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Onion bagel comes into its own

Halloumi and spinach on an onion bagel with a drizzle of olive oil and finely chopped green chilli

We tend to get stuck with bagel fillings in the traditional many revolving around cream cheese – on its own, or with smoked salmon if you eat fish, and either with dill pickle. These are great but it is good to find something else to try from time to time

Here is a great mix for an onion bagel:

  • Fry up some halloumi (do this quite slowly so that it does not burn but just browns and retains some moisture)
  • Cut your bagel in half and place some raw baby spinach leaves  on the bottom  half of the bagel. (If you prefer, you can steam the spinach first)
  • Drizzle a little olive oil on top of the spinach and sprinkle some finely chopped green chili.
  • Halloumi is quite salty already so salt can be left out if you like and the chilli means black pepper is also not needed. Even so,  add both to make it as you like
  • Place the halloumi on top
  • Eat! Eat! Eat!
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Bagel school voucher – the fun xmas gift

Bagel School class of November

Are you wondering what to buy for xmas? Why not give a fun day out at Bagel School?

I am offering vouchers for between £25 and £65

Some of the things previous attendees have said

  • Just want to say many thanks for a great day. Wonderful lunch.
  • Everything really interesting and well organised. I had a really good time.
  • Thank you, great pic to remember a thoroughly enjoyable day!

You can find out a bit more about bagel school here.

If you are interested please email me for a voucher or you can buy a full place directly 

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What on earth are pizz-agels?

So, over the past couple of weeks the team at Nether Edge Pizza and me have got together and bakes some bagels in their wood fired oven.

We are planning to do this again, December 8th and December 9th from 8.30-11.30 (or until we are sold

out!) . The menu is available here.

We are committed to sourcing as much as we can from local providers: Birdhouse Teas, Frazers Coffee, cream cheese from Zeds. Spreads from Sheffield Honey and Just Preserves

So what are pizz-agels?

Pizz-agels:

Bagels baked lovingly in a wood-fired pizza oven

Bagel pizza:

A bagel cut open then dressed with tomato sauce and other pizza toppings before being placed back in the oven or under a grill

 

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Grain to plate – planting

Last month i was able to announce that Regather together with Friend’s Field, were planting an acre of land with winter wheat.

The hope is to be able to produce some flour from this and from that some locally baked bread – bagels, bialys,  sourdough…whatever! From grain to plate!

The ace was on to be able to plough in the green manure and prepare the land for planting before it would be too cold for the planting.

Great work from Regather and friends to ensure the field was ready, the ploughing went ahead.

Watch this space for the germination pictures!

 

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Wood fired bagels

A couple of years ago, in Canada , I saw this: bagels in a deep oven wood fire and had an ambition to start doing this in Sheffield.

Having spoke to Gary, owner of  Nether Edge Pizza Company a couple of weeks ago, we decided to give it a go.

I set about making some bagel boards: should i look for some cedar, or will pine do? What weave of burlap do i need? Well, like lots of these things, you can do all the research you like but it seems to be simply a matter of getting started and seeing what happens.

I chose some pine conveniently stored in my garage and bought some burlap from Whaleys in Bradford that would seem tough enough to deal with the oven.  (Jute role is more for hemming and seems fragile) .

With the boards made i went down to the Abbyedale Road Nether Edge Pizza shop and met an enthusiastic Theo and Somerset. Theo is clearly an expert on the oven and, as i would find out, holds no fear in putting his hands in.

Preparing the boards

Preparing the bagels is no different of course : i had prooved them in the fridge beforehand, a bit shorter than ususal for practical reasons, and they are boiled cooled and then set on the boards, not oven trays.

So then to the key thing: the oven.

Bagels have been flipped off the boards and are face down

What was not clear to me before is that the oven has clear heat gradients – pizzas are placed first at the back and then gradually brought forward, Theo told me. But this flexibility is not possible with bagels. The idea is to place them top down on the boards , flip them after some minutes (how many will depend on the oven) so that the bottoms are on the stone and the tops face up.

The second batch were better

Last night we had the oven too hot and this clearly showed that the for the first batch the crust formed too quickly and left a doughy bread. The second batch were better. Maybe the next batch better still. Watch this space!

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Halloween Bagel

The clocks are back and orange colours dominate the sunset, and the forecourts of most supermarkets, big and small as pumpkins and squash abound.

With so many scary and confusing things going on in the world (Israeli killing protesters in Gaza yet again, fanatical right wing shooting of Jews in Pittsburgh, 1 million Muslims detained in camps Northern China) it seems a bit odd to create make belief scariness, but there will be some method in it i am sure.

Red Kuri Squash

Scary or not,  i had a bit of fun making this  Halloween Bagel. The serious ‘foody’ thing is the colours and flavours just blend really well.

Take a small squash, I used a red kuri as pictured but you could also use a small pumpkin, wrap in silver foil and bake on a medium oven for about an hour or until soft.  The aim is to be able to have it cooked but not have the flesh fall apart. (Test by using a baked potato skewer and seeing if it easily goes through the flesh: you want a bit of resistance not an easy slide)

As it nears being cooked slice some halloumi (quite thick) and place on a gentle heat in a fry pan. Turn every so often so it cooks both sides. Don’t be tempted to speed up the cooking as it takes away from the succulence of the cheese.

Take a plain bagel – or any other bagel from the Tower of Bagel range, or one you made at Bagel School – and slice in half.

Take the squash from the oven when ready and slice off the lid and allow to cool so it is easier to handle.  When you can handle the heat scoop out the seeds carefully. (Don’t forget the halloumi! – I only say that because i have and it is so disappointing).

Now with the squash on sitting on its bottom, slice chunks downwards.  Place a bed of rocket on the bottom of the bagel and then place some slices of squash (or pumpkin). Place the halloumi when ready to the sides of these, almost like the act as a barrier to the squash leaking out (hence the thick slices).

Chop a chili pepper of your choice finely and sprinkle to taste with a bit of salt.  Take two more  – red with stalks are best, something like the Dagger Pod maybe – and see if you can insert them by the stalk in to the flesh of the squash.

Get some curved ones and they can be like claws.

Now spread some harissa on the side. And there you have it. Halloween Bagel!

Ingredients:

  • 1 bagel of choice
  • 1 squash or small pumpkin
  • 1 chilli of choice
  • 2 chillis like Dagger Pod
  • Two thick slices of Halloumi
  • Salt and pepper to taste

 

 

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Grain to plate – 2018-19

Not long ago i had a brief, almost throw away conversation, with people at Regather. We were talking about where our food comes from and how important it is to understand what happens before it gets to our plate.

This subject spans a wide spectrum of topics – from GMOs to multinationals to deforestation to imperialism to poverty, war….and more.

Friends’ field: green manure for three years

One aspect is fostering an experiential approach to understanding food production.

So, children have been seen increasingly at city farms over the past 30 years; our own Heeley City Farm being a great example; and schemes like Food for Life are dedicated to ensuring we widen our collective understanding of food production and can access tasty and healthy food sustainably.

With regard to bread, the growth of sourdough bakeries has both stimulated and been a product of a discussion about and move away from manufactured bread products. Even so it seems there has not been a discussion at the next level of where the grain comes from and how it is processed . And this contrasts with wider discussions about organic vegetables, for example, or ‘food miles’.

Grain to plate experience.

Hay meadow at Friends Field

When I learnt Regather might be linking up with Friends Field, some dots started to join in my head.

Friends Field is a social enterprise in the wonderful Moss Volley.

15 acres of land that has had green manure for three years cut three times a year and mulched for worms to do their magic.

So last week i hear they will be a planting winter wheat (i.e it is sown in the winter) in an acre and half of the field; and next year via harrowing, planting, harvesting, threshing , milling, bagging and baking, it may land on a Sheffield plate!

There is still lots to find out and do. Not sure yet if it is hard or soft, red or white …. but we will find out soon as it has to be planted by November 5th.

Exciting!

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Vegan ‘Tuna’ mayo filled bagel

‘tuna mayo’ bagel with all the trimmings

I was looking for something slightly different – and vegan.

Something that loaded up a bagel into a filling-dripping meal: lots of protein, a textured mix with a shift in flavours as you make your way through the bagel.

I chose to do this on a plain bagel but a seeded onion is also good for this:

  • Take  half a can of cannelini beans and mash with a spoonful of humus
  • Open up the bagel and place rocket (or your favourite leaf on either side).  Get a bit of salt and pepper on for taste at this point.
  • Now spoon up  the bean and humus mix on one side, topping with red onion and a spoon of Heart Veganaise.
  • On the other side, slice some avocado and tomato, add a sprinkle of fresh chili if you like that sort of thing
  • Bring the two sides together (but don’t squash it!)
  • Please use a napkin!
Onion seeded and beetroot bagels ready for delivery

This will be the vegan option at the November Bagel School, so to test the filling and have a fun day learning to make bagels like this, book now.

 

 

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Big up to AFC Unity…

AFC Unity away shirt with tower of bagel logo

I love sport.  And i  love seeing people do great things with it. It is one of the reasons why i wanted to sponsor AFC Unity this season.  Their inclusive approach is so encouraging when so much around us seems to shut people out.

At whatever level we play our sport – and by and large mine across a range of sports can be categorised as ‘competent and energetic but without flair’ – we can have times that trigger, years later, emotional memories. These can be ones of joy (or ones of deep regret) but alwasy emotion

I was struck by this when I read AFC Unity’s Rachel Rodgers’ ‘random fact’ – a delightful sporting memory. I imagine she crackles with glee each time she remembers her moment.

Me? My best memory is scoring no points but exhibiting that hard work trait against an international squash player. The phenomenon of being on the court with an athlete at a world class level was breathtaking (literally!)

Good luck to AFC Unity this season. It is a privilege to sponsor this team.