Chickpea and artichoke paella - and Pinterest, again

Thank you for all your comments about the Pinterest issue!
Jeanette left me a comment with this link and after following Tresa’s instructions I believe the problem is now solved – would you please tell me if the pinning is working?

I like seafood but can’t eat if very often (let’s say my body and seafood don’t see eye to eye) therefore I had never made a paella in my entire life; the minute I saw Donna Hay’s chickpea and artichoke paella I knew I had to try it – no seafood involved and I had all the ingredients in my pantry/fridge, including some really good homemade tomato sauce. The paella tasted great and was really easy and quick to put together – now I’m ready to try other vegetarian versions of this dish, and I know exactly where to go for the recipes.

Chickpea and artichoke paella
slightly adapted from the always beautiful and delicious Donna Hay Magazine

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
300g arborio rice
1 x 400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
¼ cup (60ml) white wine
1 1/3 cups tomato sauce
2 ½ cups (600ml) chicken or vegetable stock
300g store bought marinated artichoke hearts, drained and halved
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
handful of basil leaves

Heat the oil in a 4-liter capacity frying pan over high heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the rice and chickpeas and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the wine and cook until absorbed. Stir through the tomato sauce and the stock, season with black pepper and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes without stirring. Remove the paella from the heat, top with the artichoke, cover with foil and set aside to rest for 15-18 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. Top with the lemon zest and basil and serve.

Serves 4

Buffalo mozzarella, artichoke and lemon pizza - a great idea for the weekend

Mark Bittman is trying to convince people to make pizza at home and his argument is that not only is it budget-friendly but the pizza also tastes better – I have got to agree with the guy. :)
The last time I ordered pizza at my house was nearly 7 years ago and so far we haven’t missed it – actually, to be honest, the pizzas we ate at other people’s homes (because I am the only “crazy person” who makes them at home) cost a lot and/or weren’t all that in terms of flavor.

Here’s my pizza, if you’re interested in becoming a “crazy person” like me; I used to make Richard Bertinet's pizza dough (which is amazing) but since I am always pressed for time I’ve switched to Donna Hay's recipe: it is much faster and equally delicious.

Buffalo mozzarella, artichoke and lemon pizza
adapted from the wonderful Modern Classics (Book 1) and from the always delicious Donna Hay Magazine

Pizza dough:
1 teaspoon dried yeast
pinch of sugar
2/3 cup (160ml) lukewarm water
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 ¾ cups + ½ tablespoon (250g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon table salt

Topping:
1/3 cup tomato sauce (more if you like it)
200g buffalo mozzarella, coarsely grated
6-8 store-bought marinated artichoke hearts, drained and halved lengthwise
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
fresh basil leaves

Place the yeast and sugar in a medium bowl. Add the water and mix with a fork. Let stand for 2-3 minutes or until foamy. Add the olive oil, flour and salt and mix to combine. Transfer to a clean surface (no need to flour it) and knead until smooth and elastic – sprinkle with a little flour if necessary. Form dough into a ball. Lightly oil the same bowl and place the dough in it. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for 45-60 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 250°C/480°F. With your hands, shape the dough into a rough circle and transfer to a large baking sheet*. Spread with the tomato sauce and cover with the mozzarella. Arrange the artichoke halves on top of the cheese, sprinkle with the lemon zest and bake until golden, 20-25 minutes. Sprinkle with the basil leaves and serve.

* I place the baking sheet in the oven for a good while before baking the pizza; then, I place the dough onto it when it’s really hot, spread the sauce and topping over it very quickly and put it back in the oven – it works really well (since I do not have a pizza stone) and the crust doesn’t get soggy

Serves 4 (at my house it serves 2). :)

Artichoke and lemon linguine and I've won a book!

Food bloggers are the best, aren’t they?

The talented Allen had his first book giveaway and I won! Yay!!
He’s sending me this amazing book, which comes with a DVD. I can’t wait to start making recipes from it!
Thank you, Allen!

I once tried a no-carb diet. Needless to say, it was a huge failure. I avoided rice and potato and bravely resisted cakes and cookies. But there are two things I can’t live without: bread and pasta.
Even those who are not that crazy about pasta will admit that, if you need a quick meal, that is the way to go. And to make it even faster, sometimes you don’t even need to cook the sauce.

If you decide to give this fabulous recipe a try, I promise you that dinner will be on the table in 10 minutes. Maybe 12, if you grill some bread with olive oil and serve along. :)

Recipe found on Fernanda’s beautiful blog – she used coriander in her pasta, but I did not have any around and went for parsley instead.



This will be my entry for the Weekend Herb Blogging, this time hosted by Jai and Bee, from Jugalbandi.

Artichoke and lemon linguine

200g linguine
8 canned artichoke hearts – rapidly rinse them to remove any excess brine
juice and grated zest of 1 lemon
1 large handful of parsley
fleur de sel
freshly ground black pepper
4-5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
grated parmesan, to serve

Cook the linguine in a large saucepan of salted boiling water until al dente; drain and set aside.While the pasta cooks, make the sauce: place the artichoke hearts, lemon zest and juice, parsley, fleur de sel, pepper and olive oil in a food processor and process until you get a smooth mixture. Stir the sauce through the pasta, top with the parmesan and serve at once.

Serves 2