Falafel Burgers and Flatbreads

For the last couple of weeks I have been craving something different for lunch, something a bit spicy, hot and light and these Falafel Burgers, based on a recipe I found on the BBC Good Food website, turned out to be just what I was looking for.  They are very simple to make and make a great lunch when wrapped in some homemade flatbread with some crunchy lettuce and natural yoghurt (perhaps flavoured with some chopped mint) or mayo.  I used a flatbread recipe from River Cottage Everyday and one thing I discovered is that if you keep leftover dough in the fridge overnight it makes a softer, chewier flatbread the next day and makes excellent mop-ups for curry.  [Read more…]

Roma Pizza & Pasta Flour

Thanks to the brilliant Damien Mulley and very generous Adam in Roma Foods, myself and a number of other bloggers were recently sent a lovely parcel containing two Roma products: Pizza & Pasta Flour – Farina Tipo 00 and a lovely Limited Edition tin containing dried Penne.

I was delighted to get my hands on the flour in particular as I have found it rather difficult to find Farina Tipo 00 in many shops here, including my favorite shop in Westport, Market 57, that carries all types of lovely specialist Italian produce but sadly no Tipo 00 flour.

Farina Tipo 00 is a highly refined and very soft flour ideal for pasta and pizza making.  It is also now commonly found in many bread recipes so I am delighted that a well known brand is now making this flour readily available here in Ireland (I understand it will be stocked in Dunnes and Superquinn). [Read more…]

Garlic Dough Balls

These deliciously fresh, soft garlicky dough balls are a great alternative to garlic bread. I generally make them with left over pizza dough (about half the quantity in the recipe) but they are so nice that I do often make fresh dough for them.  You can safely store pizza dough in a freezer bag in the fridge for 2 to 3 days.  [Read more…]

Brown Soda Bread

Brown soda is probably my favorite bread – it is so rustic and simple.  There is no kneading or proving so you can get a loaf ready for the oven in just a few minutes.  I love to eat soda bread with a hot bowl of soup or topped with a slice of crumbly vintage cheddar.   This recipe is based on one I found in Tamasin Day Lewis’ beautiful book West of Ireland Summers, which was sadly out of print the last time I checked. [Read more…]