Recipes from a depleted store cupboard

:rofl::rofl:

By the way I had never really paid attention to the fact that in French there are two words for wave (although I can remember the “Nouvelle vague” in cinema).
“Microonde” is also the Italian word, so I would have it easier.

Popty ping is definitely unacceptable. :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

Yes! Wondering if a Pili Pala Pizza Pala could be a new trend in Wales if more people make their own oven in the garden before lockdown ends!

Micafil naturally insulating concrete made with 4 parts vermiculite and 1 part cement and only just enough water to bring it together. Search ‘gym ball oven’ on YouTube and you’ll find loads of examples.

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I saw them once at the Chiswick Greyhound.

For the record, I don’t mind Popty Ping at all, though I don’t use it myself.

Diolch yn fawr, @robbruce. :slight_smile:

This is another Pala (she has a brother called Pili

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Here’s a video that Tegwen made as part of her role as an ambassador for the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol. In this role, her job is to encourage other young people to study at degree level through the medium of Welsh. Normally, this would mean meeting school students at various events including eisteddfodau, but that is currently impossible, so she and her fellow ambassadors have gone on line.

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Diolch yn fawr am hyn, Rob (& Tegwen). Prosiect gwych a popty pitsa “serious”
Thanks Rob and Tegwen -great project and serious pizza oven :clap::+1:

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What a great, well-done video! Da iawn, Tegwen! Very fun to watch the pizza oven being built. Those pizzas look delicious! :slight_smile: :+1:

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Hey, the DIY oven + Cymraeg ambassador twin project worked great. :slight_smile:

Pizza looks good too, although…is that an American Pepperoni pizza what I see there in the last shot? :face_with_raised_eyebrow:
If you said you’re a classic margherita fan with occasional funghi, I will assume it’s Tegwen’s choice, so you’re forgiven! :grin:

p.s. I also have to insist @HuwJones that a seriously good pizza can only be done in a ffwrn, not a popty. :face_with_monocle:

Busted.

We added pepperoni to one due to popular demand. I even ate a slice.

I also need to add that since the shooting of the fideo, we’ve got slightly better at making the bases somewhat more circular. I think less hard flour like 00, which is not easy to get during lockdown here, would make the dough a bit more workable.

Well if you’re not in a pizzeria round, square, rectangular or irregular doesn’t matter so much. :wink:

However I don’t understand what you mean for “hard” flour.

We call grano tenero wheat and grano duro durum but I’m not sure that’s what you’re referring to.

With pizza it’s how strong the flour is that counts, not really how thinly ground/refined it is (00 is usually used for cakes and biscuits here!).
BTW I prefer 0 (as suggested by excellent pizza maker)!

p.s. I also have to insist @HuwJones that a seriously good pizza can only be done in a ffwrn , not a popty. :face_with_monocle:

If you’re playing the “authenticity” card, I have to confess that I never strive to achieve it, because I don’t think it’s relevant to food. As far as taste is concerned, the only thing I can suggest is that you taste my pizza stone / hot oven versrion next time you visit (along with my bara brith) :smile:

Flour is one of the most difficult things to talk internationally about not only because of the different terminology, but also because of the varieties of wheat (and other grains) and processing methods. For examplle, I took some time to convince an American friend on this forum that there was such a product in the UK as self-raising flour (which is a combination of plain / all purpose flour and sodium bicarbonate and tartaric or citric acid). Flour from wheat processed in the the UK tends to be less “hard” or rich in gluten which is why the “strong” flour we use for bread making has often been imported from North America.

As discussed earlier, I use “00” flour for preference when makig pasta. To our family’s taste, it has established itself as the best choice and that’s the only thing that matters to me. :smiley:

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I don’t know exactly what you’re referring to with authenticity here. But what I meant is that the word ffwrnsounds exactly like napolitan dialect, while popty sounds like a soda can or candy from a 50s USA advertisment - therefore not a good sign, for pizza making! :laughing:

In any case I’ll be glad to taste Huw’s own home made pizza and of course bara brith, when I get the chance! :yum:

About flour, I’ve just tried to write more about pizza making and flour types but, I don’t know if it’s English language, but…er…it just sounds odd. :thinking:
So I’ll just leave it aside for next clonc-edigion! :rofl:

Oh self-raising flour has been haunting me since first trip to the UK: my lovely host family gave me a tiny old “Be-Ro” recipe book to try at home the cakes I had so much enjoyed there.
Unfortunately all the recipes were using Imperial weight system and Be-Ro self-raising flour so they were really complicated to replicate here!:scream:

If you should need it, self-raising flower is easy to make from plain flour. e.g. https://www.deliaonline.com/ask-lindsey/making-self-raising-flour
Baking powder’s relatively easy to make as well if you can’t find it: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/glossary/baking-powder

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I don’t know exactly what you’re referring to with authenticity here

Ah - I thought you were “insisting” that pizza could only be cooked in a pizza oven (presumably charcoal fired) and not in a domestic oven (mine goes up to 300C / 572F). As I mentioned, I also use a dedicated pizza stone which helps to ensure my thin pizza base is appropriately crusty. I also mentioned earlier, I have been thinking about adding some hickory or oak shavings in the bottom of the oven to give it a smokey flavour - and I’ll probably try that out on you, Gisella, when we next have the pleasure of your company.

I didn’t pick up that you were talking about the words. I agree that “popty” is unique and (to be honest) lacks gravitas. Ffwrn, four forno, furnace and whatever the Neapolitan word is are all of the same family. :slight_smile:

BTW, we have had to synthesise our own self-raising flour recently by the method which John Williams has linked to.

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Oh I was just joking with words. :slight_smile:

Home-made pizza can be very good and actually my ffwrn is worst than yours: hardly reaches 250C, you can’t turn off the fan as you should do for doughs, and despite than heat is very uneven so…really bad! But stil, you can get pretty good results with a bit of persistence.

Thanks to @johnwilliams_6 for the summary, it will be useful when I try huw’s bara brith, to start with (although I might want to go with Welsh Cakes for a first attempt so no ffwrn needed!

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Home ffwrn pizza today!

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Mmmm! Scrumplicious! :yum: I wish we had Smellynet. :smile:

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Well, if anyone’s store cupboard is really, really depleted, there’s always the old ‘dandelion salad’. :laughing:
In seriousness, I have tried substituting dandelion greens in for spinach to accompany eggs, and while they could have been worse, I think they might be better in a mix of sautéed greens. Maybe with radish greens, cresses, rocket, carrot greens and/or spinach, plus of course, onion, garlic and/or chives, and, for me, paprika. I’ll experiment with what I can get my hands on…
…and probably send everyone else running to the phone to order takeout!

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“young” dandelion greens (meaning fairly small leaves), cut in thin stripes, seasoned with salt-olive oil-vinegar and a hard boiled egg is a classic Piedmontese grandma recipe! :smiley:

If the greens are bigger they get slightly boiled, then sautéed into a padell with garlic, oil and salt (optional red hot pepper and/or olives).
This is a classic with any bitter greens (I don’t know English nor Welsh names) or any salad that’s been forgotten too long in the veg garden or with large leaves!

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