I’ve mentioned at length how the prospect of a slimy sandwich at lunchtime fills me with despair. So any opportunity to have something a little different just lifts my day. Flush with fruity black olives from the lovely people at Taste of Spain, and a wealth of tinned tomatoes from Cirio, I rustled up a calzone.
I made the dough a little thick, and so it was very filling! The olives were sweet and had definite wine-like flavours that were complex and interesting. For the tomatoes I used Cirio Pizzassimo, which might be my new favourite thing-that-comes-in-a-tin. It’s a pizza-style tomato sauce, but thick and herby. I tried it cold out of the tin and was amazed at how delicious it was. And hot it was even better! This is definitely going to become a regular in my store cupboard for quick pasta sauces, pizza toppings and ragus.
Tomato and black olive calzone (makes 2):
325g plain flour
7g salt
½ teaspoon sugar
7g sachet yeast
About 250ml tepid water
4 tablespoons olive oil
8 Spanish black olives, halved
½ tin Cirio Pizzassimo sauce
Large handful of grated Cheddar
Combine the flour, salt, sugar and yeast and gradually add the water until you get a soft dough. Knead for 10 minutes, cover with olive oil and leave in a warm place to rise for about an hour.
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Knock back the dough and divide into two. Shape and roll into two rounds and flatten out. Cover half of each base with tomato sauce, dot with olives and a sprinkle of cheese. Fold over and wrap – I don’t know the proper way to seal a calzone so I use a Cornish pasty crimped style. Back for 30 – 35 mins until golden and cooked through.
Only the night before I’d watched talented, charismatic and effortlessly handsome chef Omar Allibhoy throw together one of his childhood favourites: Spanish omelette. Just eggs, onions and potatoes required, but his version contained chorizo and olives. Myself and a host of other foodie people were attending an event laid on in celebration of Olives from Spain. We’d gathered at The Lounge in Balham to enjoy some great food and try olives in a three course meal. I’d quickly found a corner with two bloggers I’d not had the pleasure of meeting before, affable Ally from Dinneraholic and the splendidly-named Gary from London Foodaholic. We downed Tio Pepe whilst enjoying some fine tapas, which was followed by the omelette demonstration. We then settled down to a sardine salad with olives, sea bass with olives, chicken with olives, chocolate-olive truffles… all of it was so good. Look at my happy face!
It was clear from Omar’s presentation that beyond a PR event he truly loved olives and they’ve always been part of his life. I had to smile when he said to try them on small children so they develop the taste early on: my 2 year old girl adores them, nibbling round the stones; and my son has a legendary appetite for them, even receiving jars of them as Christmas presents. It can honestly be said olives are a big favourite in our house.
Note Omar’s perfect tortilla at the front
I managed to snaffle a piece of Omar’s omelette. It tasted amazing. It was still a touch runny in the centre – perhaps “moist” is a better word. I’d always had them thoroughly cooked and struggled to achieve the right results. His way – taught to him by Ferran Adria – was to not bother the eggs at all, and cook them gently. I had to try cooking it myself, so that was dinner sorted for the very next day. I had some leftover roast pork belly from the weekend so with a little paprika seasoning that substituted for the chorizo. So far, so good.
It was all going really well, until it came to flipping time. I’ve been using the same non-stick frying pan for the past 5 years, and I probably cook with it at least twice a week. But tonight, when I need the non-stickiness more than ever so I can flip it over, it gave up. It just wouldn’t turn out.
my poor destroyed, beloved 30cm non-stick frying pan
If you browse round this site you may well see the frying pan holding many of my dinners. It’s had to go. I will miss that pan.
How could I rescue dinner then? Lee had specifically asked about putting it under the grill, which Omar flatly rebutted. Flipping was the way to go. But flipping was out, so it had to go under the grill. And then getting it out of the pan was a scraping affair. Hence the raggedy mess in the lead photo. That aside, it tasted great. Tender potatoes, sweet onions, oozy eggs… and of course sweet, salty olives. If only I could’ve cooked it the way I meant to. See you on the other side of a new pan, I guess.
Based on a recipe by Omar Allibhoy. His version can be seen here. Thanks to Storm Comms for putting on a great night.
Tortilla de patatas (serves 4):
1 large onion, sliced
3 potatoes, peeled and sliced
200g cold roast pork belly
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cornflour
About 12 olives, halved
8 eggs
Get a pan really hot and add a splash of oil (olive oil, naturally). Add the onion and fry for a couple of minutes until starting to colour. Add the potatoes and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender.
Meanwhile, crack the eggs into a bowl. Crack the yolks but don’t bother stirring. Season and move on to the pork. Put the paprika and cornflour in a bowl and add a splash of water to make a thick paste. Add the pork and stir well to get it coated.
Tip the onion and potato mix in with the eggs, and add a little more oil to the pan. Fry off the pork for one minute and then add the olives. Tip the eggy-potato mix back into the pan, lower the heat and give it a little shake to distribute everything. After about 5 minutes, if you have a working non-stick pan, flip the tortilla over using a large plate and cook on the other side for another minute or two until set. Otherwise pop under a hot grill. Serve with a zingy balsamic salad.
Got veal leftovers? I do. This is a great potato pancake recipe that works with any cold meat, or even without!
I’ve tried making rosti before and never achieved decent results: soggy, or tasteless, or not quite cooked enough but this recipe from Alex Mackay is the business. I’ve cooked it twice now and it’s pleasingly consistent. It’s another recipe from Everybody Everyday. His version is with roast chicken but the excellent veal (from Farmer’s Choice) tastes just fine.
Veal potato pancake (serves 2):
700g floury potatoes
150g cooked veal, diced
8 sundried tomatoes, sliced
50g mozzarella, diced
20g cheddar, grated
2 spring onions, sliced
14 black olives, diced
40g butter
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Peel the potatoes and grate them into a tea towel. Gather up the tea towel and squeeze as much liquid as you can out of them. Season the potato really well.
Get a frying pan super-hot and add a little oil. Add half the potato into the pan and pack down with a fish slice. Combine the veal tomatoes, cheeses, onions and olives in a bowl and season. Layer this mixture on top of the potato, then add the remaining potato on top. Press it down and dot half the butter around the edge of the pancake. Fry for a couple of minutes until golden.
Using a plate flip the pancake over and slide the raw side back into the pan. Add the remaining butter around the edges and transfer to the over. Bake for 15 minutes or until the potato is cooked through. Serve with a fried egg and gravy.
OK, OK, so it’s not a focaccia. But the idea’s there. It’s actually a boule de campagne but serving the same purpose. Reminds me a lot of a muffuleta. (Obviously the sandwich in the pic is missing it’s lid). It’s a stunning feast from Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals.
I bloomin’ love sandwiches like this, every mouthful’s different. A deli in a bap! The remoulade is tangy and fun too, I’d recommend that alongside some barbecued meat on its own.
Jamie also served this with some mozzarella dressed with pesto and followed it with a grapefruit granita, but the two parts here are brill as they are.
Stuffed focaccia (serves 4):
For the focaccia:
1 large boule de campagne
450g jar of peppers
1 teaspoon capers, drained
Handful of sun-dried tomatoes
Handful mixed olives
A few cherry tomatoes, halved
3 or 4 cornichons
Small bunch of parsley
Half a lemon
Sprinkle of parmesan
For the remoulade:
600g celeriac
1 pear
Handful of parsley
1 teaspoon French mustard
1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Get your food processor out and whack in the coarse grater. Peel and quarter the celeriac, then pass this, the pear and the parsley through the grater (you may have to do it in stages if the bowl fills up). Mix together the mustards and vinegar with some extra virgin olive oil and pour this all over the grated veg. Taste for seasoning and leave to marry together while you make your sandwich.
Pop the bread in a low oven just to gently warm through and get a lovely crust while you prepare the filling. Pop all the ingredients on a large chopping board and run through the lot several times with your longest knife. Keep going until everything is roughly thumb-sized – any bigger and it lollops out of the bap while you’re eating. Squeeze over a lemon and pour over a little extra virgin olive oil, and spread the filling over your warmed loaf. Grate over some parmesan and serve with the remoulade.
