Fennel Salad

Ingredients Green Grocer
1 large fennel, finely sliced.
Juice of one orange.
Juice of one lime.
1/2 bunch mint.
1/2 Spanish (red) onion.
Dry Store
2 tsp raw sugar.
2 tsp salt.
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive oil.

Method
Mix finely sliced onion and fennel with salt and sugar and stir well. Leave on the bench for 30 minutes then drain off any liquid. Add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well and serve.

Notes

Underpants

Yes underpants. As it turns out, the word calzones in Spanish means underpants. It's actually an Italian dish, but I haven't had a chance to ask any of my Italian friends about it yet. My suspicion is that it has the same meaning because of the shape.

Basically, a calzone is a pizza that's folded in half. That half-moon is reminiscent of a pair of briefs, I suppose, although I'm a boxer man myself.

Ingredients Green Grocer

• 1 big bunch of Australian spinach (I mean silverbeet)
• 1 medium onion chopped
• A few leaves of basil (optional)
• Fresh Rosemary (optional)
• 2-4 tspns lime or lemon juice
.

Dry Store

• 500g strong flour
• 7g sachet of yeast
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• 300g of sheep's or goat's milk fetta
• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 tspn preserved lemon rind
• 1 tspn salt

Method

• Mix the dough for the bases first because it will take an hour or so to proove. I have a bread maker at home and just let it take care of the dough. If you aren't so lucky, then full instructions follow.
• Mix the flour, yeast, a good pinch of salt and about 300 mls of water.
• Once it all comes together, let it rest for 10 minutes while you put a big pot of water on the stove to boil.
• Knead the dough
• Knead it some more
• Seriously, you have to pummel it for about 10 minutes to develop the glutens. By then, the dough should be smooth and slightly elastic.
• Wash the green stuff well and strip the leaves off the stalks, but don't throw out the stalks.
• Cut the brown ends off the stalks and dice them to the same size as the onion.
• Heat a pan (one with a lid) on the stove and cover the bottom with olive oil.
• Add optional ingredients and braise the onion and stalks for at least 30 minutes. Braising is cooking in oil, but with a cover on the dish. That way the moisture evaporating off the food cools the oil and prevents the food from frying.
• Boil the leaves for about 5 minutes in salted water, then drain and cool quickly under cold water to set the colour. Chop the leaves up a little bit.
• When the braised stalks are cool, crumble in the fetta, chopped leaves, lemon or lime juice and beaten egg.
• By now, the dough will have doubled in size. Knock it back and divide it into 10-12 pieces.
• Dredge a bench with flour and get a bowl of water ready to use to seal the calzone. I also dredge the trays I want to use rather than oiling them. It works just as well and is usually easier to clean.
• Roll out one of the dough pieces into a thin round (I keep an old wine bottle for this purpose). It should finish up about 10-15cm in diameter.
• Put a healthy spoonful or two of the filling over half of the round, leaving enough room to seal it.
• Brush water over the empty half's edges and fold the empty half over the filling. Press down on the seam to seal it well.
• Bake the calzone in a hot oven for 15-20 minutes or until the crust begins to brown a little.

Notes