Pepperoni, Mozzarella and Tomato Appetizer

Now, you may never have this problem:  Leftover pepperoni.  But I had lovely guests last night and we made pizza!  It was delicious and the companionship sublime.  I finally saw the final, final Harry Potter movie in very good company.  When he died?  My heart stopped.  When his eyelid wiggled, my heart leaped.  J.K. Rowling is a master.  

Anyhoo, I had leftover pepperoni and since I had spent the day cleaning out my cupboards and freezer in anticipation of my move to Cairo, I felt I deserved a bit of bubbly.  And you just can’t drink bubbly, even one glass, without a little something to go with it.

As a child, I remember fondly the days my mother would let us fry, yes, fry, salami.  Did we not have bacon? Did we prefer salami?  I have no recollection of the reasons why.  But I do remember how the salty salami tasted and how it rolled up to a little bowl when it cooked.  I wondered if pepperoni, basically a small salami, would do the same.  If it didn’t, my plan would be spoiled.

Whoo hoo!   It does curl up.  Which means I can fill it.  Man, I am happy!

Ingredients

Pepperoni – as many slices as you need to feed your guests at least two or three each (But, this isn’t the only appetizer you are serving, right?)

Mozzarella – this can be the packaged kind.  As much as you need to cut a small cube of 1cm or 1/2in each per pepperoni slice

Red, ripe tomatoes – once again, as many as it would take to cover your pepperoni with a thin slice of tomato

Black pepper

Method

Drizzle a little olive oil in a non-stick pan and then fry the pepperoni until it curls up into tiny bowls, turning them over halfway through.

Turn the fire off and remove the pan from the stove.  Cut small chunks of mozzarella and put them in each pepperoni bowl. 

Cover the skillet and let the cheese melt.  Meanwhile, slice your tomatoes pretty thin and cut the slices into pepperoni sizes pieces.

Check on the cheese.  Fix the ones that melted out of the pepperoni bowls.  As the cheese cools again, it will stay in the pepperoni.  Just keep putting it back in.

Transfer your mozzarella-filled pepperoni bowls to a plate.  Top with the tomato slices.  Give the whole plate a good couple of grinds of freshly ground black pepper.

I can’t tell you how nicely all these three things go together: the spicy, salty pepperoni, the mild mozzarella and the naturally, slightly acidic tomatoes!  Especially with a cold glass of bubbly.  Try it yourself.   Pop this in your mouth!

Poached Salmon and Tomato Sauce with Pasta

I have an unusual piece of salmon.  Perhaps unusual is not a fair description because every salmon has a tail.  It’s just not the customary piece people buy and cook.  I ended up with this lovely shiny tail when I bought a whole frozen salmon from the frozen butcher.  By which I mean he sells mostly frozen products, not that he is made of ice. 

The nice guys in the white rubber aprons cut my whole fish apart into steaks with an exposed electric saw that made me shudder for their fingers.  And then they popped all the pieces in a plastic bag, which I put in my freezer.  Gradually we have eaten all the proper pieces, that is to say, the steaks and now I am left with just the tail.  It seems to have a lot of meat so I decided to poach it, debone it and use the meat and poaching liquid to make a sauce for pasta. 

Here goes.

Ingredients

1 piece of salmon tail – a little more than 1 pound or half a kilo of fish.  Substitutions encouraged.

8 garlic cloves

1 can (425g or 15oz) whole or crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup dry white wine

6 springs of fresh thyme (4 for poaching liquid, 2 to serve)

1/2 teaspoon sugar

Sea salt

Black pepper

Olive oil

250g or 8 oz pasta

Method

Chop the garlic up and the sauté it with a little olive oil in a relatively deep saucepan.

Add in the can of tomatoes and, if they are whole, break them up with the spoon.

Add in the white wine and the 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, season your fish tail with sea salt and several grinds of fresh black pepper.

Let the poaching liquid boil for just a few minutes then turn it down to simmer.

Add the salmon tail and enough water to bring the level up to at least cover half of it.

Add in four of the sprigs of thyme and cover the pan.  Set your timer for 25 minutes. 

Halfway through, turn the salmon over.  

When the timer dings, remove the salmon from the poaching liquid and leave it to cool.

Turn the heat under the poaching liquid back up and let it boil along merrily until reduced by half.

Meanwhile, put your pot of salted water on to boil for the pasta.  Cook your pasta of choice according to package instructions.  Drain and keep warm. 

When the fish is cool enough to handle, peel the skin off with a knife and your fingers.  Remove the meat from the top half of the tail.  Remove the spine bones.

Turn that baby over and remove the skin from the bottom half.

Break the fish up into bite-sized pieces.   Chop the reserved thyme into little pieces.

When the poaching liquid is thickened enough, remove the old pieces of thyme.

Depending on your pot, add the pasta to the sauce or the sauce to the pasta.  Add in the salmon and the fresh thyme.

Gently stir or give it a toss to mix through.

Enjoy!  This will feed at least three, possibly four, hungry people. 

Parma Ham, Arugula and Fresh Mozzarella Salad

I got some moaning and groaning about difficulty among the positive comments regarding the beef Wellington last night, after posting the link on my Facebook page.  It wasn’t that hard, really it wasn’t!  But, just for you, here’s a simple recipe that is so easy, it is actually just assembly.  A salad, so nothing to cook!  But it is huge on flavor and succulentness.  Yes, I know that’s not a word, but it should be.  Heads up, OED. Next year's edition?

(P.S.  This was our starter last night!  We enjoyed something similar weekend before last during our three days in Singapore and I have been wanting to try my own version since we arrived home.  Simon’s comment was, “Please add this to the list of things we have again!”  I think he liked it.  And, in the spirit of full disclosure, after eating this as a starter, we each only ate half of our individual beef Wellingtons.  Yay, leftovers for me tonight!)

Ingredients for the salad to serve two

1 large ball (125g or 4.4oz) fresh buffalo mozzarella – ours was Italian but if you have a locally made one that is soft and creamy and stored in the whey, give it a try.  This will not be the same with mozzarella encased in plastic.

About 50g or 1.75 oz arugula or rocket – a couple of good handfuls each

70g or 2.5oz Parma ham or prosciutto

Ingredients for the dressing – you will have leftovers

4 sun-dried tomato halves

Enough boiling water to cover the tomatoes

3 tablespoons or 1.5oz or 45ml lemon juice

6 tablespoons or 3oz or 90ml olive oil

1 large clove of garlic

Sea salt

Black pepper

Method

Soak the sun-dried tomatoes in some hot boiling water, just to cover. 

Slice the garlic as thinly as you can and add it to a clean, empty jar.  (One you have saved and washed thoroughly when you finished the jam or something.  Failing this, a bowl and a small whisk will do.  A jar is just easier and you can store the balance in it.) 

Add the lemon juice to the garlic and let it steep for a bit.  This will take some of the pungency and sharpness out of the garlic.

Add in the olive oil, a pinch or two of sea salt and a few good grinds of fresh black pepper.

When your tomatoes have softened sufficiently, slice them up and add them to the jar or bowl.  Add in about 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons of the tomato soaking water.

Shake or whisk until the dressing is homogeneous.

To assemble the salad:  Divide your arugula between two small plates.

Cut the mozzarella ball in half long ways.  Put each half in the center of the arugula, cut side up.

Cut your slices of Parma ham in half lengthwise and drape them artfully around the mozzarella.

Give the dressing another good shake or whisk and drizzle it with a spoon, all around the arugula, Parma ham and mozzarella.  It's done.

The perfect way to eat this is to make sure to get a bit of ham, arugula and mozzarella in each bite.  If you can make it work out even till the last bite, you are truly gifted, a superior human being.  And I would be proud to know you. 

For a vegetarian version, why not try marinated artichokes instead of the Parma ham?