Now don’t say I never give you anything

4 September 2006

Yesterday Helen, Suzy and I descended upon Lauren’s delightful abode in order to drop food and wine onto her carpet, exchange gossip, abuse Dave, take photos of each other and loll about in the sunshine. That done, we headed home again.

Seeing as you couldn’t be there, here’s a recipe and some photos from the afternoon so that you can recreate the experience wherever you are. Bear in mind that, without my luminous presence, you can only hope to produce a pale imitation of the fun and gaiety we had.

Savoury picnic bread

Serves: 8
Prep: 2hrs 15 mins
Cook: 35-40 mins

400g white bread flour
7g dried yeast
handful fresh thyme
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp chilli oil*
225g chorizo sausage
160g sun dried tomatoes
1 red onion, thinly sliced
75g pine nuts, lightly toasted
175g Gruyére cheese, grated

* I found that the chilli oil made things far too spicy for my taste. This time I simply used all olive oil, but next time I’m going to try substituting the chilli oil for a tablespoon of the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes.

1. To make the dough, mix together the flour, yeast, thyme and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and add 1 tbsp chilli oil and 2 tbsp olive oil and 250ml warm water. Using a round-bladed knife, mix the ingredients to form a soft dough. If the dough feels dry, add a little water, sparingly.

2. Turn out onto a lightly-floured surface and knead for about 10 mins, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place in a large, lightly-oiled bowl. Cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm place for about 1 hr, until the dough has doubled in size.

3. Meanwhile, skin and thinly slice the chorizo sausage and roughly chop the tomatoes. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan and fry the sausage along with the onion and pine nuts for about 3 mins until they are just starting to colour. Leave to cool completely.

4. Using a floured hand, punch the risen dough to knock out the air bubbles. Turn out onto a floured surface, knead lightly then roll out to a 30cm square. Spread with the sausage and onion mixture so the ingredients are evenly dispersed. Scatter with the chopped tomatoes, then sprinkle with the cheese.

5. Grease a loose-bottom, round cake tin. Roll up the dough, swiss roll style, so that the filling is enclosed. Using your hands, gently squeeze the dough to elongate it until it measures about 50cm in length. Then, with a lightly-floured, sharp knife, slice the dough roll into 8 equal pieces.

6. Preheat the oven to Gas 6. Arrange the dough, cut ends up, in the greased tin, spacing them out evenly. The dough will rise during proving to fill any gaps. Cover with a piece of oiled cling film and leave in a warm place for about 45 mins. Bake for 35-40 mins until golden. Remove from tin and cool on a wire rack.