At university, I ate the same thing for lunch at the same time every day. I would skip lectures if it was likely that they would interfere with my schedule. Whilst there was a certain amount of crazy in my behaviour at the time, the fact still remains that I like some structure in my eating habits.
And yes, I am aware that I probably could not be a more stereotypical accountant at times.
One trend that I find it difficult to embrace is breakfast-for-dinner or "brinner". Quite apart from it being such an ugly word in itself, there are breakfast foods and there are dinner foods and there is very little overlap between these two groups in my mind.
Similarly, I've never really got my head around the concept of eating leftovers for lunch, quite apart from the fact that we are possessed of appetites that make leftovers a somewhat foreign concept. It seems so indulgent. At lunch time, you eat sandwiches. Maybe a bowl of soup if it's a little chilly. Salads are also an appropriate choice.
There is one food, however, that defies categorisation for me - pizza. I will happily eat pizza for any meal and, to be honest, I think there are few finer breakfasts than a slice of cold pizza.
I took the mascarpone that I made last week and decided to throw it on a whole wheat pizza base and see where it led me. It led me to the the combination of mascarpone and pear; this pizza is creamy and rich from the cheese but with a juicy sweetness from the pear. A scattering of fresh mint brings some bright freshness.
You can go sweet with a drizzle of honey and some flaked almonds and eat a slice for dessert (or breakfast).
You can go savoury with some prosciutto and maybe a touch of balsamic vinegar and eat if for lunch, as I did, or for a light Autumnal supper.
Either way, you can't really go wrong.
Note: This quantity of dough will yield twice what you need. I always find it's easier, however, to make a full batch and not fiddle around with half-sachets of yeast. I tend to wrap the leftover dough in cling film, place it in a bag and pop it in the freezer for later use. As you will see, it uses a mixture of white and whole meal bread flour. I find that 100% whole grain crusts can be far too dense but I am open to new recipes if you've got a good one.
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Pear and mascarpone pizza Yield: Serves 2 as a main course, more as nibbles/dessert
Ingredients
For the pizza dough:
- 1 sachet (7g) dried yeast
- 250ml - 500ml (1 - 2 cups) warm water
- 225g (2 cups) white bread flour
- 275 (2 1/2 cups) whole wheat bread flour
- 4 - 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 200g (1 cup) mascarpone
- 1 large pear
- Fresh mint, honey, flaked almonds, prosciutto, balsamic vinegar to serve
Cooking Directions
- To make the dough, dissolve the yeast in a a cup of warm water and leave to rest for 5 minutes.
- If kneading by hand, put the flours, oil and salt in a large bowl. Add the yeast and extra water if necessary to bring together the ingredients into a bowl. Turn onto a floured surface and knead for 5 - 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.
- If making the dough in a mixer, put all the ingredients in the bowl of your mixer. Use the dough hook on a low speed (I used '2') to mix your ingredients until you have a dough that starts creeping up the hook and is smooth. You may need to add another cup of warm water if the dough looks a bit dry.
- Place the dough in a well-oiled bowl, cover and stand in a warm place until doubled in size (this took about an hour).
- Preheat the oven to 220C/425F, place a baking tray or a pizza stone in the oven to heat up. Slice the pears fairly thin but not too thin; you don't want them to crisp up too much.
- When the dough has risen, take it out the bowl and divide it into two. Reserve one half for later use (or freeze). Shape the remaining dough into a circle or rectangle and place it on the hot baking tray. Cover it with a healthy spread of mascarpone and arrange the pears on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the dough is cooked and the pears are browned.
- Remove from the oven and scatter with fresh mint, a drizzle of honey and flaked almonds if you're going sweet or some prosciutto and balsamic vinegar if you fancy something savoury.