A world of food - on a pizza

Using pizza as the focus of World Food Week

World Food Week is on 25th June to 1st of July. It was originated to inspire us to expand our food journeys, trying cuisines and cultures from around the world. 

We're going to use the pizza as our hub for foodie fun. 

The pizza base will reflect  the world and the toppings interpret some of its amazing flavours.

We have been having a go at making our own pizza dough. It's definitely a case of trial and error - and quite a lot of the latter. 

Click here or on the image of this stunning, classic pizza and enjoy the video lesson. If you find you really get into making your own pizzas, then a pizza stone if well worth having. Google and you'll have one tomorrow.

However, if you find the prospect all fuss and no fun ... off to the supermarket with you for a ready made stoneground pizza base - I know I am.

Pizza perfection

Basic Pizza Dough

You'll need:

• 7 g of dried yeast, one sachet
• 25 ml of olive oil
• 1 tsp of caster sugar
• 250 ml of warm water
• 500 g of strong white flour
• 1 tsp of salt

Here's how:

Mix the  yeast and sugar in a small bowl then add the warm water and oil. Set it aside until the yeast is activated - you'll see it change consistency.

In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt and make a well in the middle. Pour the water / yeast mixture into this well and work the flour into it with a wooden spoon. The dough will start to form when the mixture comes together.

Finish working it in the bowl by hand then move it onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough for at least 10 minutes or so, working it away from you with the heel of your hand, folding it back in on itself, then pushing down and away again.

When it has a smooth elastic feel to it, stop, divide the dough into three, form each into a ball, place them in something like a casserole dish and cover with a damp towel. Leave them in a warm place until they double in size - about a hour will do the trick.

Now you need to 'knock back' the dough by kneading it a couple of times. Flatten the dough with your hands on a floured surface and work it out with your fingers to shape it - as in the video. Each should work out to about half a centimetre thick, slightly raised around the edge and 12 to 15 inches across.

...or just go to the supermarket as we said earlier !

Top toppings

Homemade Tomato Paste

You'll need:

• 10 cherry vine tomatoes, halved
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 stick of celery, finely sliced
• 2 tbsp of green olives, pitted and chopped
• 1 tbsp of grated Parmesan cheese
• 4 or 5 leaves of basil
• 1 beef stock bouillon
• 4 tbsp of Stokes Tomato Ketchup
• 1 tbsp of Stokes Chipotle Ketchup
• 1 tbsp of Stokes Dijon Mustard

Here's how:

In a deep narrow pan, melt some butter and a drop of olive oil. Add and fry the tomatoes, pepper, onion and celery. Stir the combination round for 5 or 6 minutes.

Add the olives, cheese, basil and bouillon, stir then blitz to a thick paste with a hand blended. Add the ketchup and mustard and blitz again then season to taste.

If the mixture is too thick, add some boiling water and blitz to the right consistency. If it's too thin, tear some bread adding and blitzing it until you're happy with the paste.

Add the flavours of the world

If you want to give your pizza north African flavours, add 1 tsp of Ras el Hanout to the mixture. Use vegetables roasted in honey and harissa paste as the topping with a scattering of mint leave before baking the pizza.

Take it to India with curry powder and chickpeas in the paste instead of Parmesan.

Make it hotter still with cayenne pepper in the paste. Top the pizza with paneer cheese, sliced pepper, onion and chicken tikka.

Try it hot and smokey adding Stokes Hot & Spicy BBQ Sauce instead of the chipotle ketchup and smoked German sausage sliced on top.

Journey south to the Bahamas with jerk rub in the paste and rum soaked pineapple on top to accompany spare rib meat basted with Stokes Original BBQ Sauce before grilling then stripping from the bone.

And Mayonnaise to Dip

Mayonnaise is often described as 'the ultimate condiment', working deliciously with just about anything - especially the sometimes complicated and always varied tastes and colours of a pizza. What then could possibly be better than Stokes Real Mayonnaise - Stokes Real Mayonnaise with additions such as these, of course.

 To 4 tbsp of Stokes Real Mayonnaise add... :

Cajun Mayo: 2 tsp of finely chopped onions, 2 tsp of finely chopped parsley, 1 tsp of Stokes Sticky Pickle, 1 tsp of chopped capers, 1 tsp of Stokes Dijon Mustard, 1/2 tsp of Tabasco.

Harissa Mayo: 1 tbsp of harissa paste, 2 cloves of finely grated garlic, 1 tsp of rose water.

Wasabi Mayo: 1 tbsp of wasabi paste and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Parmesan Mayo: 2 tbsp of finely grated Parmesan cheese and a few twists of black pepper.

Curry Mayo: 2 tsp of medium curry powder, 1/2 tsp of ground cumin, a pinch of Cayenne pepper and a squeeze of lime juice.

More foodie thoughts for the week:







Tasty BBQ kebab recipes - great food on a skewer here.






 



BBQ side dishes - colourful food for sharing here.












Sharing Suffolk Day - with prizes for your comments here.

If good food makes you happy
...adding Stokes will make you smile ;)

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150

Suffolk Day - 21st June. Sharing the joys of Suffolk

A celebration of Suffolk

Suffolk is a natural centre for real food, real ingredients and real foodies enjoying the results.

Stokes Sauces is naturally at home here - there's something in the air, something in the soil and something in the heart. 

This will be a day to celebrate all the wonderful things Suffolk is known for: beautiful landscapes; a vibrant arts scene; world-class cultural heritage; a growing reputation as 'The Foodie County' and all the delicious local produce and talent that entails.

The top 50 things to see and do in Suffolk can be found here.

Sharing Suffolk 
on Facebook & Twitter 

Winning by loving

We're giving it a big 'shout out' on social media and if you tell us why you love Suffolk (here), we'll send you something delicious in the post. It's #SuffolkDay all the way.

  

You might be going to enjoy Fish & Chips on the beach in Aldeburgh. Its fantastic fresh fish and served with Stokes Sauces - naturally.

Or how about lunch on the water's edge at the Maybush Inn. The setting is divine and you will be served Stokes Tomato Ketchup with your chips - hooray! 

Perhaps you will indulge in a bit of specialist shopping at Snape Malting whose boutiques are fabulous, even if all you want to do is browse. One of the other great things about Snape is you can stock up on Stokes there too.

Add the county town of Ipswich to your list of places to visit and stay. There is so much to see and do with many great foodie ports of call, many near the marina (no pun intended). You may be one to wander along the waterfront and marina, admiring the boats over a glass of wine or two. The local East Anglia Daily Times often has a thing or two to say about Stokes, commenting particularly on the breakfast slider below.

And we can't leave our shout out to Suffolk without reflecting again of our winning the Suffolk Food & Drinks Award, Pride of Suffolk. 

We really are Suffolk folk, and proud of it.

More foodie thoughts for the week:







Tasty BBQ kebab recipes - great food on a skewer here.






 





BBQ side dishes - colourful food for sharing here.










Celebrating a world of great food and taste  here.

If good food makes you happy
...adding Stokes will make you smile ;)

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150

Fathers and BBQs go together - Happy Father's Day

Happy Father'Q Day

If you are not being taken out for lunch on Sunday or being treated to breakfast in bed, then treat yourself to a BBQ this Father's Day.

Do you know the secret to a professional BBQ criss cross? We'll share it with you as a Father's Day treat so you can show off your new skills this weekend.

To achieve cross-hatch grill-lines, sear the meat lengthwise to the grill-bars. Remove it and quickly wipe the grill bars with oil and repeat process at right-angles.

Once both sides are seared return to normal cooking.

Let's grill

Spicy Lamb Skewers

You'll need:

• 900 g leg of lamb, boned and cut to 2 cm cubes
• 85 g of yogurt
• 1 tbsp of grated ginger
• 3 cloves of garlic, grated
• 2 tbsp of Stokes Chilli Jam
• 2 tbsp of Stokes Chipotle Ketchup
• 2 tsp of red wine vinegar

Here's how:

Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a bowl and season, then add the cubed lamb and cover it well.

Seal the bowl with cling film and marinate the meat overnight in the fridge. Soak wooden skewers in water.

Thread the meat onto the skewers, about 4 or 5 on each.

Oil the grill and cook the lamb for about 15 minutes turning regularly.  

Ginger & Honey Chicken Wings

You'll need:

• 20 chicken wings
• 5 tbsp of runny honey
• 3 tbsp of Stokes Hot & Spicy BBQ Sauce
• 1 tbsp of grated ginger
• 4 spring onions, finely sliced

Here's how:

Put the honey, spring onions, BBQ sauce and ginger in a bowl and mix well, then spoon it all into a sealable plastic food bag.

Add the chicken wings, coating well with the marinade before sealing the bag and leaving it for as long as you can, ideally overnight.

Cook the wings for 15 to 20 minutes until the meat juices run clear.

Leg of Lamb BBQ

This is a sensational star of the BBQ. Once it is cooked and carved at the table it's bound to bring a smile to everybody's face and put a feather in your cap.

You'll need:

• 1 kg of lamb, boned and butterflied
• 4 cloves of garlic, grated 
• 3 tbsp of olive oil
• 5 tbsp of Stokes Original BBQ Sauce
• 2 tbsp of Stokes Dijon Mustard

Here's how:

Mix the garlic, oil, BBQ sauce and mustard in a bowl. Add your lamb to the bowl and massage it with the marinade, covering it well.

Season, seal the bowl and marinate the lamb, ideally overnight. Bring the lamb back to room temperature while the BBQ is heating up.

When ready, place the lamb on the hottest part of the grill  for 5 or 6 minutes to colour, then turn it over to colour the other side.

If you can move it to a gentler heat then do so, otherwise keep cooking and turning it, basting with the marinade. 20 minutes should leave it pink in the middle and deliciously seared outside.

Whisky Steak

You'll need:

• 150 ml of rapeseed oil
• 3 tbsp of whisky 
• 3 tbsp of Stokes Chipotle Ketchup
• 2 spring onions, very finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, grated
• 1 tsp of crushed fennel seeds
• 1 tsp of crushed caraway seeds
• 4 steaks

Here's how:

Put all of the marinade items in a sealable food bag and combine them well. Then add the steaks, cover them in the marinade, seal the bag and marinate for at least an hour.

Cook the steaks with your new skills to get the perfect criss cross searing. 5 or 6 minutes should be long enough, depending on their size.

Special offer

This tasty bundle of Stokes BBQ Sauces tick all the boxes when it comes to making BBQs taste better. Click here (or the image above) and save 5% OFF the bundle - and receive a free gift as well.



More foodie thoughts for the week:







Savoury sides and the Boston bean party here.







 


National Picnic Week - savoury sensations to go here.










Facebook fun, competitions and awards  here.

If good food makes you happy
...adding Stokes will make you smile ;)

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150

BBQ Salads & Sides

Sides to make you smile

If you look to America for inspiration on BBQ side dishes, you will invariably be faced with ... Boston Baked Beans.

Oh yes - they absolutely love the dark slow-cooked sweet beans with their BBQ'd steak. So we thought we'd have a go at creating such a feast ourselves.  

Boston Baked Beans are a candy industry name for sugar coated peanuts that have been dyed red to match the colour of, you guessed it, baked beans. 

The dish is so widely associated with the town of Boston that it became known as 'beantown'.

More of Rendlesham Hall Baked Beans later.


Smiling BBQ Sides

Caribbean Rice Salad

This adds a colourful fresh dimension to an otherwise altogether charred meat affair. 

You'll need:

•  4 skinless chicken breasts
• 4 tbsp of Stokes Sweet & Sticky BBQ Sauce
• 2 tsp of jerk spice
• 1 x 260 g tin of sweetcorn, drained
• 1 x 160 ml tin of coconut milk
• 250 g of cooked rice
• 1 mango, flesh only, diced
• 1 small red pepper, diced
• 1 x 400 g tin of 5 bean salad
•  4 spring onions, finely chopped
• Loads of chopped coriander
• The juice of 1 lime

Here's how:

Mix the BBQ sauce, coconut milk and jerk spice in a large bowl. Cut the chicken breasts in half and add them to the marinade and leave them for at least an hour but ideally overnight.

When ready, pop the chicken in the oven to cook though. In a large bowl, combine all of the remaining ingredients.

Cut the cooked chicken into small pieces, reserving their cooking juices. Add the lime juice to the cooking juices and combine it into the salad with the chicken. 

Marinated Tomato Salad

This is a very simple way of making a mixed salad taste sensational. The little bursts of additional flavour work so well with BBQ'd meats and fish. 

It's simple, tasty and very popular.

Here's how:

It's basically a salad of sliced red onion, red pepper marinated tomatoes, pickled cucumber, green leaves, pitted olives and crumbled feta cheese.

Slice the tomatoes and put them in a bowl with a good coating of Stokes Olive & Balsamic Dressing and the same amout of olive oil. Season and leave them to rest at room temperature for at least half an hour.

Slice the cucumber and pickle in white wine vinegar (60 ml)  and sugar (50 g) for 15 minutes. Drain the tomatoes and cucumber and build your salad.

Use the tomato marinade as a dressing.

Rendlesham (Boston) Baked Beans

What a Father's Day treat this would be. Here we have our version of the long, slow cooked beans and a faster ten minute version. Believe us though - slow is best.

You'll need:

• 500 g of dried haricot beans
• 400 g of belly pork
• 50 g of brown sugar
• 2 tbsp of black treacle
• 2 tbsp of Stokes Sweet & Sticky BBQ Sauce
• 1 tbsp of Stokes Classic English Mustard
• 6 small shallots

Here's how:

Soak the beans overnight. Pre-heat the oven to 140°C/gas mark 1.

Put the beans in an ovenproof pan then add water to just cover them. Simmer them, lid on, for an hour then set aside.

Cut the belly pork into bite size chunks and add them to the beans with the sugar, treacle, BBQ sauce, onions and mustard. Mix well and add a little hot water to re-cover the beans if necessary.

Lid on and into the oven for 3 hours. Take the pot out of the oven, stir the contents and put it back, lid off for a further hour.

It's worth the effort to become a new beantowner.

For the quick version use 2 tins of haricot beans (drained) and bacon rather than belly pork. Fry the bacon and onions then add the beans and sauce ingredients. You may need to add water to create the right consistency. Simmer, season and serve.



Special offer

This tasty bundle of Stokes BBQ Sauces tick all the boxes when it comes to making BBQs taste better. Click here (or the image above) and save 5% OFF the bundle - and receive a free gift as well.



More foodie thoughts for the week:







BBQs and Father's Day - a match made in heaven here.







 


National Picnic Week - savoury sensations to go here.











Facebook fun, competitions and awards  here.

If good food makes you happy
...adding Stokes will make you smile ;)

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150