Pizza for Pitchy (Pizza with a chickpea flour base)

As my wife Pitchy has allergies to regular flour but loves pizza, I have been researching for suitable recipes. This recipe is the culmination of a year’s research. It uses a socca base. Socca is a pancake made from chickpea flour which is very popular in the Provence region of the south of France. The topping is fairly authentic Italian vegetarian.

This recipe takes a bit of practice but once you get it right, you can make delicious, healthy low-carb pizzas quicker than it takes to walk to the take-away.

 

Ingredients (makes 2 pizzas)

Sauce

2 large garlic cloves crushed

Olive oil

2 cups of tomato pulp (pasata)

I tsp Oregano

1 pinch salt

Dash of red wine (optional)

A few drops of hot pepper sauce (optional)

Base

2 cups chick pea flour

Pinch of salt

Ground black pepper

1 tsp baking soda

Water

Topping

2 bell peppers (different colours)

2 small onions

4 large mushrooms

2 tsp capers (drained)

125g Mozzarella

Handful of leaves (either basil or rocket)

Method

 1.    Roughly chop the onions, peppers and mushrooms and cook on a grill pan. Brush with olive oil and turn occasionally until starting to soften. Then leave to cool and cut into bite-size pieces.

2.    Finely chop the mozzarella.

3.    Fry the garlic in a little olive oil. When starting to turn golden, add the tomato pulp, oregano, salt and optional ingredients. Cook slowly to reduce to a thick sauce (if it is too watery, the base will go soggy)

4.    Mix the chickpea flour, baking soda and seasoning in a bowl and slowly add water. Mix to a very stiff paste then slowly add more water until you get the texture of full cream milk (this should avoid getting lumps). Let rest for 10 minutes.

5.    Using a large frying pan or pancake pan, add olive oil and then enough flour mixture to fully cover the base. Cook until starting to brown on the underside, then flip using a large plate. Once cooked, remove to a plate and repeat for the second pizza base.

6.    Place a pizza base on a baking tray and smother with the tomato sauce. Add the toppings and cook under a hot grill for 2-3 minutes.

7.    Once the cheese is melting, remove from the grill, place on a plate and top with leaves and a dash of olive oil.

8.    Repeat for the second pizza.

 

Notes

You can, of course, experiment with other toppings such as anchovies, olives, smoked salmon, artichokes, etc.

South Indian Prawn and Vegetable Curry

 

Ingredients

Spices

2 tsp cumin seeds
Thumb of ginger
4 cloves garlic
Thumb of turmeric root
2 – 6 small red chillies
2 Bay leaves
6 cardamoms (Bruised)
4 cloves
1 stick cinnamon

Other Ingredients

2 large green chillies – deseeded and finely chopped.
Onion
Ground Nut Oil
Veggie stock (about 250 cl)
Veggies (I recommend, red pepper, green pepper and cauliflower)
1 Tomato (diced)
200g Tiger Prawns
200 cl Coconut Milk
Bunch of Coriander

Method

1.    In a pestle and mortar, grind to a paste the ginger, garlic, red chillies, turmeric, coriander stalks and cumin seeds.

2.    In some  ground nut oil, fry the cardamoms, cloves and cinnamon for 2 mins, add the spice paste and continue to fry. Add the onions and green chilli and fry for 5 minutes until starting to brown.

3.    Add the tomato and continue to cook for another 2 mins, than add the stock and bay leaves and cook for 5 minutes.

4.    Add the vegetables (the harder ones first such as cauliflower, and the softer ones a bit later, such as peppers), then add the prawns. Cook until tender.

5.    Add coconut milk and cook for another 2 mins or so

6.    Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with warm rice and dahl.

Jamie’s South Indian Vegetarian Curry

This is a brilliant recipe coming from Jamie’s 15 Minute Meals. The original recipe can be found here. After cooking it a few times I have made a few alterations which in my humble opinion improve it no end:

Firstly, it is not wise to try to cook it in 15 minutes. It needs longer to allow the flavours to infuse. Adding in chopping and preparation time, it normally takes me around 45 minutes.

Secondly, using fresh pineapple tastes way better and is more nutritious than the tinned variety.

Thirdly, Jamie’s recipe does not explicitly include salt. I suppose he would think that seasoning goes without saying. Anyway, I have added some vegetable stock to my recipe which greatly improves the flavour.

I have also halved most of the ingredients so that it serves 2 but increased the spices.

Ingredients

•    ½ small cauliflower (cut into florets)
•    2 tablespoons ground nut oil
•    1 heaped teaspoon black mustard seeds
•    1 heaped teaspoon fenugreek seeds
•    1 heaped teaspoon turmeric
•    1 small handful dried curry leaves
•    1 thumb-sized piece of ginger
•    2 cloves of garlic
•    3 spring onions
•    2 fresh red chillies
•    bunch fresh coriander
•    1 ripe tomato
•    200 cl coconut milk
•    200g tin of chickpeas
•    Half a pineapple, chopped
•    500 cl Vegetable Stock
•    1 tsp Garam Masala paste
•    1 lemon

Method

1    Chop and grind to a paste the following in a pestle and mortar: chillies, garlic, ginger and coriander stalks.
2    Heat some ground nut oil and fry the fenugreek, mustard seeds, curry leaves and turmeric for 2 minutes.
3    Add the chopped spring onions and cook for another 2 minutes.
4    Add the paste (from above)  and the garam masala paste and fry for another 2 minutes.
5    Slowly add the coconut milk and cook for another 2 minutes.
6    Add the chopped tomatoes, chick peas, cauliflower, pineapple and veggie stock and cook for 10 minutes.
7    Serve topped with the chopped coriander leaves and drizzles with lemon juice.

Serves 2/3

Spicy Hummus

I have experimented with many different hummus recipes and through trial and error, ended up with this one: My absolute favourite. While hummus is mostly thought of as an Israeli dish, this recipe draws more on the Turkish tradition of using the spices with the hummus.

Ingredients

250g dried chickpeas soaked overnight (or 500g tinned chickpeas)

2 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp black pepper

2 red chillies de-seeded and roughly chopped*

1 tsp salt

1 tsp brown sugar

3 cloves garlic

100 ml Olive Oil

100g Tahini

Juice of 2 lemons (about 40 ml)

Handful of fresh coriander (leaf and stalks)

*For more spicy heat, leave the seeds in. For less heat, use just one larger mild chilli.

Method

1.     After soaking the chickpeas overnight, they should be boiled for 1 hour in good quality vegetable stock. (Skip this step if you are using canned chickpeas)

2.     While the chickpeas are cooking, prepare the spices: Dry roast the cumin and black pepper in a pan then grind them to a course powder in a pestle and mortar. Lightly fry the spice powder, garlic (whole), chillies and the fresh coriander (bash the stalks a bit before adding to the pan) in olive oil. Add a pinch of salt and then when starting to brown, remove from the heat and leave to marinate.

3.     Put the chickpeas into a blender. Save the cooking stock as it may be needed later.

4.     Add all the other ingredients and blend to a paste. Add some of the cooking water if needed.

To serve, sprinkle with smoked paprika. Great with raw sliced vegetables, pitta bread or as a side dish.

Stir Fried Bean Sprouts with Prawns and Vegetables

Variations on this dish appear all over SE Asia, but this is the version I used to get in the hawker centres in Singapore.

It would be possible just to throw all the ingredients into the wok. However I am using the assembly method here which involves three separate stir-frying sessions. The advantage of this method is that: the wok can be kept hotter; it is easier to ensure all ingredients are cooked perfectly and seasoning can be done along the cooking process, not just at the end. This means less sodium in total.

Ingredients

150g Mushrooms (Chopped)

I green pepper (Chopped)

I large red chilli (deseeded and finely chopped)

2 spring onions (finely chopped)

3 cloves garlic

200g Beans sprouts

100g prawns (see note for vegetarian option)

2 tsp corn starch dissolved in a little water

Oil (Sesame, ground nut or coconut)

Soy sauce

Oyster sauce (see note for vegetarian option)

Rice wine (or any Chinese cooking wine)

White pepper

Method

1.     Heat a little oil in a wok. When very hot, stir fry the prawns with a little of the spring onion. When starting to brown, remove from the wok, place in a bowl and season with oyster sauce.

2.     Next stir fry the vegetables (chilies, mushrooms, peppers, garlic and spring onion) in a very hot work with just a little oil. As the vegetables are starting to soften, remove from the heat and place in a bowl. Season with a little soy sauce.

3.      Heat up the wok again with a little oil. Once very hot, add the bean sprouts, stir fry around one minute then add a dash of rice wine. Add the prawns and vegetables and a little more soy and oyster sauce. Add the dissolved corn starch and just enough water to provide a good sauce. Boil vigorously for another minute or two until the sauce thickens

4.     Taste and add extra seasoning if necessary. Sprinkle with white pepper and serve hot with rice.

Notes

For the vegetarian option, replace the prawns with firm tofu. Cut the tofu into bite size pieces and stir fry in a non-stick frying pan until golden brown. Place into a bowl and season with vegetarian oyster sauce or mushroom sauce. Then add to the wok towards the end of cooking.

Roasted cashews are also delicious in place of the prawns.

Red Lentil and Vegetable Soup (Middle Eastern)

This soup is a variation of red lentil and broccoli soup but with extra flavours, textures and colours. It is 100% vegetarian, delicious and scandalously healthy.

Ingredients

Basics

2 cups red lentils

3 cloves garlic

1 tbsp olive oil

Vegetable stock (about 500 cl)

2 cups coriander leaves (roughly chopped)

Harissa sauce.

Vegetables (all should be chopped or diced)

2 tomatoes

2 spring onions

1 carrot

6 asparagus sticks

1 green pepper

(You can experiment with other combinations of vegetables but this selection gives a good balance of flavours, textures and colours.)

Spices

2 tsp coriander seeds

2 tsp  cumin seeds

1 tsp black pepper seeds

1 stick cinamon

Method

1.     Wash the lentils and remove any stones

2.     Place the lentils in a pot with the vegetable stock and simmer for 40 minutes (stirring occasionally and adding more stock if needed)

3.     Dry roast the cumin, coriander and pepper seeds and then grind them into a paste with the garlic and one cup of coriander leaves (using a pestle and mortar). Then fry in olive oil for 1 - 2 minutes. Once golden, add to the lentils. Also add the tomatoes to the lentils and cook for another 5 minutes.

4.     At this point, to obtain a smoother texture you may blend some or all of the lentils.

5.     Add the cinnamon stick and the harder vegetables (carrot and asparagus) and cook for another 5 – 6 minutes.

6.     Add the softer vegetables (spring onion and green pepper) and cook for another 5 – 6 minutes

7.     Serve with the coriander on top and harrisa sauce on the side.

Serves 4 as a starter or 2 as a main course.

Vegetable Tagine

Ingredients

Vegetables:

1 onion (diced)

2 cloves of garlic (thinly sliced)

1 carrot (diced)

2 ripe tomatoes

1 red pepper (diced)

1 green pepper (diced)

4 sticks of asparagus (sliced diagonally)

cup of broccoli (bite size pieces)

1 large red chilli (thinly sliced)

(You can choose, other vegetables such as aubergine, pumpkin, green beans, cauliflower, etc. Try to get a good mix of colours!)

Optional vegetables added towards the end of cooking:

Cup of chick peas (canned is ok but better to use dried, soaked overnight and cooked for an hour),

Cup of sweet corn (canned)

Cup of frozen peas

Spices:

1 tsp cumin seeds,

1 tsp smoked paprika,

1 cinnamon stick,

Quarter of a whole nutmeg freshly grated,

1 tsp turmeric

Black pepper

Other ingredients:

Salt,

Pinch of brown sugar,

Couscous,

Cup of herbs fresh chopped (choose a combination from coriander, parsley and mint)

Vegetable stock (about 1 litre)

Olive oil (3 -4 tsps)

Method

1. Fry the harder vegetables (onion, asparagus, and carrot ) with the cumin seeds for a few minutes in olive oil until starting to turn golden. (Use a tagine or a heavy saucepan with a lid)
2. Add the softer vegetables: peppers, garlic, broccoli, tomatoes and chilli and continue to fry for 2 more minutes
3. Add stock, turmeric, paprika, nutmeg and cinnamon. Simmer covered for 10 minutes.
4. Add some stock to the couscous, just enough to cover it.  Add a dash of olive oil, stir with a fork and set aside.
5. Add the optional vegetables (sweet corn, green peas, chick peas), sugar, salt and pepper (add more stock if needed). Cook for another 5 minutes.
6. Serve the vegetables in bowls, topped with the herbs and with couscous and harissa on the side.

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