Gary Mehigan's Recipes

1. Roast Free Range Chicken
2. Calamari and Salsa Verdi Pizza
3. Pizza Dough

Roast Free Range Chicken  
Introduction Buy a good quality corn fed free range chicken, remove the wishbone and truss for best results.

Yields 4  

Ingredients
1 chicken (1.4kg)
1 lemon cut into quarters
 ¼ b/c thyme
1 head of garlic
Flaked sea salt
1 red onion
80 ml olive oil
2 bunches baby beetroots
1 bunches baby yellow beetroots
4 sprigs thyme
2 twists fresh black pepper
Pinch flaked salt
4 tablespoons hazelnuts, roasted & peeled  

Heat the pizza oven to 200°C.   Remove wishbone from the chicken then stuff with lemon, thyme and 4 clove of garlic. Truss the chicken with kitchen string to hold its form. Preheat a roasting pan in the oven and season the chicken with flaked salt and a few twists of pepper. Pour 30mls of olive oil into the roasting pan and place the chicken in, drizzle with a little olive oil and pop into the oven. Roast chicken for about 20 mins, remove and baste well with the roasting juices. Return to the oven for a further 20 minutes and repeat. A 1.4kg chicken should take approximately 1 hour to cook plus a 10 minute rest after it has been removed form the oven. To test to see if the chicken is cooked; pierce the leg with a roasting fork – if the juices run clear the chicken is cooked.  

Meanwhile, lay 2 sheets of foil on the bench top side by side.  Peel and cut the red onion into eights, leaving the root in tact so as the onion remains intact whilst cooking. Lay the onion slices on one sheet of foil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt, a twist of pepper.  Throw on a couple of sprigs of thyme and half the remainder of the garlic cloves.  

Wash and pair back the stalks on the beetroots and remove any grit from the base of the stalk by scraping with the tip of a sharp pairing knife if necessary.  Place the beetroots on the other sheet of foil with remaining garlic and thyme and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle both with olive oil and enclose the foil around the vegetables to make a loose parcel.  Place onto roasting trays then put into the pizza oven close to the door until cooked for approximately 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and tip the onions on top of the beets, sprinkle the hazelnuts over the beets and set aside.   Divide chicken into 4 portions and serve with the roasted beetroots and Spanish onions.

Calamari and Salsa Verdi Pizza  
Fresh calamari will make an enormous difference to the taste of this pizza, substitute at your peril. If you have a good fish monger he will clean it for you so you can avoid the mess at home. The basic dough recipe will make 4 pizzas comfortably.  

 Makes 2 pizza  

1 Basic Pizza Dough
1 punnet vine ripened cherry tomatoes
1 calamari, medium and fresh
75 ml extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon flake salt
freshly ground white pepper
2 tablespoon flat parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon capers 1 tablespoon dill, chopped
2 clove garlic, sliced
zest of 1 lemon
70 g provolone cheese, shredded
70 g mozzarella cheese, shredded
½ cup rocket  

Pre heat the pizza oven to 220°C.   Slice the cherry tomatoes in half and place onto a baking tray, drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and season with a sprinkle of flaked salt and 1 of the garlic cloves sliced. Place at the door of the pizza oven whilst it is heating and turn the tray once or twice during this time. Alternatively you can semi dry the tomatoes after a previous use whilst the oven is cooling. Push the tray of tomatoes into the oven as the temperature drops below 100°C and leave for a couple of hours. Remove form the oven and place into an air tight container. They will last for a three or four days in the fridge.

Clean the calamari and slice thinly, drizzle with a little oil and season with salt and pepper and set aside.

To make the salsa verde, chop the parsley, dill, capers and garlic and place them in a small bowl. Combine with a pinch of salt, a few twists of pepper the lemon zest and olive oil, stir and set aside.

Sprinkle the pizza base with the provolone and mozzarella, brush the edge of the pizza base with olive oil and place in the oven on top of the pizza stone for 2 minutes until the pizza puffs up and is slightly golden.

Remove the pizza from the oven and place the calamari and tomatoes randomly over the top.  Place the pizza back in the oven for another 3 minutes until the calamari is just cooked.

Remove from the oven and spoon the salsa verde over the top, scatter with rocket and serve.

Ange’s Pizza Dough
The addition of gluten is optional but adds a nice texture and chewiness to the dough.

In a conventional oven there is not enough heat from the base of the oven to get a perfect crisp pizza. The use of a pizza stone or terracotta tile will guarantee a great pizza because of the concentration of heat in the tile, as it cooks the base quickly, making it crisp.  After you have rolled the pizza on the bench sprinkle a little semolina on a chopping board and place the pizza base on to the semolina.  When ready to cook you can then slide the pizza off the floured board directly on to the stone for cooking. The pizza will puff and have a nice crisp base. Preheat the stone in the oven to 200°C.

 makes 4 x 13” pizza bases

750 g “00” flour (plus some for dusting)
30 g table salt
15 g castor sugar
30 g gluten (optional, see note)
14 g fresh yeast
450 ml luke warm water
60 ml extra virgin olive oil
50 ml milk  

In a large bowl form a well with the flour, salt, sugar & gluten.  In a separate small bowl, dissolve the yeast with some of the water and pour into the well.  Add the rest of the water and the milk to the mixture.  Mix all the ingredients together to form dough.  On a floured bench turn the dough out and begin to knead to a smooth consistency.  Once the dough is quite smooth, work in the olive oil until it is combined.  Leave aside in a warm area with a tea towel on the top until the dough has doubled in size. This normally takes about an hour.

Once this has occurred, take the dough out of the bowl and punch the dough to knock the air out Roll the dough into 4 x 180 g pieces and leave again to prove. Once it has doubled in size stretch the dough out on a floured bench and place onto  a floured board.  Put toppings on as desired.  Cook until golden brown, turn around now and then if needed.