Pasta Mediterranea - Mediterranean Style Pasta

The Mediterranean diet is without doubt one of the best in the world; healthy, diverse and full of flavour. Ingredients like olives, capers and anchovies gives the accompanying pasta a unique taste of various Mediterranean flavours. In need of an oomph I also added a tablespoon of Harissa to the dish which gave it a distinct Tunisian touch. If you do not like the spicy kick that the Harissa provides you can always substitute it with tomato paste. I created this dish at about 6am to take with me at work and it turned out delicious. Give it a go and you will do this dish again...guaranteed...this amounts below are for 2-3 people. You will need...

• 6 baby plum or cherry tomatoes
• 1 green pepper, de-seeded and sliced
• 6-8 green olives with stone in
• 1 tbsp capers (optional)
• 1 tsp harissa or tomato paste
• 1 tin anchovies, chopped [omit if vegan]
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped or crushed
• 6 fresh basil leaves, hand torn
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Olive oil [I used the oil from the anchovies]

How to...

1. Start by cooking the pasta al dente and set aside.
2. Heat about a tablespoon of the olive oil and the garlic on medium heat, when garlic is golden, add pepper, anchovies and tomatoes and cook until soft (about 5-8 minutes), stirring frequently.
3. Now add olives, capers, harissa/tomato paste, basil leaves and black pepper, stir well and sauté for another 3-4 minutes.
4. At this time mix the pasta and mixture together.
5. Serve warm.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Caprese Beef Burger

We love burgers...who doesn't? I must say we do love making our own. When we feel like tasting nothing else but the juicy taste of beef, all we put in the burger is just good quality lean minced beef, salt & freshly ground black pepper...nothing else!! Here we simply served them on a toasted bun with a Caprese salad, fresh milky mozzarella, fresh ripe tomatoes and a fresh basil leaf! Give them a go...very easy to prepare!! For 4 burgers you will need...

• 500g extra lean minced beef
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

To serve

• 1x 125g mozzarella ball, sliced
• 1x ripe beef tomato, sliced
• 4 fresh basil leaves
• 4 sesame seed topped burger buns

How to...

1. Put the beef in a bowl and season with salt & pepper. Mix well with your hands into 4 patties. 
2. Grill for about 3 minutes on each side.
3. On the same grill pan or grill, toast the split buns and put a burger on each bun, top with a mozzarella slice, tomato slice and a basil leaf.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Focaccia with Caprese Salad

This is Amanda's favourite food EVER!! She could eat it all day, every day!! :)) In fact when I prepare a good Focaccia for her, I always get extra hugs & kisses xx :)) It is one of the easiest recipes to do, Focaccia is very filling and tasty and you can serve it or even fill it with loads of different ingredients. You can put olives and press them in or even small rosemary sprigs. Our favourite is do a plain, just scattered with coarse sea salt and then serve it with a nice Caprese salad. I love to split it in half, drizzle some extra virgin olive oil and put layers of freshly sliced tomatoes, fresh basil leaves and slices of mozzarella....just writing about it is making my mouth water!!! Enjoy it fresh out of the oven....give this a go and you will not be sorry!! You will need...

For the Focaccia

• 600g Strong white flour ("00")
• 300ml lukewarm water
• Half teaspoon sugar
• 7g instant yeast (1 sachet)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Coarse sea salt, to taste

For the Caprese salad

• 4 large ripe tomatoes, sliced
• 3 mozzarella balls, sliced
• fresh basil leaves
• Extra virgin olive oil

How to...

1. Blend the yeast in a measuring jug with 300ml lukewarm water, sugar and the olive oil. Leave it to stand for 10 minutes.
2. Pile the flour into a volcano shaped heap on the working surface. Make a well in the centre and slowly pour in the liquid, start kneading with your hand and adding the yeast mixture until all the liquid has been incorporated.
3. Knead into a smooth dough. 
4. Roll the dough. Do not roll it too thin, leave it about 1cm thick.
5. Place it in a well-oiled, high edged dish, poke it with your finger tips in even places, scatter to taste with the coarse sea salt and cover with cling film and leave to rise for about an hour in warm place.
6. In the meantime preheat the oven to 180°C.
7. After the dough has risen well, drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil put into the hot oven and bake for 30 minutes until it is golden in colour.
8. Cut in squares and serve with the Caprese salad.

Enjoy!!! 

R&A