Easy hamburger buns. When we were kids mum baked loaves and buns for our lunch boxes, and when we were on holidays she would often make hamburgers and stuff the meat patties into her soft just baked bread. Dad, on the other hand, liked stopping for junk on car trips, and I will never forget him striding into a McDonalds, when they were still new to Australia, and asking the girl at the counter for a ‘burger with the lot’. To counter the appeal of neatly packaged fast food, Mum started serving her holiday burgers in brown paper lunch bags with ‘McAlison’s’ written on the front in thick lunch bag marker pen. I still think, like mum, that a good well made burger is such a good family meal, so here is my easy recipe for home made buns, that make the whole deal so much more appealing. You can also size the buns and the patties according to the different members of the family. 400 g flour (mix of plain 00 and bread flour is good but just plain will also work) 1 1/2 teaspoons dried instant yeast. 1 teaspoon salt. 280 ml tepid water (on warm side)
1 tablespoon of olive oil. Extra flour for the work surface This recipe has very similar quantities to focaccia dough, the only difference being that it gets worked on a floured surface rather than oiled. In a nice big bowl mix dry ingredients. Pour in the warming tepid water and olive oil and mix well. (Stand mixer with dough hook if you have) cover the bowl with a plastic bag, shower cap or damp tea towel. Leave to rise for about an hour and a half, opening up a couple of times to turn the dough, pulling corners in to centre to get a few more bubbles happening. Turn out onto floured bench and cut into 6 - 8 pieces. Form each piece into a flat bun shape and leave to rise, uncovered, for another 30-40 minutes. Preheat oven to 200 C, brush tops with a little egg wash and sprinkle with seeds if you fancy, and bake for 20-25 minutes until light golden color. They will feel hard when they come out of oven but will soften to a perfect burger vehicle as they cool. #homemade
My next door neighbor at Lubriano sent me a photo of my darling plum tree under blossom. Yes, I would love to be in that sun dappled garden as spring is springing, but the directions were to stay at home, and so we are in Rome. To everyone, all over the world, if you are relocating, from city to country, from main house to holiday shack, you need to go into strict 14 day quarantine wherever you go. There are so many asymptomatic carriers of covid and it’s not fair on the small communities when city dwellers rock up to their holiday pads, bringing the virus with them. Sorry for being boring, but this is my only social media channel and I needed to get this out. #thinkfirst #thinkcommunity #stayathome #iorestoacasa
In the what feels like half a lifetime ago, @rachelaliceroddy would breeze into the studio with a smiling group of curious cooks and a caravan of bags of produce and @carla_tomasi or I would be there, the big moka pot bubbling and maritozzi just out of the oven, cooling under a slick of sugar syrup and ready to be stuffed with whipped cream. Oh, I am starting to really miss those mornings with my cooking pals, and the fine folk who always join us for #markettotablerome. Sigh. Rachel’s column in today’s @guardianfeast is about maritozzi, which I think make a fine antidote to this particular moment. The recipe is also in her first book Five Quarters, it’s the grubbiest page in my copy. #staycalmandbake #stockuponflour #romanbakedgoods #maritozzi ps. For those booked to do coming M to T, we’ll be refunding all classes that can’t go ahead, stay tuned, and stay hopeful.
We are fine. Eating well, trying to stay positive, and using the excuse to shop at the market and little shops to stretch the legs. Thanks to everyone for all the messages of love and concern for all of us, and for Italy in this difficult and confusing time. The hardest bit in our household is controlling the use of our devices, I am glued to news bulletins and checking Instagram and Whatsap constantly. So, am going to lock my phone in a cupboard for a week and see how that helps. Might get a few other worthwhile projects done. Oh, and if you want a #pastaefagioli recipe for looming lockdown - I have one on my blog, link in profile. #legumesforlockdown #beanandpasta #pantrysaviors
My first trip to Italy was in 2003. It was September, and my brother and I found ourselves at an outdoor concert in front of the Colosseum. The city was bathed in a soft pink light, the streets were full of people and peace flags fluttered from the windows of every street. The city felt so alive. This weekend we will fly flags of a different kind from our windows. Hand painted with whatever paints we have lying around, joining with the spirited, brave, courageous Italian nation in saying ‘everything will be ok’ - ‘andrà tutto bene’. Italia, I have never loved you more than I do now. #celafaremo #andratuttobene #tuttiinsieme
Stay in, drink more (Italian) wine, eat well. Other than following the guidelines set out by the Italian health ministry what can we do? @girlinflorence has written a fabulous piece today, and also has a link to support #madeinitaly at this time where we can’t travel but we can spend online. And for all of us holed up close to home crafting, we can support our small local shopkeepers, shop at the market rather than the super (they are open air!!) and look out for elderly neighbors. #thenewchallenge #livesmall #gettingtgroughthis #learningnewlessons
What are we all going to with this enforced (and necessary) confinement? Cook more perhaps. Take walks. Try and shop local to help the little shopkeepers, eat at least a gelato a day to keep the gelatai in business, read, weed the terrace pots. Potato & fennel bake, the crusty, sweet, starchy, aromatic bake that goes oh so well with fish, but could also just be eaten with a spoon direct from the pan. Take a couple of bulbs of fennel, wash, trim excess and slice finely from top to bottom. I find it easier to remove the woody core after slicing, in this way slices remain intact. Peel and slice 4-6 potatoes. Layer potato, fennel, potato and so on, salting and drizzling with oil on each layer. Cover with foil or a tray and bake for 30 mins in a 170 C fan oven, then remove cover and bake a further 30 mins, until the top is golden and crisp and both potatoes and fennel starting to caramelise. The 🐠 in the photo are little merluzzi from the Mediterranean but unfortunately they are not super sustainable so perhaps I won’t be doing them again. Photo: Leonardo Carosi #finocchiepatate #gratinata #fennelandpotatogratin #eattheseason
