Recipe

Pita Bread Prep

Step 1: Mix the flour, salt and yeast together in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in the extra virgin olive oil and most of the water. Stir to bring the mixture together into a ball, adding a little more water as necessary to get a soft, but not sticky, dough.

Step 2: Tip out onto a lightly floured counter and knead for 10 minutes until smooth. Put the dough in a lightly oiled clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for about 2 hours.

Taramasalata

Step 1: Tear the bread into small pieces, place in a bowl, pour over the milk, and set aside to soak.

Step 2: Cut away any hard bits of skin from the cod’s roe, then place the roe in a food processor along with the garlic, lemon juice and a good grinding of pepper. Add the soaked bread and blend to a smooth paste. With the motor running, gradually trickle in the light olive oil through the funnel. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper and add a touch more milk if the taramasalata seems too oily. Spoon into a bowl.

Step 3: When the pita dough has roughly doubled in size, punch it down and knead briefly on a lightly floured counter for a minute. Divide into 12 equal pieces and shape into balls. Let prove in a warm place for 15 minutes.

Step 4: Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400°F and put two lightly oiled baking trays inside to heat. Roll each dough ball out into an oval, 1/8″ thick. Transfer to the warmed baking trays and bake in the oven for 6-8 minutes until puffed up and light golden in colour.

Step 5: Drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over the surface of the taramasalata before serving, with the warm pita breads.

Reprinted with permission from Gordon Ramsay’s World Kitchen (2010 Key Porter).