Focaccia bread

There really isn't anything better than homemade bread, don't you agree? However, and unfortunately, I am not really a talented bread baker. I don't know what tends to go wrong but there's always something that goes wrong, and I end up with a just good enough bread. I would want my bread to be perfect, but never.

The only bread I do seem to be successful at making, though, is focaccia bread. And it's not exactly rocket science making focaccia bread.

I haven't made any in a while though, but talking to my friend Titta, who was making her own bread, the other day got me inspired.

Focaccia bread
Makes 12 squares
Adapted from BBC Good Food

500 g plain flour
7 g fast action fry yeast
300 ml hand-warm water
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp runny honey

Topping of your choice.
I used sun-dried tomatoes, sprigs of Rosemary and a sprinkle of grated mozarella cheese

1. Mix the flower, yeast and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl or jug, pour in the water, the oil and the honey. Pour the liquid into the flour mix and and combine to make a soft dough.

2. Tip the dough onto a floured surface, and knead for a good 5 minutes until the dough no longer feels sticky. Add a little more flour if you need it. Stretch the dough to fit a Swiss roll tin.

3. Place the dough in the tin and sprinkle over your toppings. You might want to make little indentations on the dough to ensure that the filling won't fall off. Cover with a lightly oiled sheet of cling film and leave to rest in a warm place for 40 minutes.

4. Heat the oven to 200C. Remove the cling film and bake the bread for30 minutes. When golden brown and risen, remove from the oven, allow to cool for 10 minutes and then cut into 12 squares.

Enjoy!

Mushroom, mozarella and spinach ravioli

I have been wanting to make ravioli for ages but have never gotten around to it, until now that is. I set out for the store yesterday to buy myself some ingredients for the filling. I had in my mind decided on making a mushroom, spinach and mascarpone filling, but they didn't carry mascarpone at the supermarket. What kind of a country do I live in wherea decent supermarket doesn't carry mascarpone? The answer is Norway, also known as "FSC" or "friend-stealing-country" to some of us!

Well, I had to rethink and decided on putting some shredded mozarella in the filling instead. What a wonderful idea, and I am sure it would have been so tasty had I invested in some proper mozarella instead of relying on the pre-shredded stuff we bought at the supermarket the other week.

I was also a little worried the process of making the actual ravioli would be extremely time consuming, but all went well, it didn't take long at all. Maybe all that dumpling making finally paid off?!

Anyway, to make a long story short, the ravioli were good, but could have been so much tastier had I used the ingredients I first intended to use. Ah well, next time I'm making ravioli I'm going to have a go at making homemade mascarpone. Wish me good luck, I think I'll need it!

The filling

Ravioli. I made some different shapes, mostly because my
ravioli folding skills need some work.

Yum, the finished product!

Mushroom, mozarella and spinach ravioli
Serves 1-2

pasta dough for 1 person
5 smallish button mushrooms, thinly sliced
125 g baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, finely sliced
150-200 g mozarella (a little less than a ball)
salt and pepper

1. In a frying pan, melt some butter and add in the garlic and the spinach, allowing it to wilt. Remove and place on a plate to cool down.

2. Using the same pan, tip in the mushrooms and cook until most of the water has evaporated. Add in just a little butter and salt and pepper, stir. Remove and place on a plate to cool down.

3. Make the pasta dough while the vegetables cool down.

4. Using a pasta machine, roll the pasta dough to desired thickness.

5. Place the rolled dough on a clean and floured surface. Cut out squares.

6. Place the cooled vegetables in a mixing bowl, add the mozarella, stir to combine.

7. . Place 1 tsp of the filling in the centre of each pasta square.

8. Fold the square diagonally to create a triangle. Press down on the edges to ensure the filling doesn't leak out. Lift up the triangle and place it on your index finger with the base pointing towards the palm of your hand. Wrap the two corners that stick out around your finger to create a ring. Pull the ring off of your finger and place on a floured plate. Do this until you have no dough left.

9. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Tip in the ravioli and boil for 2-3 min or until the tortellini float up the surface.

10. Drain and serve with a drizzle of olive oil and a few shavings of parmesan cheese on top.

Italian pork chops

Yum, yum, yum! These pork chops are tasty! And so easy to make. There's no reason for you not to try this recipe at home.

Italian pork chops
Adapted from "alltommat.se"
Serves 4

4 pork chops
½ tbsp fresh sage, finely chopped
salt and pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
2 dl cooking cream
½ dl parmesan cheese

1. Dry off the pork chops on kitchen paper, season with salt, pepper and sage.

2. Heat olive oil and butter in a pan. Brown the pork chops for 1-2 minutes on each side.

3. Add the cooking cream to the pan, cover with a lid and braise for 5 minutes or until the pork chops are cooked all the way through.

4. Sprinkle the grated parmesan on top and serve the dish with oven-roasted potatoes and a simple salad.