbs. Toss once more, taste and add more salt, pepper and balsamic if needed, and eat.


This is really hearty and versatile - an excellent Autumn / Winter salad protocol. Versions of this have been seeing me right for weeks, as lunches and quick dinners. So long as I have some cooked lentils and wheatberries (or other grain) in the fridge, plus some kind of roasted veg - this week it is butternut squash roasted with za'atar - I can grab some herbs from my pots and mix this up in minutes.

Sometimes Summer rules: simple tomato-avocado-basil salad

Right now I have three kinds of beautiful tomatoes (yellow zebra, chocolate cherry and Japanese black trifele) from my pot garden, and they are all different, delicious and perfectly ripe. I also grew some really tasty basil. Combined with a perfect avocado and just a little good extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. This salad made me really happy. Even had some awesome bread to mop up the juices at the end.

Warm lentil and onion salad

My stepmother S makes a simple lentil salad that I love. I think it is Indian-influenced (she is half Indian). It is Puy lentils, with crispy fried onions and dollops of thick yoghurt on top.

This recipe reminded me of S's lentil salad. I didn't feel like making exactly either of those, but something closely related, simple, but with enough complication to be exciting.

To cook the lentils:
1 cup green or brown lentils
1 large clove garlic, peeled and sliced into three
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp olive oil
water

To toast in a dry pan:
2 tsp coriander seed
1 tsp cumin seed
2-3 tbsp sesame or sunflower seeds

For the onions:
1-2 tbsp olive oil
2 small onions, peeled and finely sliced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

For the dressing:
juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 tbsp tahini
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1-2 tbsp water
2-3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1-2 tsp salt

Also:
zest of 1/2 a lemon
2-3 tbsp mint leaves, chopped
1 cup cooked, defrosted chickpeas
fresh tomatoes, chopped

First, put the lentils on: put lentils, garlic, bay leaves and olive oil in a small pan with enough water to cover the lentils by about 1cm. Cover the pan and simmer until lentils are done (20-30 min / will vary depending what kind of lentils).

As soon as the lentils are on start the other preparations. Dry fry the cumin and coriander until fragrant, then tip them out into a bowl and set aside. Do the same with the sesame/sunflower seeds, transferring them to a different bowl. Then heat the olive oil in the same frying pan, add the onions and garlic, cover and cook gently until the onions first soften then start to go sweet, brown and crispy/melty.

To make the dressing, grind the toasted coriander and cumin and tip it into a serving bowl. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, salt, balsamic vinegar and water and mix to a good consistency. When the lentils and onions are done, add them to the serving bowl along with the chickpeas and lemon zest, and mix everything together thoroughly. Finally, add the mint and seeds, toss, and serve with fresh tomato and more balsamic to taste, on brown rice.


It is an ugly brown mess, but it is delicious. Good balance of fresh (lemon, mint) with deep and earthy (lentils, tahini), sweet (balsamic, onions), and toasty spices (coriander+cumin). Nice textures too - the crunch of seeds alongside the robust squish of cooked pulses. Best warm, fine cold the next day.

Chickpea flour pancake-pizza

Another very weird 24 hours: was woodturning late last night, finishing off my first bowl (!). When I left to bike home around 0045, I got to the JFK bridge and again, endless sirens: all shapes and sizes of cop cars whizzing along Mem Drive towards Watertown, and a cop boat in the river too. I eventually got across the road only to nearly get run down by another two cop cars coming over the bridge on the wrong side of the road, then cycled the rest of the way home dreading what I was going to see on the news when I got there.

Woke up this morning, bleary-eyed but ready to head to work, checked the news, and found the city was on lockdown: everyone in the city ordered to 'Shelter at Home' while the police conduct a manhunt (for a bombing / shooting suspect) in Watertown. All day we've been in a kind of limbo, reading news constantly while a warm, sunny Spring day passed by outside. I snacked fitfully and nervously all day, then by evening felt like I needed something real to eat...

I'd been meaning to try this recipe idea for a while. It's basically socca, simplified and restyled as a pizza.

For the base:
1/2 cup chickpea flour
3/4 cup water
1/2 tsp dried thyme
salt+pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

For the onions:
2 tbsp olive oil
3 medium-large onions, peeled and finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp vinegary red wine
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp mixed dried herbs (basil, sage, rosemary, oregano)
salt+pepper
1 tsp honey

Other toppings:
8 salty, dry, black olives, de-stoned and chopped
2-3 tbsp chopped basil
2 pieces of dry 5-spice tofu, shredded
1-2 tbsp sesame seeds

Heat the oven to 450F and put a large, flat, cast iron pan in it to heat as well.

Whisk the base ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.

Heat the olive oil for the onions in a medium frying pan with a lid, then add the onions and garlic. Cover and cook until well softened. Uncover, add the red wine, vinegar, dried herbs, salt and pepper and cook for a bit longer, until the liquid has mostly evaporated. Add the honey (or sugar) and cook for a minute or so longer, then set aside.

Take the cast iron pan out of the oven (careful, it will be very hot and heavy) and spread the chickpea mixture across it quickly and evenly. Put back in the oven for 5-10 min. Then take out again (the chickpea mixture should be cooked to make a crust), and spread the onion mixture across it. Sprinkle the other topping ingredients across the top: shredded dry tofu, chopped basil and olives, and sesame seeds. Put in the oven for another 5-10 min, until the tofu and seeds are lightly browned.


This was interesting: I liked the chickpea base but it came out quite thin, more like a pancake. Perhaps double the quantity another time? And / or try increasing the relative quantity of chickpea flour in the mix?

Roasted beetroot with garlic, thyme and balsamic

More beetroot, this time roasted (based on this).

6-8 medium-small beetroot, washed thoroughly, top-and-tailed, and any very ugly / hairy / dirty bits of peel removed (go the whole hog and remove all the peel if you feel like it)
6 cloves garlic, unpeeled
4-6 sprigs thyme
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp water
salt+pepper
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Heat oven to 400F. Cut the beetroot into evenly sized wedges. Put them in a lidded oven dish. Push the garlic cloves and thyme sprigs into spaces between the beetroot wedges. Pour the water and olive oil over, season and put the lid on the dish. Put in the oven and leave for about an hour, until the beetroot is tender. Remove from the oven and pour over the balsamic vinegar. Remove the twiggy bits of the thyme, scraping them gently between the tines of a fork to encourage the leaves to stay in the dish. Peel the garlic, mash it a little, and return to the dish. Toss, and taste for seasoning.


This was good warm, but even better cold the next day: the flavours of the thyme and beetroot really stand up to each other well.

Strawberry, balsamic and basil jam

We stopped off at the Haymarket on the way to the beach yesterday and conducted a speedy 3-pronged attack while Greg kept the car running.  S hit up the strawberries and got a whole trayful (8 large boxes) for $6.  So then we had epic quantities of surprisingly good strawberries.  We ate some at the beach, some for breakfast, then decided I should cook up the rest.  We were running low on jam, so thought that would be a good idea.

2.3 lb strawberries, hulled and cleaned and chopped
~4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 lb sugar
~1-2 tbsp basil, finely shredded

Put the cleaned strawberries into a large pan with the balsamic vinegar.  Boil until the fruit is collapsed and the volume released a little.  Add the sugar and boil at a high temperature until setting point is reached (I use the saucer in the freezer / running finger through to look for wrinkles approach).  Switch off, add the basil, and cool for 10 min or so before putting into clean, sterilised jars.


For the first time ever I managed to burn jam!  Not sure why - perhaps the strawbs were too ripe so there was too much sugar in the pot?  I think it may still be ok, but I am reserving judgement til I taste it tomorrow morning (and may not be able to give any away - I wanted to pay m+g back in jam)...

Edit: It's actually fine, whew.  The pan took a bit of cleaning but the jam is good - perhaps the burning even adds some depth to the colour and flavour (it's definitely a deep ruby red, although perhaps the balsamic also contributes to this)?