Pizza Pizza

Sometimes there's nothing quite like pizza. And it's at its absolute best when it's a homemade pizza - thin and crispy with your own favourite combinations. I like to use a recipe for pizza dough from Jamie Oliver's Italy cookbook. It's simple and always delivers great results. The quantities given will create enough dough for 6-8 medium pizzas.

My tomato sauce recipe came from an old friend during my PhD days. He used honey and parmesan to bring the final sauce to life, a recipe that I still follow.

Final tips for a good pizza - make sure that the oven is hot and cook your pizzas on a pizza stone, or else directly on the oven racks. Don't use a baking tray underneath as this won't give as good results.

Pizza Dough

800g strong white flour
200g semolina (or instead use strong white flour)
2 x 7g sachets of dried yeast
650ml lukewarm water
1 tablespoon light golden sugar
pinch of salt

Pile the flour and salt in a bowl or on a board and create a well in the middle. Measure the water into a jug and add the yeast and sugar. Stir and leave to stand for a few minutes. Pour the water into the well (at this point, I also like to add a dash of olive oil also) and using a fork, stir in a circular motion from the inside of the well outwards. Gradually, a dough will start to form. When it gets too heavy for the work, tip it onto a floured surface and start to knead. 

You will need to work the dough for about 10 minutes and your goal is a smooth, springy dough. It is amazing to see the dough transform as you work. Once ready, place the dough in a bowl and cover with clingfilm or a damp teatowel. Leave to rest in a warm place. When you return, the dough will have doubled in size and you will need to beat it back down with some more kneading. 

Divide the dough into pieces, wrap in clingfilm and chill until required. 

Tomato Sauce for Pizzas
1 onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tin chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato puree
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons dried basil or oregano
salt and black pepper
honey to taste
grated parmesan

Gently sautee the onion and garlic in some olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan, until lightly coloured and soft. Add the tomatoes & tomato puree, sugar, herbs and season. Stir well and simmer until the sauce has thickened and reduced. Make sure to stir frequently. Add about 1 tablespoon of honey and stir in. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Transfer the sauce to a blender and puree until smooth (or alternatively use a handheld blender). Add approx 2-3 tablespoons of grated parmesan and blitz one more time. Let the sauce sit until ready to use.

Goat's cheese, carmelised red onion, artichoke and rocket

Prosciutto, pepperoni, roquito peppers & mozzarella

Cheers: A Weekend in Brussels

When I was a young thirsty student, I drank a lot of beer. It was cheap, it was plentiful and it had the desired effects. Later, as I moved into my postgraduate years, those years of faux-sophistication, I decided that I should become better acquainted with beers. Dutifully, I drank my way though Schneider-Weisse, Warsteiner, Krombacher, Bitburger & Paulaner, to name just a few. The more I drank, the more I came to the realisation that I didn't really seem to like beer.

In a way, this realisation set me free of the obligatory student beer obsession, and I embraced wine, spirits and particularly G&Ts with gusto. I also came to realise that I didn't dislike all beers, I still had quite a liking for stout (Murphy's if you ask!). As a rule of thumb, I don't like overly-gassy beers, or very hoppy beers. In general light flat beers are much more to my liking.

However, despite all this, I remain a sporadic beer drinker. I much prefer to enjoy an occasional, but tasty beer, rather than drink it on a more frequent basis. I recently spent a weekend in Brussels, home to the Delirium Cafe, which many would regard as a true temple to all things beer. In fact, Delirium currently holds the Guinness World Record for the most beers available to purchase (2000+). It's a fantastic spot, with different themed venues, all located in a cosy complex centred on Impasse de la Fidelite.

The memorabilia-covered walls in Delirium

So what did I enjoy on a recent trip to Delirium? Well, I started with one of my perennial favourites, Lindemans Kriek. This is an unsweetened cherry lambic beer. It has the classic sour taste of a lambic, but the use of cherries makes for a sweet, richly flavoured beer, which comes in at 4% ABV. (I also love the Art Deco label and glasses).

Lindemans Kriek

We also tried Floris Cactus beer, which had the most remarkable green colour, due to the presence of cactus pulp. Colour aside, it was a light, refreshing beer with a limey taste. 

Floris Cactus beer, on tap

I continued with Floris, this time trying a bottle of Floris Chocolat (surely this would combine two of the best Belgian products, beer and chocolate). At 4.2% ABV, it's a light lambic beer, but maybe a tad too sweet or cloying for my liking. There is a profound chocolate flavour with other tones of honey or sweetness. Looking around the bar, this particular beer has a clear novelty factor, with many females choosing to try it out.

Floris Chocolat

I decided to try another tap beer, this time choosing an unknown name (to me at least), Gueuze Tilquin. I received a small glass of an attractive golden cloudy beer with a nice light head. It turns out that Gueuzerie Tilquin is the first new lambic brewery to open in 15 years. It's a dry, sour beer (somewhat reminiscent of a really tart cider). It's garnering praise as a lambic, but to be honest, it was a bit too mouth-puckering for me.

Gueuze Tilquin

My last beer of the evening was a bit of an indulgent sweetness - perhaps the equivalent of a dessert wine. I went for the colourful yellow bottle of Mongozo Banana beer, 4.5% ABV. (If you order the coconut version, you can drink it from a coconut shell). It's quite yellow in colour, and smells strongly of bananas. However, it tastes somewhat better than it smells, but to honest, it's the novelty factor that makes this beer a popular choice with tourists.

Mongozo Banana

[Recipe] Simon Hopkinson's Porcini & Pancetta Pasta Bake

Simon Hopkinson has accumulated much respect over his years in the cookery industry, but he maintains a low profile. One of his early cookbooks, Roast Chicken and Other Stories, was voted the most useful cookbook of all time in 2005, causing its sales to suddently outstrip Harry Potter. The funny thing was that Hopkinson had written the book 11 years earlier. He is praised for recipes that really work, which the home cook can understand and more importantly, replicate.

Now he has a series on Fridays on BBC, simply called The Good Cook. While watching the very first episode, a recipe for Porcini and Pancetta Pappardelle Bake caught my fancy. It looked simple, but the promise of a rich flavour from the use of dried, earthy porcini mushrooms promised something special. I decided to make the dish using rigatoni (the best dried pasta I had in my cupboard). 

Additionally, I substituted some Irish bacon for the pancetta, but otherwise I used the same quantities as given in Hopkinson's recipe. For future reference, I would make extra sauce if using rigatoni again, as the sauce seeped into them.

Pasta Bake with Porcini and Pancetta

Baked Pappardelle with Porcini and Pancetta

500ml milk

20g dried porcini

40g butter

25g plain flour

Salt & freshloy ground black pepper

100g pappardelle

50g pancetta, cut into 2cm pieces

4-5 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan

Preheat your oven to 190C.

Place the milk in a saucepan bring close to the boil. Add the porcini mushrooms, remove from the heat, and leave to stand for 10 minutes. Strain the milk into a bowl of jug, squeezing out all the juice from the mushrooms. Keep the mushrooms to one side. At this stage the milk will be fabulous, mushroom colour.

Heat the butter in a clean saucepan, add the flour and stir over a low heat for 2-3 minutes without colouring the roux. Pour in the flavoured milk in one go, whisking continously until smooth. Cook the sauce for 10 minutes or so until thickened. Season to taste and set aside. (Remember that there is still pancetta to be added).

Bring a large pot od salted water to the boil, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Strain, place in a bowl and mix through with the pancetta, porcini and sauce. Pour the pasta into a lightly-buttered, ovenproof dish. Flatten and cover with 2 tablespoons of the parmesan. Cook in the oven for approx 30 minutes, until golden and bubbling. Serve hot with extra cheese.

Houtsiplou, Brussels

Due to my current client assignment, I am making occasional visits to my client's offices in Brussels. In a way, it's like a trip home as I was previously fortunate enough to live in Brussels for 7 months in 2008. After checking in at the Sheraton, I decided that I wanted a burger, so a quick internet search led me to Houtsiplou. The quirky graphics on their fun website won me over and so I headed to the metro.

Houtsiplou is located on Place Rouppe (or Rouppeplein, depending on your linguistic inclinations), which is only a short walking hop from the Grand Place, or even less from the Annessens metro stop. For the gourmands amongst my readers, you may be aware that Place Rouppe is home to a 2-star Michelin restaurant, Comme Chez Soi, but also houses other relaxed bars and cafe. Houtsiplou is located in an old townhouse, with ample outdoor seating for when the weather is fine.

I took a seat inside and my eyes were immediately drawn to the large mural which takes up all of one wall and details the mixed history of Belgium. Houtsiplou is the name of an imaginary, faraway place in Belgium, and this restaurant definitely captures that whimiscal nature. I was initially confused by the presence of Smurfs in the mural, but a Wikipedia search revealed that the Smurfs comic strip originated in Belgium!

Fun & colurful mural at Houtsiplou

The menu is a colourful laminated card, covered in cute characters and drawings, while offering many food and drink choices. I chose the Routpolis burger, which came with gorgonzola, rockets and roasted tomatoes. When the burger arrived, it looked very impressive on the plate, with accompanying chips served in a cute little saucepot. Although substantial, the burger proved to be a bit lacklustre in taste due to the undersalted patty and bizarre gorgonzola-less sauce. Still though, it hit the spot and was great value.

Routpolis burger with fries

I ate once more at Houtisplou during my trip to Brussels, and although the food was again only OK, there is something captivating and fun about this bistro. It's cosy as well as being family and wallet friendly. Given the large amount of over-priced tourist traps near the Grand Place in Brussels, you could do a lot worse that going a few minutes past the usual tourist routes and heading down Rue Midi to Houtsiplou.

Houtsiplou, 9 Place Rouppe (Rouppeplein), Brussels 1000.

Pasta with Italian Sausage

When it comes to pasta, I frequently prefer recipes with little or no sauce. Olive oil (or butter) with a few flavours is how I like to roll. A few staple ingredients, along with some good quality dried pasta, can form the basis of a kingly meal. Supper tonight was a simple mix of rigatoni pasta, oil, garlic, basil pesto, Italian sausage and parmesan.

Bring some salted water to the boil and cook the rigatoni until al dente. When ready, strain off the cooking water, making sure to reserve a few spoonfuls in case you want to want to add some liquid to the pasta later. Toss the pasta with oil and out aside until needed.

In the meantime, gently sautee some onions and garlic. Get some Italian sausage (we purchased ours from our excellent local butchers, Lawlor's on Rathmines Road Upper) and cut into chunky slices. Fry these with the onions and garlic until cooked. Toss this mixture with the pasta and a spoon of good quality basil pesto, adding more oil if required. Serve with parmesan and enjoy!

An Overnight stay at Tankardstown House

These deal websites will be the death of me. Tempting me from all sides with offers of overnight stays, 3 course dinners and fish pedicures (all of which I have purchased and enjoyed). Some while back, one of the smaller sites BedDeals.ie offered an overnight stay with dinner at Tankardstown House, near Slane, Co. Meath. Conde Nast Traveller recently voted this venue the best private house on the island of Ireland, so I gladly purchased the deal.

We arrived towards the end of a gloriously sunny evening, which really showcased the grounds and house to the best effect possible. Tankardstown House has all the features you could ever possibly want in a country house - large sweeping driveway, wide expansive lawns, walled gardens and even two dogs lying outside keeping an eye on the world.

The Terrace at Tankardstown

After checking in, we were shown to our room which turned out to be one of the cottage rooms located just a short hop from the main house in what probably was the old stables, enclosing a little courtyard. Our cottage turned out to be très confortable with a lovely kitchen, sitting room and two upstairs bedrooms. This would definitely be a lovely location for a family holiday, and it's even possible to arrange for a chef to come and cook for you in the privacy of your cottage (Aga is provided!).

We headed back to the main house for a drink before dinner. Inside, the house is beautiful with perfect period features and decor. The bar turned out to be an honour bar so we had the  fun of playing bartender and pouring our own drinks before we settled down into the comfortable leather seats and relaxed in the evening sunshine. The genial owner Brian Conroy (who owns Tankardstown along with his wife Trish) stopped and chatted with us for several minutes.

Before we knew it, it was time to head to our included dinner. With drinks in hand, we left the main house and walked the short distance to the Old Cow Shed which thankfully now hosts the charming Brabazon restaurant. On the way, we passed the little bar which is cosily tucked inside the old cellars. The menu is full of seasonal produce and prices are quite competitive. After ordering, we received a bread basket full of fresh-baked, tasty sliced bread.

Bread Basket at Brabazon

Our starters were

• Corned Swiss Eye of Martin Callaghan's Beef with soused cauliflower, Castlebellingham blue cheese, roasted bone marrow with black pudding (€8). To be honest, I was disappointed by the beef, both in quantity and taste, but the bone marrow and black pudding mixture was phenomenonal and should really have received the star billing
• Smoked Duck Salad with crispy duck pastilles, pink grapefruit, fennel and Cointreau jelly (€9). This was a lovely salad with tangy fresh meat to balance the rich meat.

Corned Swiss Eye of Martin Callaghan's Beef

Smoked Duck Salad

Main courses were

• Roast loin of suckling pig, rilette of the leg, potato terrine, Peter Callaghan's black pudding, crispy bacon with apple & pear cider puree (€26). This was attractively presented on a wooden chopping board witha little jug of the gravy on the side. All the meat components were well cooked and tasty, but the gravy was a bit of a let-down.
• Baked fillet of Atlantic hake with saffron creamed leeks and salsify, pommes puree, Annagassan crab saald and tempura courgette flower (€22). This was a substantial piece of fish, served atop the potatoe. The saffron sauce was delicious, working well with the fish and crab (which was stuffed inside the tempura courgette flower).

Roast Loin of Suckling Pig

Baked Fillet of Atlantic Hake

After this great dinner, it was time to turn in for the night. Even the short walk back to our cost cottage was magical, bathed in the summer twilight. Rolling into our super comfortable bed, I wished that I didn't have to ever leave. Something about Tankardstown causes you to wish to escape from everyday life, and simply spend each day wandering about their grounds, or relaxing in the comforts of your own cottage. 

Although an often misued cliche, Tankardstown really does represent a oasis of calm and an escape from the modern rat race. It's full of modern conveniences and luxury (Molton Brown goodies in the bathrooms with Wi-Fi in the Courtyard), but it all fits together in the periodic charm that seeps from every stone. Simply put, I'm already wondering when I can fit in another visit. 

Tankardstown House, Slane, Co. Meath.

Tel: (041) 982 4621

Twitter: @Tankardstown

Common Ground: A G.H. Mumm Exhibition​, Twisting Convention​s in Fashion & Architectu​re

An invitation to an intriguing photography exhibition recently crossed my desk from Conway Communications. Common Ground was commissioned by champagne company G.H. Mumm, it is described as a "visually impactful exhibition which twists conventions and brings to light the parallels between fashion and architecture".

Twist Convention is the fusion of work from Irish stylist Aisling Farinella and photographer Rich Gilligan and it will run between July 13th and 19th at 28 South William Street, Dublin 2.

Now it must be said that I like fashion, and photography is one of my hobbies, so this definitely sounds like a date for my diary. Personally, I can take or leave architecture (Frank Gehry aside), but hey, 2 out of 3 ain't bad.