Zucchini, Chilli and Smoked Buffalo Mozzarella Pizza

The inspiration for this came partly from Polpo: A Venetian Cookbook of Sorts, by Russell Norman, which I've gushed about before, and partly from the smoked buffalo mozzarella I came across in the specialty Italian deli in town. For me, good pizzette (small pizzas), or pizza in general, is characterised by a thoughtful selection of a few fresh, quality ingredients and a good thin - slightly chewy, slightly crisp around the edges - base.

In this case, the smoked buffalo mozzarella was my starting point. From there, I selected a zucchini, red chilli and freshly grated parmesan to complement. In Polpo, Norman has a recipe which includes all of the above, but with mint and, instead of lovely, soft, fresh mozzarella, he recommends the cheap, hard, standard supermarket kind. This is a great option for when cheese is intended as a backdrop, but for this, I wanted the smoke of the mozzarella to sing. I omitted the mint also, as I had none on hand, but used chopped fresh parsley for freshness and as a garnish to finish.

For the pizza base, I turned to my quick flatbread recipe (not dissimilar to a standard pizza dough recipe), which has become a staple in my kitchen for it's ease, convenience and never-disappointing results. Once you've made it a few times, you'll know what I mean.

Zucchini, chilli and smoked buffalo mozzarella pizza

To accompany the pizza, I made spiced kumara (sweet potato) fries with a lemon-spiked yoghurt dip. And apart from making the base from scratch (use pre-made pizza bases or flatbreads if you wish), this took little effort to put together. 

An Everlasting Meal

Following completion of the Live Below the Line challenge, I can honestly say I've been thinking about food a little differently. Often, it's the more magnified understanding of what food really costs but equally, I am able to remind myself about what it can cost. I spent most of last weekend eating out and spending twice the amount of five days living below the line ($11.25) on a below par meal was very frustrating (Beach Babylon, you've seen the last of me).

I am pretty pleased with the meals I created over the challenge (especially the nachos) and considering the budget, even more so. During the week, I made a variation of the pumpkin, carrot and potato fritters, adding both white and black sesame seeds for colour, some pinenuts (for lack of cashews in the pantry) for richness and a large tablespoon of Australian bush herbs. All simple enhancements, based on what I have lying around - this is full-heartedly the type of cooking I enjoy.

A glimpse into my humble pantry

I'm sure it is becoming evident for anyone who reads my blog that I thrive on making the most of what's already in the pantry/fridge or what's cheap and readily available (e.g. in season). Maybe it's been ingrained into me since I was a kid, shopping at the supermarket with my parents where we only ever bought items that were on special. It never occurred to me that everyone else didn't do the same until I started flatting in university! Of course, now, there are exceptions for specialty ingredients but the principle has stuck.

Reflecting on the limited budget available during Live Below the Line, this is in fact how many people have to shop every week. As while we are aware of those who live in extreme poverty in underdeveloped countries, there are also those who struggle to live week-to-week, even day-to-day, in our developed towns and cities.  Even for those of us who are merely on a budget, for any number of reasons, we have to make sure we can get the most out of our dollars.

Instead of teaching people how to spend their money, An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace, by Tamar Adler (2011), teaches readers how to cook: simply, smartly and, as the title suggests, with economy and grace. She inspires readers to rediscover food and, most importantly, to find the courage to trust their intuition.

I want to go to Venice

Last week I went to the new restaurant Ombra twice, and loved it.  Twice.  Meanwhile, a couple of weeks ago, I spent my lunch break reading Polpo: A Venetian Cookbook of Sorts by Russell Norman and found myself wanting to make and eat everything immediately (besides loving the cover and craftsmanship of the book itself).  In fact, I've just ordered it online.  The common thread?  Venice.

Ombra, corner of Cuba and Vivian Street, Wellington

Ombra is Wellington's newest addition to the restaurant scene and the first one to get me really excited in recent months.  Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of great places to eat in this lovely city but maybe it's because I've lived here for around 7 years now that I've started to get a bit bored and a little miffed by how much it costs to eat mediocre food.  However, I do have high standards and it's often really the service that let the whole show down.  The most recent additions that have gotten me talking (food-wise) were Prefab, Pickle and Big Bad Wolf, but for Cuba Street, Ombra has lifted it's whole game up.

While the cafe and restaurant scene in Wellington is worthy of it's own post, today is just about Ombra.  I went for two successive days of lunch breaks, each with a different set of people, yet the reactions were the same.  It was good.  The maitre d' explained to us that ombra means "shadow", referring to the time when merchants kept their wine cool by wheeling their carts from one shady spot to another.  These days, ombra is slang for a small glass of wine which makes it a shame that we weren't able to enjoy the beverage list (an excuse for another time).

As for the food: the cicheti are what make the bacaro.  Small plates, or simply bar snacks, they're similar to Spanish tapas but completely unique to Venice.   Typically the cicheti menu consists of dishes like (but not limited to) crostini, arancini, crocchette (croquette) and a version of sardines, but here is only where you warm up.  Both days in Ombra, I had baccala crostini which is salt cod whipped into a creamy luscious mousse served over a perfectly crusty slice of bread.  A sensational contrast of textures, it was rich but light.  The arancini used a tomato-base risotto which I wasn't particularly partial to, but the crisp crumb to it's exterior was exactly that: as it should be.

Baccala Crostini

Oh, Sweet Bread

With desserts, I'm pretty lazy.  If there are too many ingredients that I don't already have in the cupboard, I'll be reluctant to make it.  Besides the fact that my sweet tooth is small, health-wise I don't mind if there isn't something sweet around.  It could have something to do with the few months of my life where I ate a sweet muffin at least every other day (a whole other story), or maybe it's that small guilt factor that comes with pouring a cup of sugar into a bowl with half a block a butter already sitting in it.  Of course, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do but I'd probably save the guilt for a cheeseburger.

Our annual office picnic in the weekend however did call for desserts and I thought long and hard about my contribution.  A raspberry chocolate brownie? A flourless black doris plum upside down cake? Both personal favourites when the occasion arises but I was feeling lazy for baking. And I had no chocolate in the pantry. Fresh fruit salad? I did need to go to the local fruit and vege market anyway...

I turned to Heidi Swanson for some inspiration.  Award-winning author of the blog 101 Cookbooks and books Super Natural Cooking and Super Natural Every Day, she had made a name for herself through her natural and whole food cooking philosophy made easy, delicious and accessible through her blog and publications. I hadn't read much of her work before I picked up Super Natural Every Day in Portland's Powell's bookstore, but I was already in a phase of wanting to cook with less processed ingredients. I was sold.

So, I turned straight to the dessert or 'Sweet Treats' section and slowed down straight away.  As I mentioned in my first post, I like reading cookbooks just to read and in the urgency of needing to find a dish to make, I couldn't help myself.  Gorgeous recipes such as Watermelon Salad and Membrillo Cake led the chapter, though were out of my reach due to not having any medjool dates, quince paste or rose water around.  Then, the perfect simple recipe: Sweet Panzanella.

Panzanella is traditionally an Italian savoury bread salad often made up of stale bread tossed in typical Italian flavours such as tomatoes, onions, basil, capers and olives, in a oil and vinegar dressing.  A beautifully easy summer's picnic lunch, making Swanson's sweet variation fit for my occasion.  The list of ingredients exceeded no more than 6 and I only needed to buy a loaf of whole grain seed bread and some fresh fruit.  The original recipe calls for raspberries but suggests the option of using either plums, peaches or nectarines - all fruit fiercely in season right now.  My plan was to find the cheapest juiciest option at the market, and cheap and juicy I found: Plum Delights for $1.99/kg. Yahtzee.