Ian Parmenter

An all-purpose workstation!

"Comedian Woody Allen tells this story about when he
was young, his father came home from work one day and
announced he'd lost his job. He'd been replaced by a gadget
that could do everything he could do, but better. The real
tragedy, recalls Woody, was that his mother went and bought
one. I have found such a device. It’s the Thermomix TM 31 and
its the mother of all kitchens appliances. Better, it replaces the
kitchen: a self contained all-purpose workstation. At its heart,
it’s a food processor, but the TM 31 – which I call Tim – has a
built in oven so it makes a mean risotto, does all the stirring as
well as cooking. Tim turns grains into flour, makes a wicked
granita, cooks curries and casseroles, whisks egg whites, steams
fish and vegetables, does mayo in a mo, and kneads bread
dough. It can even wash itself. For someone like me, who's lazy
and whose motto is "Toys R Me", Tim is absolute bliss!"

West Australian Magazine, 13 September 2003

Schiacciata (Sweet Pizza)

© Ian Parmenter 2004

Sweet pizzas are as much fun to make as the savoury variety. In Italy a favourite is Schiacciata, a fruit pizza made with grapes, traditionally during vintage. It is one of the simplest combinations: bread dough and grapes combine to make a tasty and inexpensive dessert.

Ingredients

500g Pizza Dough made in TM 31
500g Grapes (I use red and white for visual impact)
125g Raw or Brown Sugar

Method

Wash grapes, drain and toss with half the sugar. You can use the grapes whole if you don’t mind the crunchiness but if it worries you, either de-seed them or use the seedless variety. Prepare a pizza pan or similar flat tray and brush with a little light oil.

Divide the dough into two and roll out the first of two base shapes for what will become a grape sandwich. Don’t worry about making a perfect circle – rough enough is good enough. Place onto oiled pan.

Dot some of the grapes over the base leaving some space between them and sprinkle on a little more sugar.

Roll the second base shape and place it over the first layer pushing down around the edge to seal it.

Add more of the grapes, pushing them in the valleys formed by the grapes underneath, and sprinkle with the remainder of the sugar.

Bake in a hot oven (or woodfired oven if you have one) at 200ºC for about 40 minutes.