Pumpkin Pizza

There are a number of ways to make pizza bases of course but i'm going to share here my Fave method. It's simple and easy. As there is no need to prove the dough it's a great way to whip up a quick meal for impromptu visitors or hungry teens!

Dough:
1/2cup  self-raising flour
1/2cup  plain flour
1/2cup  water
1tsp      yeast
1tsp      honey
pinch of salt

Topping:
1/2cup  Caramelised onion
100g     Roasted capsicum, sliced
200g     Roast pumpkin
100g     Feta
2tblspn  Basil pesto
1 handful of roquette

1. Combine all of the dough ingredients in your Saute pan and mix well until dough forms, press out the dough into edges using oiled fingers.
2. Arrange pumpkin, onion, capsicum and crumble feta in that order on top of the pizza base, leaving a 1cm edge on the pizza.
3. Place lid on pan with vents closed and cook on medium heat for 5 mins.
4. Turn the vents to open and lower heat to low-medium and cook for a further 20mins.
5. Remove pizza from pan using a silicone egg flip and garnish with roquette and basil pesto.

Basil pesto

• 1/4cup     pine nuts, toasted
• 1 1/2cups basil leaves
• 2small      garlic cloves, halved
• 3/4cup     parmesan, grated
• 5tbs         olive oil

Place the pine nuts, basil, garlic and parmesan in the bowl of a food processor and process until finely chopped. With the motor running, gradually add the oil in a thin steady stream until well combined.

Alternatively place all of the ingredients except the oil in a mortar & pestle and grind until well combined, gradually add the oil in a steady stream until thickened. 

Caramelised onion

1kg brown or red onion 1/4cup brown sugar 2tsp grenadine 1tblspn olive oil 1. Finely slice onions discarding outer skin and stem/roots etc 2. Saute onion over very low heat in a heavy based pot with oil. 3. When onions are clear or glassy add sugar and grenadine and cover loosely with a lid. 4. Allow mixture to become thick and 'jammy' very slowly. 5. Cool and use!

Roasted capsicum.

I have a few methods of roasting capsicum, i'll let you decide which one suits you best to use! Method one, Flame grilled/charred; Light a large gas hob/burner and place a large red capsicum, balanced on the pot holders, and char the skin, turning so as to not burn the capsicum through. Once the skin is pretty much charred place in either a plastic bag and tie it up and allow to cool or place in a stainless steel bowl then cover tightly with glad wrap. This helps the skin separate from the flesh. When cool, peel away what skin you can from the flesh rinsing after to remove any bitter charred skin left behind. Voila, slice & use as required. Method two, oven roasted; In an oven that has been preheated to 180deg place oiled red capsicum on a rack. Roast until skin is blackened, can be anywhere between 20mins to an hour, you do have to keep any eye on it! Finish off using the same skin removal technique as mentioned above in method one.. In my honest opinion my favored method is method one, only because it is quicker than method two, but if you have other things going in the oven then method two is just as easy.

Roast Pumpkin

1 Large Pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and chopped up into large chunks. Olive oil salt and pepper Preheat oven to 180degC Place Pumpkin in a large oven proof roasting dish (I use my TCT square roaster) Drizzle with oil and season well. Roast in the oven uncovered for 20mins, then cover the roasting dish with either it's own lid or with foil. Continue to roast for 30-45 mins until soft. *I use Grey or Jap pumpkins for most of my roasting ** I usually roast off a pumpkin once a fortnight for pizza toppings, pasta's, soups, fillings for ciabatta's and risotto's etc During the winter even more so!

Latte semi-freddo

30ml      Espresso (roughly one shot) cooled
20ml      Frangelico, Tia Maria or Kahlua (what ever you prefer)
4            Eggs, separated
100g      Brown sugar
300ml    Thickened cream
100g      Toblerone, chopped finely

1. Place coffee, liqueur, egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and mix until thickened. 
2. In another bowl whip the egg whites until stiff. Then in yet another bowl whip cream until it's stiffened, being careful not to over whip! 
3. Fold the cream into the coffee mixture then carefully fold in the egg whites. Follow with the toblerone, folding that through carefully too. 
4. Pour into a silcone loaf pan and cover with gladwrap then foil. 
5. Freeze, this may be kept for up to two months in the freezer. 

Serving suggestions:

If desired you could coat the sides of the loaf pan with melted dark chocolate then pour in the icecream for a bit of a chocolate indulgence. Otherwise you could top with dark chocolate shavings for serving as pictured.

Serves 6-8 

Crepes aux Poires Fondantes (pear crepes)

the ingredients French Crepe Batter: 2 cups plain flour pinch salt 4 eggs 1 1/2 cups milk 2 tbsp butter, melted Few drops of vanilla extract Cinnamon Pear Crepe Filling: 4 pears, peeled and sliced 2 cinnamon sticks 3/4 cup dry white wine 1 tbsp butter vanilla ice-cream to serve cinnamon powder/sugar to serve Serves: 6-8 adults Crepes- Sift flour and salt into silicone mixing bowl. Make a well and pour in the eggs. Stir well. Slowly pour in milk while stirring with silicone whisk. Keep gently whisking batter until small bubbles form on the surface. Stir in melted butter and vanilla extract. Heat 20 or 25 cm frypan over a medium heat for 2 - 3 mins. Using silicone pastry brush, spread a small amount of butter over the base of the frypan. Pour in 2 - 3 tbsp of batter and quickly move the pan around in a circular motion so the batter spreads evenly over the base of the pan, covering the whole surface. Allow to cook for approx 1 minute. Flip the crepe over with the silicone egg flip. Cook for a further 30 secs. Turn crepe out onto a plate. Repeat until all crepes are cooked (approx 15). Pears - Heat saute pan over medium heat for 2-3 mins. Saute pears in the white wine with cinnamon until most of the liquid has disappeared and the pears are cooked. Stir in butter. Place 1 crepe on a plate and cover half with the pear filling, then fold in half. Top with vanilla ice-cream and a little cinnamon powder/sugar. CHEF'S TIP  If you do let the crepe batter stand, you will need to add 1 tbsp of water or milk to the mixture before cooking. If the consistency is thicker than cream add a little more water or milk.