Euro-cheese: a 41-cheese pizza for Eurovision Wednesday, May 15 2019

 

As someone whose favourite pizza is 4-cheese, I’m all over SpareRoom’s 41-cheese pizza (yes, count them – FORTY-ONE), created in celebration of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. It features cheese from every participating country (full list at the bottom of this post) and I’m drooling at the inclusion of some of my favourite fromages: halloumi, feta, Parmesan, manchego, and of course, extra mature Cheddar.

The best part about this is that it’s FREE, ALL FREE. Yep.
Sadly you need to be in London if you want to go and get it: between 13h30 and 17h, and 18h and 22h, on Saturday (18th May) you can get a free pizza from Baz ‘n’ Fred’s, Flatiron Square, 64 Southwark Street, London SE1 1RU. I’d be queuing up early if I were you (or at least get on Deliveroo early – you can get it via the food delivery platform too) ; I reckon this will go flying out of the forno like hot…pizzas.

So why SpareRoom? Apparently pizza is the most popular choice of takeaway for flatsharers, with 45% choosing the Italian specialità. I suppose SpareRoom are envisaging that you might share this – though I personally wouldn’t be able to make any promises on that front for myself.

Luckily, for those of us not living in London, SpareRoom has kindly provided a recipe for us:  https://blog.spareroom.co.uk/how-to-make-your-own-super-cheesy-pizza/

And on that note…buon appetito!

FYI, the 41 cheeses included in the pizza are:

Albania	Kaçkavall style cheese
Armenia	Chechil Cheese Braid
Australia	Extra Mature Cheddar
Austria	Austrian Smoked Cheese
Azerbaijan	Kajmak Travnik
Belarus	Quark
Belgium	Pie d’Angloys
Croatia	Paski sir
Cyprus	Halloumi
Czech Republic	Korbaciky unsmoked
Denmark	Castello Danish Blue
Estonia	Andre style cheese
Finland	Leipäjuusto style cheese
France	Camembert
Georgia	Jaunpils Sulguni
Germany	Beechwood German Smoked
Greece	Epiros Greek Feta
Hungary	Randolder style cheese
Iceland	Skyr yoghurt
Ireland	Cashel Blue style cheese
Israel	Tal Haemek style cheese
Italy	Parmigiano Reggiano
Latvia	Talsu Ritulis Green
Lithuania	Luksiu Suris
North Macedonia	Kashkavel style cheese
Malta	Gbjena style cheese
Moldova	Rossiyskiy
Montenegro	Pljevaljski style cheese
Netherlands	Gouda
Norway	Jarlsberg
Poland	Mlekpol Krolewski Z Kolna
Portugal	Queijo Azeitao Quinta Do Anjo Dop Simões
Romania	Branza Burduf
Russia	Salt Smoked ‘braid’ Kosichka style cheese
Serbia	Bryndza
San Marino	Auricchio Mild Provolone
Slovenia	Trnic style cheese
Spain	Manchego
Sweden	Åseda Gräddost
Switzerland	Emmental
United Kingdom	Wensleydale

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All aboard the Pasta Express! Wednesday, Aug 3 2016

Yes, you read that right. PASTA Express. Pizza Express have branched out to bring you your favourite pizza toppings in pasta form:

All made from free range egg pasta, these delightful little parcels offer something for everyone, whether they love the American Hot (which, with its pepperoni and hot pepper, is truly HOT), or the cooler flavours of our favourite, the Pollo Ad Astra, which combines chicken and peppadew to create a sweet result.

Those with a hotter palate will perhaps be a little disappointed by the Sloppy Giuseppe, which lacks a little punch. However, there’s even something for your vegetarian friends thanks to the addition of the margherita tortellini to the range.

 

Pizza Express suggests serving these with their patented dough balls – but for a healthier option, we found that you could easily make one two-person pack serve three by eating it with a sumptuous side salad. But no matter what your chosen accompaniment is, the Pasta Express is ready to board and is heading straight for summer. Buon appetito!

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Al fresco with Ristorante Tuesday, Jul 26 2016

Ferret Food and Wines was kindly sent two FREE (count em! FREE!) pizzas by Ristorante’s PR – perfect for al fresco dining now that the weather has warmed up a shade. Whether you choose to eat them with your hands or a knife and fork, you can enjoy them under the sun, whether sat around a table on your classy decking, or casually stood up in the garden – even the kids could eat them with their hands while playing.

So firstly I tested the classic Mozzarella pizza: an acid test in anyone’s book. Nowhere to hide with this one! Happily the crust stays nice and crunchy, meaning it won’t cover your hands with melted cheese while you’re stood up admiring the garden’s flowers, and just in general makes for a nicer eating experience. However, the topping stays moist, making for a win-win situation (not to mention the fact that it takes a mere 10-12 minutes to cook). This combination also makes for a good thickness: not brittle, while not being overly doughy or chewy. This also adds to the sophistication factor. There’s plenty of flavour in this one too – not just thanks to the tomatoes, pesto (even if this could be more evenly distributed across the pizza) and mozzarella cheese, but also thanks to the extra (albeit nontraditional) Edam that’s also been sneaked in there.

Depth, variation or subtlety of flavour was arguably something that was lacking, though, in the brand’s new Calzone, even though it combines ham, salami, cheese, and tomato. The overriding flavour was the tomato sauce, which is comforting and present in decent quantities – but this is perhaps not evenly distributed throughout the calzone (which we divided into 3), with other diners reporting greater amounts of cheese. The salami also dominates over the ham, as it just generally has a stronger flavour. Again, however, the crust remained crunchy, offering pleasant contrast to the gooier filling, and the handy size means that you could forsake cutlery easily. It does take longer to cook though (more like 30-35 minutes) – so some patience is required!

However, despite these minor criticisms, at £1.66 each, they’re excellent value for money, offering texture, flavour, comfort, and sophistication – perfect for al fresco dining this summer.

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Food Book Review: Vegan Pizza (Julie Hasson) Thursday, Aug 22 2013

–The blurb–

“Vegan Pizza is filled with 50 modern recipes from easy-to-make pizza dough (including spelt, whole wheat, and gluten-free crusts), creamy dairy-free cheese sauces, vibrant-flavored pestos and spreads, and meatless and wheat-less burger crumbles. Also included are inventive toppings and pizzas that run the gamut from comfort food pizzas like Chili Mac Pizza, Barbeque Pizza and Eggplant Parmesan Pizza, to fresh vegetable-laden pizzas like Sweet Potato and Kale Pizza, Corn, Zucchini and Tomato Pizza and Asparagus, Tomato and Pesto Pizza. There is even a chapter dedicated to dessert pizzas too, from Babka Pizza, to Berry Pie Pizza and Coconut Caramel Dream Pizza. With helpful information and tips on equipment and techniques, Vegan Pizza shares the secrets to fabulous, easy-to-make, dairy-free, meat-free thin-crust artisan pizza that tastes like it came from your neighborhood pizzeria. Now home cooks everywhere can get baking and make fabulous vegan pizzas in their own kitchens.”

–The review–

As a mostly vegetarian consumer of food, pizza can be a tricky minefield to navigate. Sure, there’s the ever-classic margherita or quattro formaggi. Pizza bianca is another good option, dealing with mozzarella and ricotta. However, these are all quite heavy on the cheese and many cookbooks aren’t that imaginative when it comes to vegetarian pizza options. In her latest recipe book, due out on September 3rd 2013, Julie Hasson takes on the arguably even bigger challenge of vegan pizza. Not only does she have to find a range of tasty toppings that don’t rely so much on cheese, but she also has to make a convincing base. So does she manage it?

First, the toppings. One good way around the cheese (apart from vegan cheese, of course, which you can’t get in France) is to mix things up by using vegan pesto as a base (if you’re making your own pesto at home, this shouldn’t be too tricky to achieve). Thankfully, tomato bases also still feature strongly. However, anyone seeking a book based purely on vegetables will be disappointed: Hasson devotes a whole chapter to the creation and use of meat substitutes (mostly using TVP or soy as a base). Conversely, by addressing the ‘vegan cheese’ element, she passes on actual recipes, not just a list of vegan products to buy – for instance, she creates a creamy “cheese” sauce using tofu and soy milk as a base. Flavourings such as liquid smoke and tahini are also used to help conjure up varied and tasty sauces. Following this, she gets to the classics – but sadly, they all rely on vegan mozzarella-style cheese and some of them use vegan meat substitutes as well. This is definitely aimed at Americans – there’s no way you’d be able to find this stuff in France, even at health food stores (and even if you could, it would be very expensive).

Much more promising is the “farmer’s market pizza” chapter, which offers up multiple mouthwatering options, including asparagus and pesto, corn and courgette, broccoli and sundried tomato, pineapple and jalapeno, and wild mushroom and potato. However, only the sweet potato and kale pizza, and the tomato, cucumber and caper pizza, don’t rely on processed ‘vegan’ cheese, which again is a little bit limiting. The ‘not the usual suspects’ chapter suffers from the same problems as previously, thanks to an overreliance on meat and cheese substitutes. The most promising recipe here is the muffuletta pizza, which uses a tomato, chilli and garlic base and toppings of olives, capers, pickled vegetables, and fresh herbs. The global chapter is more complex than previous chapters in terms of both sheer number and variety of ingredients, meaning that whenever the dreaded ‘vegan mozzarella’ is mentioned, it can be left out. The Bibimbap pizza, inspired by the Korean rice dish, sounds excellent: who wouldn’t love a pizza that has a gochujang base, sesame seeds, garlic, spinach, shiitake mushrooms, scallions and beansprouts? The Thai peanut pizza is equally commendable thanks to its creative use of sriracha, peanuts and peanut butter, broccoli, scallions and agave nectar.

The dessert pizzas are also a wonderful idea that I never would have thought of – even if it isn’t strictly Italian and you’ll find me sneakily substituting the vegan margarine for butter. The berry pie pizza can also be made with no substitutions whatsoever thanks to its elegant ingredient list of berries, sugar, water, cornflour, pizza dough and icing sugar. In fact, most of the dessert recipes can be made by the average human with no interest in vegan margarine.

All of these pizzas are supported by the base. Hasson recognises that this is a classic recipe to not be messed with and sticks with the components of the base that you will find in Italy: flour, salt, olive oil, yeast, and warm water. She also explores other equally interesting options, though, such as wholewheat, spelt, and gluten-free bases, meaning there should be something to suit everyone. All of the recipes are easy to work through, too, and are accompanied by beautiful photographs.

Suffice it to say that this is probably not a recipe book for the beginning vegan, in the sense of far too many specialist products being required to pull these recipes off (the meat and cheese substitutes are one such example, but the tofu and the vegan margarine and the soy milk can prove equally obscure). However, the good news is that vegetarians and even meat-eaters can just adapt the recipes to suit their own needs – by using regular butter or cheese, for example. It’s worth noting that even putting slightly marginal ingredients aside, the book is packed with delicious ideas, and as a vegetarian sympathiser myself (even if apparently I can’t live without cheese), I feel that the message of vegetarianism and veganism is important: we don’t NEED to eat meat, so stand back, experiment with new vegetables or sauces or flavours, and just let the new taste experiences roll in.

other books by Julie Hasson

150 Best Cupcake Recipes (2012)

Vegan Diner (2011)

The Complete Book of Pies (2008)

300 Best Chocolate Recipes (2006)

cross-posted to Bianca’s Book Blog

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