Pizza Express (Norwich Forum)

We decided to have lunch out today. This is decision was met with some trepidation from both of us as son no1 and son no2 have been in rather, errrr "tricky" moods recently. Anyway off we went and hoped they would behave.

 

We went to the branch at the Forum in Norwich. This is an amazing building which also houses Norwich Central Library. The original library stood on the same site but was destroyed by fire in 1994. The best thing about this branch is the location. The Pizza Express runs right across the front of the building and we were lucky enough to get a seat right in the middle at the front so could see the comings and goings down below.

The boys chose their food very quickly. Pizza Express do a great Piccolo menu which includes a starter of 4 dough balls with garlic butter dip, a small side salad, pizza or pasta, ice cream and a babycinno. All that for £6.10 is good value as far as I'm concerned ! Son no 1 went for his usual margherita pizza and son no 2 was more adventurous and went for a mushroom option.

The husband and I shared garlic bread with mozzarella to start with and then he had a Sloppy Guiseppe (spicy beef, green peppers & onions) and I went for my usual Pollo ad Astra (a pizza with torn chicken breast, peppadew peppers, red onions and cajun spice). Son no1 and I also shared a caesar salad although I got all the anchovies being the only person in the family that likes them.

For dessert the boys had a chocolate sundae each but by this point son no2 was full so we ended up with ice cream slop. They do this great idea (well I think it's great anyway) of what they call Dolcetti. This is a coffee and a small piece of a dessert (£3.50) which is great if you want something but the thought of a pudding leaves you unbuttoning your jeans ! I had a mocha and a small lemon meringue pie which was a perfect size and lovely and zesty. The Husband had an espresso and some semifreddo which he pronounced to be perfect.

Service was with a smile, but slightly slow at times given they weren't that busy. Our waitress was lovely and really made a fuss of the boys which is always a plus point. Minus points for forgetting the Husband's request for a second diet coke though.

The food when it arrived was very tasty as usual, hot and decent size portions too. It might not be fine dining but it's great for a nice lunch out with the kids in tow. The only thing I'd suggest would be service could be sharper but I'm still sold on the coffee and pudding idea for £3.50 ! The whole meal including drinks came to £65.00 so not an every day thing but fine for an occasional treat.

Pizza whirls & mini cheese and potato pasties

Another busy week and little cooking going on I'm afraid to say.

Today though I've done some baking for lunch boxes (savoury this time) and a new recipe that's been on my "to cook" list for ages.

Firstly the baking. In my never ending quest to empty the freezer I found some frozen puff pastry lurking at the back of a drawer. I'm guessing it was left over from Xmas but I have no idea what I was planning on making with it.

The first recipe (on the left) is one of my children's favourite lunch treats. I can't remember where I got the idea from but they are yummy and great for putting in lunch boxes. Not too expensive to make either.

The second recipe (on the right) is a "make it up as I go along" one. I needed something veggie for a picnic and thought I'd try making some mini pasties and ended up with cheese, potato and onion pasties in mini.




PIZZA WHIRLS
makes about 8
1/2 a pack of chilled puff pastry
Tomato ketchup
Mixed herbs
Other toppings eg ham etc optional
Grated cheese
Roll out the pastry fairly thinly into a rectangle shape
Spread over some tomato ketchup, sprinkle over the herbs and cheese
Roll into a large sausage shape and cut into about 8 pieces
Place on a baking tray and bake at approx 200C for 20 mins or until golden

MINI CHEESE & POTATO PASTIES
makes about 12
1/2 pack of chilled puff pastry
2 medium potatoes peeled and chopped
1 small onion chopped
Strong grated cheddar
Milk
Boil the potatoes until tender, drain and mash with a little butter and black pepper, mix in the cheese. Then slowly fry the onion in a smidge of olive oil until soft. Mix everything together.
Roll out the pastry and cut out about 12 rounds (I used a large mug !)
Put a teaspoon of the potato mixture in the centre of each round.
Fold the pastry over to make a crescent shape and moisten the edges with water. Crimp to seal
Bake at 200C for about 25 minutes or until golden.

Simple tomato sauce

For years now I've been trying to perfect something as simple as a basic tomato sauce. A base for so many things but I haven't been able to crack it.

Both little ones will eat pasta until it's coming out of their ears, so it's one of the staples. While son no1 loves his "squidgy pasta" aka spinach and ricotta tortelloni, I do balk a little at paying nearly £2 for a pot of napoletana sauce.

So after trial and error, I think I've cracked it. I tend to make it in bulk and freeze so there is always a quick tea in the freezer. It also works well as a pizza sauce and has the added benefit of extra veggies.

The sugar may seem an odd addition but it really brings out the sweetness and gives another note to the sauce.

MY BASIC TOMATO SAUCE

2 tbsp olive oil
2 onions chopped
4 cloves of garlic (I do so love my garlic !) crushed
2 sticks of celery finely diced
2 carrots finely diced
1 tbsp dried oregano
3x 400g canned tomatoes
a hefty squeeze tomato puree
1tsp sugar
salt and pepper

Heat the olive oil in a large pan.
Add all the veg and sweat slowly until just soft
Then add the oregano and cook for a few minutes
Add the tomatoes and about a can of water, then add the tomato puree, sugar and seasoning
Simmer slowly until thick and rich.

Tonight I served this with shredded chicken and cooked pasta, nice and simple but quick and healthy too !