La Bottega

Garlic Eyeballs with Creamy Chive Dip

Makes 12

• 145g 00 pizza flour, plus extra for kneading
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large garlic clove, crushed
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• 12 pitted black olives
• 1 egg, beaten
• 142ml pot soured cream (or Greek yogurt)
• squeeze lemon juice
• 2 tbsp snipped chives

Method

1. Empty the flour into a bowl and season to taste. Make a well, then mix with water and the olive oil, according to pack instructions. With a flat-bladed knife, bring the dough together; it should be slightly sticky.
2. Knead the dough for 5 mins on a lightly floured surface until it feels springy and smooth. Lift into a large, lightly-oiled bowl, cover with oiled cling film and set aside in a warm place until doubled in size, about 20 mins. Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.
3. Tip the dough out onto the worktop, flatten with your hands and sprinkle over the garlic and parsley. Knead for another min until the garlic and parsley are spread evenly through the dough. Pull the dough into 12 walnut-sized pieces and roll into balls. Poke an olive into each ball to make it look like an eye. Place on a baking sheet.
4. Brush each ball with a little beaten egg and bake for 10-12 mins until golden and risen. Meanwhile, mix all the dip ingredients together in a small bowl and season to taste. Serve the eyeballs dunked into the dip.

Recipe by Lesley Waters

Spooky Eyeball Pasta

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp chopped garlic
• 1 tbsp chopped chilli
• 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
• 10 cherry tomatoes
• 100g mini mozzarella balls, drained
• 4 basil leaves
• 200 g  green linguine
• 0.5 jar pesto

Method

1. Start by making the tomato sauce. Fry the garlic and chilli for 30 seconds in the olive oil. Add the tinned tomatoes and simmer for 5-10 minutes, until thickened.
2. Meanwhile, halve the cherry tomatoes and use a small, sharp knife to remove the seeds. Stuff each half with a mozzarella ball. Cut the smallest circles you can from the basil leaves and place one at the centre of each mozzarella ball.
3. Boil the pasta according to packet instructions. Once done, drain then stir through the pesto and divide between 2 shallow bowls. Spoon over some tomato sauce, then arrange the stuffed tomato eyeballs on top.

Recipe by Rob Cottam.

Baked apples with prunes, cinnamon & ginger

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 cooking apples, cored but left whole
• 2 stem ginger balls, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 4 prunes, chopped
• 50g light muscovado sugar
• 1 tbsp butter
• 4 big scoops good quality vanilla ice cream , to serve

Method

1. Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Using a sharp knife, score a line around the equator of each apple. Put them into a baking dish with a small splash of water in the bottom.
2. In a bowl, combine the ginger, cinnamon, prunes and sugar. Stuff the mixture into the apples so that they are well packed. Top each with a knob of butter and bake for 35-40 mins, or until cooked through. To test, pierce with a sharp knife – it should slide straight through. The apples can be cooked up to a day ahead, then warmed through in the oven or microwave before eating.
3. Remove from the oven and baste the apples with the liquid left in the dish. Serve hot or warm with the ice cream.

Recipe by James Martin

La Bottega Fine Foods Online is an online delicatessen offering luxury food and drink items from Italy, the continent and beyond. We offer nationwide delivery.