Sausage Inna Bun
Posted: May 17, 2013 Filed under: Bread, Breakfast, Budget, Deja Food, Pork 6 Comments »
“Meat pies! Hot sausages! Inna bun! So fresh the pig h’an’t noticed they’re gone!” Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler
— Terry Pratchett – Moving Pictures
Wotchers!
Some time ago, the question “When were sausage rolls invented?” popped into my head, and so I decided to mount a culinary expdition to try and find the earliest recipe for these popular snacks.
So I set off on my recipe hunt and found that, although the earliest sausage roll recipe that I could find[1] dated as far back as 1828[2], the recipe I found most interesting was one by Charles Elmé Francatelli, published in 1852. Although something of a celebrity chef to high society in London, as well as (briefly) being chef to Queen Victoria, Francatelli was considered to be a culinary economist. He was often quoted as saying that he could feed a thousand families on the food wasted in London in one day. Francatelli’s book “A Plain Cookery Book For The Working Classes” offered simple and wholesome recipes for those less well off.
Francatelli’s sausage roll was made using a bread dough enriched with either butter, dripping or suet instead of pastry. A sausage inna bun! And those of you who are familiar with the Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett will know that these are the fall-back sales item for C.M.O.T.Dibbler when his get-rich-quick schemes invariably go pants down.
I also like this idea because, even with Francatelli’s enriched bread dough, it would be much lower in fat than pastry, and much more satisfying. I tried the variations suggested, and, I’ve got to be honest, the suet pastry wasn’t very pleasant to eat cold. It was a bit funky (to my tastes) eaten warm, too. So my suggestion is to either use butter or beef dripping, especially if the sausages are made of beef. Alternatively, you can use a regular bread dough mixed with either all milk or half milk and half water, to give a softer, billowy crumb and crust.
Having said all that, I’m not going to be giving a recipe for either bread dough or sausage mix. What I’ve got for you today are some suggestions as to how you could make deliciously unusual savoury snacks using little more than these two simple items. Using bread dough in much the same manner as you would pastry, you can easily ring the changes and keep this snack food both tasty and interesting.
Each of these variations either use white bread dough, risen and knocked back after the first rise or bread rolls.
1. Plain bread dough sausage roll.
- Roll some bread dough out to a thickness of about 1.5cm.
- Brush the surface of the dough with water to encourage the sausage meat to stick.
- Remove the skin of the sausages and roll them in the dough, pinching the edges together .
- Cut slashes along the top of the dough and brush with beaten egg.
- While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 200°C, 180°C Fan.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes until both the dough and sausage are cooked and golden.
2. Spiral sausage roll (see top photo)
- Roll some bread dough out to a thickness of about 1.5cm.
- Brush the surface of the dough with water to encourage the sausage meat to stick.
- Remove the skin of the sausages.
- Cut the dough into strips 3cm wide.
- Take one strip and wind it around the sausage, making sure both ends finish underneath.
- While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 200°C, 180°C Fan.
- Brush the dough with beaten egg and bake for 15-18 minutes until both the dough and sausage are cooked and golden.
3. Sausage Rings in Bread
- Proceed initially as for the plain sausage roll.
- Once the sausage has been wrapped in dough, brush the outsides with water and slice it into six pieces.
- Arrange the slices of dough-wrapped sausage as per the diagram above. The water will help the dough stick together.
- Sprinkle a little grated cheese and chopped herbs (parsley/thyme/rosemary/savoury) over the top and set aside to rise.
- While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 200°C, 180°C Fan.
- Brush the dough with beaten egg and bake for 15-18 minutes until both the dough and sausage are cooked and golden.
4. Sausage & Sauce Open Pies
There are two versions for these open pies, small, circular pies and larger, oval pies. Both are made with sliced, cooked sausages – ideal Déjà Food suggestions!
Circle Open Pies
- Roll some dough out to a thickness of about 1.5cm.
- Brush the surface of the dough with water to encourage the dough for the sides to stick.
- Using a plain circle pastry cutter of whatever size you fancy, cut out the bases for the pies and place on a parchment-lined baking tray.
- Cut some strips of dough and roll them into ropes, then coiled them around the edge of the bases, as if making a coil pot. Use a few more dabs of water to ensure the dough sticks together. You only need 2 or 3 coils of dough to make the sides.
- Add the filling now – so that the dough can rise around it and (hopefully) hug it all together.
- Put slices of cooked sausage in the bottom of the pie.
- Add 1-2tsp spicy sauce, brown sauce or chutney on top. I used Sainsbury’s Basics Tomato chutney left over from the Cheese and Potato Pies.
- Sprinkle some grated cheese over the top and set aside to rise.
- While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 200°C, 180°C Fan.
- Brush the dough with beaten egg and bake for 12-15 minutes until the dough is cooked and golden and the filling hot.
Oval Open Pies
For a more substantial pie:
- Shape some dough into a ball, then roll it out to an elongated oval shape.
- Dampen the edges with some water.
- Arrange the filling along the middle of the dough as above (sausage/sauce/cheese).
- Fold one long side of the dough up and around the filling.
- Fold the other side around the filling too, and pinch the ends together.
- Tuck any extra dough at the ends underneath, to prevent the sides of the pie unravelling.
- Set aside to rise.
- While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 200°C, 180°C Fan.
- Brush the dough with beaten egg and bake for 12-15 minutes until the dough is cooked and golden and the filling hot.
5. Sausage Breakfast Bun.
I’ve called this a Breakfast Bun, but they are delicious at any time of the day! This is a little different to the other recipes in that it uses cooked bread rolls, rather than the raw dough, so also super quick if you have ready-made rolls. These rolls also use sliced, cooked sausage.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C, 160°C Fan.
- Slice off the top of the buns and scoop out the crumb, leaving a wall of crust/crumb about 1.5cm thick. Whizz the crumb in a food processor and freeze the breadcrumbs for another use.
- Add the filling – I just used sausage, egg and cheese – but it occurred to me afterwards that these rolls might be improved with some sauce/chutney/salsa – you decide.
- Add sauce to the bottom of the roll if liked, then arrange a layer of sliced, cooked sausage over the top.
- Crack a raw egg over the sausage.
- Sprinkle the top with grated cheese.
- Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 20-35 minutes. If you’re eating these roll straight from the oven, you might like to have the yolk of the egg still runny. If baking them for consumption later, I’d recommend cooking for the full 35 minutes, so that the yolk is cooked solid.
- If you want to crisp up the tops, add them to the baking sheet for the last 10 minutes.
[1] I’d be really interested to learn of an earlier recipe – do let me know!
[2] A treatise on the art of baking, with a preliminary introduction, shewing the various productions… with a number of valuable receipts, original and selected for the baker and domestic circle, (1828), John White, Anderson and Bryce, Edinburgh.
Coconut Orange Cakes
Posted: May 7, 2013 Filed under: Biscuits, Cakes Leave a comment »
Wotchers!
Here’s a little gem of a recipe I found in a far-off Romanian corner of the internet, on the blog of Laura Laurentin.
Don’t ask me how I got there – it’s all a bit of a blur – but this is an absolutely delightful two-in-one recipe that you can enjoy a variety of ways. And they’re just so pretty to look at!
As a bonus, it provides another way to use the coconut oil you all rushed out and bought a couple of weeks ago for the Coconut Oat Crunchies.
You did all rush out, didn’t you? 
When freshly baked, these coconut biscuits are deliciously light and crisp, but if you sandwich them together with the coconut buttercream and a little orange curd and leave them overnight, they soften into a wonderfully crumbly and moist shortcake texture.
You can also make these with either all butter or all coconut oil – there’s more than enough coconut flavour to go round.
I used some Seville Orange Curd, from three of the frozen cubes of juice/zest I made back in January.
Coconut Biscuits
Makes about 40 biscuits / 20 sandwich cakes
1 x 400ml tin of coconut milk
190g plain flour
60g dessicated coconut
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
50 grams of unsalted butter
40 g coconut oil
150g caster sugar
1 whole egg
1tsp vanilla extract
- Pour the coconut milk into a small pan and simmer until it has thickened and reduced to 150ml. An easy way to check is to pour the milk into a 150ml measuring cup (or use a 2/3 cup measure). If the cup can be filled and there’s still some milk in the pan, then you need to simmer it a little longer.
- Set the coconut milk aside to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C, 160°C Fan.
- Mix the flour, coconut, baking powder and salt together and set aside.
- Soften the butter and coconut oil and cream together until light and fluffy.
- Add the caster sugar and whisk thoroughly until fully incorporated, light and fluffy.
- Mix in the egg and the vanilla.
- Gradually add the flour mixture in 4 stages, alternating with 4 tablespoons (60ml) of the thickened and cooled coconut cream.
- Pipe the mixture onto parchment paper in 4cm circles. The mixture will spread during baking, so be sure to space them 3-4cm apart.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, until cooked through and the edges of the biscuit are tinged with brown.
- Cool on a wire rack.
Coconut Buttercream
50g unsalted butter
60g coconut oil
3-4tbs thickened coconut cream
1tsp vanilla
90g icing sugar
- Soften the butter and coconut oil then cream them together until light and fluffy.
- Add the coconut cream, vanilla and icing sugar and whisk until fully combined.
To Assemble
150ml Seville Orange curd
more icing sugar to dust
- Put the coconut buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a small star nozzle.
- Pipe a ring of little buttercream stars around the edge of half the biscuits.
- Add a teaspoon of orange curd in the middle.
- Press a second biscuit on top and dust with icing sugar.
- Cover and leave overnight.
Banoffi Pie
Posted: April 29, 2013 Filed under: Budget, Desserts, Pastry, Sweet shortcrust, Traditional 2 Comments »
Wotchers!
I decided to treat you all to an extra post this week and so today we’re going back to basics with that classic dessert – Banoffi Pie.
Yes, Banoffi. Not Banoffee.
That’s just one of my little niggles regarding this dessert that have ultimately led to this post.
Done properly, to the original recipe, it is a classic, sophisticated and delicious dessert, worthy of a dinner party.
But it rarely IS done properly and, over the years, I’ve seen it churned out on television in worse and worse variations, until this past week when I saw an absolute shocker and so I was propelled into making this post just to set the record straight if nothing else.
I’m convinced that the fatty, over-sweetened mess that Banoffi Pie has evolved into, puts off a lot of people, which is a shame. Hopefully, if they can be persuaded to try it as it was originally conceived, they might just become fans.
I’ve mentioned in a previous post how Banoffi Pie came into being, and one of the co-creators has also published online the back-story as well as his original recipe.
Even though I am a fan of the original recipe, I’m going to change it a little.
I know, I know……I realise I’ve just spent three paragraphs banging on about people changing recipes, but in my head this is ALLOWED – because in the past I have actually eaten original recipe Banoffi Pie. Over the years I’ve developed a personal rule of first trying a recipe in it’s original form, out of respect to the original author. That done, you can tweak it how you like, but make it their way first. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the results.
Once you’ve tried the original recipe too, you can pop back and we’ll carry on.
Back already? Excellent.
Before we begin, lets just have a quick whizz around the components, which gives me the opportunity to bang on about those too:
Pastry Base: Yes, contrary to popular belief, the original recipe called for a sweet, shortcrust pastry, which is actually ideal for this dessert. We’re going to draw a discrete veil over the crushed biscuit-and-butter and (my personal bête-noir) chocolate-biscuit-and-melted-chocolate bases, which push this dessert into being sickly. The filling is so rich and sweet, having the dry, crumbly pastry is a perfect foil. I actually have a copy of the original recipe published in the second book of recipes from the restaurant where it originated ( “The Deeper Secrets of The Hungry Monk” ) which just specified ‘shortcrust pastry’. This I interpreted as carte blanche to use whatever recipe I liked. What I have for you here is the original sweet cornflour pastry which I adapted to a savoury version for the Cheese and Potato Pies. It has that extra crispness that a regular all-butter pastry lacks.
Filling: I’ve seen some people get very precious about the caramel “I make it all by hand!” they cry, ladling in the butter and cream. However, these caramels tend to be rather runny, and to be blunt, the filling can be doing without all that fat. The original is much simpler and is obtained by simmering unopened tins of sweetened, condensed milk for an extended length of time. This can be done in a variety of ways, but my method of choice is in the slow cooker because you can leave it unattended, and it won’t boil dry. Cover the tins with water, set it on Low and leave it for 8 hours. You can simmer them longer, up to 12 hours, and the caramel will gradually become darker the longer it is left in the water. The caramel in the picture was taken out of the slow cooker after 8 hours. In the UK, the most well-known producer of milk products (Carnation) have recently started selling tins of caramel. These are great if you need a dessert at short notice, but I find the caramel isn’t quite as firm as when you make it yourself, as well as being, to my taste at least, a great deal sweeter. If convenience is what you’re after, I suggest simmering more than one tin at a time and keeping the home-made spares in the cupboard.
Banana: This addition/improvement transformed Blum’s Coffee Toffee Pie into Banoffi Pie. The banana is laid on top of the caramel and underneath the cream, NOT on the pastry base. This would make spreading the caramel very difficult, as the sliced banana would stick to the caramel and slide about. And no, they don’t go on top of the cream either, because they’ll just turn brown and become very off-putting. And if you DO put them on top of the cream and then throw chocolate on top to disguise the browning, you’re fooling no-one. One variation that meets with Ian Dowding’s approval is to replace the banana with a thickened apple puree, making an Appleoffi Pie. Made with sharp, cooking apples such as Bramleys, I can just imagine the delicious contrast in both flavour and texture, although I’d probably leave out the coffee from the whipped cream for this version.
Coffee Cream: Yes, coffee cream – whipped cream flavoured with coffee. So often this is replaced with plain whipped cream, or even vanilla flavoured cream, to the dessert’s great detriment. And, contrary to Mr Dowding’s original, in my opinion the coffee cream should be unsweetened and strong to the point of bitterness. Using espresso coffee powder turns it into a fantastic counterpoint to all the sweetness in the caramel and bananas, as well as lifting the dessert into dinner-party status. Coffee can do that. It’s almost as if it’s status as a grown-up flavour, confers adult status on everything it touches.
Chocolate for sprinkling/garnish: Whoa, whoa, whoa there, Nellie!? Whaddya doin’? You can’t go introducing a new flavour and shoving it on top of the pie just because you feel like it! Coffee, banana and caramel flavours are plenty busy enough, thankyousoverymuch! If you must sprinkle anything, a light dusting of espresso coffee powder is all the garnish it needs.
Baking Tin: You can make this dessert in any size and shape tin you like. A 20cm round tin, preferably with a loose bottom to help ease out the cooked pastry case, is traditional, but this time I used my loose-bottom rectangular flan tin (13cm x 35cm), which means the finished dessert can be neatly cut straight across in elegant, finger slices and the different layers are clean and clearly visible.
The Original(ish) Banoffi Pie
Pastry
60g cornflour
225g plain flour
140g butter
1 large egg
85g icing sugar
ice-cold water
- Put all the ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and blitz until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
- Gradually add the water, one tablespoon at a time, until the mixture comes together in a ball.
- Knead smooth, then roll out thinly.
- Line your chosen tart tin, easing the pastry into the corners/sides.
- Leave the excess pastry overhanging the sides and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C, 180°C Fan.
- Remove the tin from the fridge and, now that the pastry has relaxed, trim the excess from the sides.
- Prick the bottom of the tart tin with a fork.
- Line the tin with baking parchment and weigh it down with baking beads/rice.
- Bake for 12 minutes, then remove from the oven and take out the parchment and beans.
- If the edges are already brown, cover them closely with foil and return the tart to the oven until fully baked (10-15 minutes).
- Set aside to cool.
Filling
1 tin sweetened condensed milk turned to caramel, cooled
Unless you’re making a huge (30cm+) tart, then one tin is all you’ll need. Warmed carefully, it’ll spread a long way and a 1-2cm layer is rich enough for a treat without becoming sickly.
- Open the cooled tin and tip into a small saucepan.
- Warm the caramel gently until it becomes smooth and pourable.
- Pour the warm caramel into the cooked pastry tart shell and spread it evenly over the base.
- Lightly grease some clingfilm with butter and lay it closely over the caramel.
- Chill until required.
To Assemble
300ml double cream
1tsp instant espresso powder + extra to sprinkle
2-3 bananas
- Whisk the cream and coffee powder together until firm peaks.
- Slice the bananas and lay a thin layer over the caramel.
- Cover the bananas with the coffee cream. I like to just spoon it over, and keep it light and billowy, but if you prefer something more formal, you can pipe it. What you must do, is ensure that all the banana slices are completely covered. Just like the meringue on a lemon meringue pie, make sure the cream goes right to the edge of the tart, touching the edge of the pastry. Any banana left uncovered with start to discolour very quickly, but covered with the cream they remain delicately pale.
- Dust the top lightly with espresso powder and chill until required.
Roast Pork In Milk
Posted: April 27, 2013 Filed under: Budget, Pork, Traditional 4 Comments »
Wotchers!
And welcome to the most un-kosher recipe ever.
If this offends you, look away now – but for everyone else, let’s just admire the incredible awesomeness that is Roast Pork in Milk.
Because that’s all it is: pork, milk.
Not even salt and pepper. It tastes that good.
In essence, this is a cross between a classic Italian dish (Arrosto di maiale al latte) and pulled pork: a joint of pork cooked long and slow in the oven for hours. But the inclusion of milk as a cooking liquid has an unbelievably delicious effect on the meat. The pork remains moist and fall-apart tender, and the sauce becomes creamy and richly flavoured with the meat juices.
Of course, you CAN follow the traditional method: buy a whole pork loin, score it, season it, tie it, fry it in oil so that all the sides are browned, add herbs, bacon, onions, lemon zest blah, blah, blah – or, you can be like me and just sling a joint in a pot and slosh milk over it.
I did actually begin by making the classic Italian version, but over time, if I was out of something or I’d forgotten to refill some herb – I just made it without. This has culminated in reducing the recipe to just two ingredients. The fact that it tastes so good with just two ingredients is a constant source of enjoyment to me. So easy. So delicious.
There is, however, a teeny-tiny down-side, though – but I don’t want you to be put off but it, for there is a solution. During the prolonged cooking, the milk breaks down and the milk solids form clumps that float in the rest of the liquid/juices. It looks curdled. But a quick whizz with a stick blender, and it emulsifies together into the fabulously creamy sauce you see above. What I’m completely bemused by is the fact that a lot of people serve it un-whizzed and curdled. Still, each to their own.
Cook as big a joint as you can afford. It freezes well, and needs only a splash of milk on reheating to return the sauce to its creamy deliciousness.
Roast Pork in Milk
1 x big lump of pork – the cut doesn’t really matter. I tend to buy pork leg when it’s on offer, because the meat itself is quite lean. The thick skin and fatty layer underneath keep the meat moist, and just peel off altogether at the end of cooking. Pork shoulder is also fine. With the long cooking time, the size doesn’t really matter either – you’re merely limited by the size of pot you have. I use a large casserole to keep it simple, because it can go straight onto the stove if the sauce needs reducing a little.
2 litres of milk – this might seem a lot, but it does reduce down during cooking, and the more milk you add, the more sauce you’ll end up with. If you don’t want to add it all at once, top it up halfway through cooking.
- Put your joint of pork into your casserole.
- Pour over the milk.
- Put it, uncovered, into the oven and turn the heat on to 160°C, 140°C Fan.
- Turn the meat over in the milk every hour, so that it stays moist.
- Add more milk after 2 hours if liked.
- After 4 hours, remove the casserole from the oven.
- Lift out the joint – be careful, it will be very tender and might fall apart.
- Use a stick blender to whizz the curdled sauce to smoothness. If the sauce isn’t completely smooth or you’d like a slightly thicker sauce, set it to simmer on top of the cooker while you prepare the meat.
- Lift off/peel back the pork skin. Remove all traces of fat and connective tissue and either cut the pork into more manageable chunks, or slice it.
- When you’re happy with the consistency of the sauce, add the meat back into the casserole and warm through.
- Serve with plain boiled rice or riced potatoes and green vegetables.
Coconut Oat Crunchies
Posted: April 21, 2013 Filed under: Biscuits, Budget, Traditional 20 Comments »
Wotchers!
The story of this recipe is an example of how I make recipes work for me. That’s right – make.
I’m not at their beck and call, I bend them to my will (and store-cupboard).
Before you start backing towards the door, eyes flickering to the window as a potential back-up escape route because I’ve completely lost the plot, let me recount a pertinent anecdote.
When I was young, a friend got a job making desserts for a local hotel. She had to supply six on a weekly basis, to be delivered on a Friday afternoon. I called round one Thursday during one of her baking sessions. She’d made five of the six required desserts and was at a bit of a loss as to what she could make to complete that week’s delivery. Wanting to help, I grabbed one of her books and began flicking through the recipes to find something suitable. As I read out the titles, my suggestions were dismissed on the grounds of having been previously and recently made for the hotel, or as being too similar to what had already been prepared. Finally, I found something that I thought might fit the bill (I can’t even remember what it was, to be honest). My friend seemed to think so too, and so I passed over the book so she could read the recipe. “Oh no”, she said “I can’t make this. I haven’t got any nutmeg.”
For a second, I honestly thought she was joking. The nutmeg constituted a tiny fraction of the ingredients, and amongst all the other seasonings, wasn’t contributing greatly to the (imminent poncy foodie jargon warning) flavour profile of the dish. In any case, she had a store-cupboard stocked with a slew of possible substitutions – cinnamon, mace, ginger, allspice, cloves – as well as the license to just omit it altogether. However, none of these options were deemed acceptable, despite much reasonable persuasive discussion, and so the dessert never got made.
I found this episode very difficult to understand. I grew up in a household where, although it contained several cookbooks, the cooking was done from scratch and largely without their assistance. Both my mother and grandmother cooked, having learned the basics when young, and just applied and adapted them as occasion or ingredients dictated. My mother perfected this adaptation technique to a frankly alarming degree – so much so that in my head I imagined her to be an Honours graduate from the “That’ll Do” School of Cooking. In the midst of cooking and at a loss for some ingredient or other, she would fling wide the cupboard doors and cast her gaze upon the contents. Invariably her eyes would light upon something in the depths and she would seize it with a triumphant cry of “That’ll do!” and into the dish it would go.
Alas, there was also a downside to this impulsive mode of cooking, and at a later date I might be tempted to relate the tale of “Soup”, but not today, because today is all about *sings* Oaty biscuits! Oaty biscuits! Who doesn’t love a bikkit in the af-ter-nooooooon!”
So anyways, a friend recently had to go on an extremely restricted diet: no fish, seafood, dairy products, soya products, egg yolks, iodised salt etc. and asked me if I could make her something she could look forward to as a treat amidst all the restrictions. Since she liked coconut, and I had several egg-whites in the fridge, I was all set to make traditional Coconut Pyramids. However, on opening the kitchen drawer of ingredients, I spied the pot of coconut butter[1] I’d bought recently for a biscuit recipe (note to self: look out that recipe and photo, because it was great!). A quick check online and I found a coconut oat biscuit recipe containing butter, which I replaced with the coconut butter. I was out of golden syrup but I did have agave syrup, and the recipe contained no salt (which, although a rare user of salt myself, in oat-based dishes I find it is a must), so I added some. It wasn’t necessary to substitute the caster sugar, as I had recently re-filled the jar, but I would have been equally prepared to use light brown, Demerera, dark or light Muscovado or granulated.
The aroma from these biscuits once they come out of the oven is fabulous – not just coconut or even Coconut – but COCONUT!! They conjure up images of long white beaches, pina coladas and coconut scented suntan lotions – perfect now that the air temperature in the UK has finally dragged itself into double figures.
Coconut butter can be used in a whole variety of dishes as a direct substitute for butter, both sweet and savoury, and although it will have just a slight coconut taste, there’s few dishes that this won’t enhance.
I guess that all I’m trying to say here is have fun with your recipes, don’t be enslaved by them. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t got or don’t feel inclined to buy Coconut Butter. With this recipe you can swap the butter (or margarine) and golden syrup back in, switch up the type of sugar and omit the salt. Your choice – always.
Coconut Oat Crunchies – Dairy Free
160g rolled oats
90g dessicated coconut
175g caster sugar
125g plain flour
1/4tsp cooking salt
50ml agave nectar
150g coconut butter
1tsp bicarbonate of soda.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C, 160°C Fan.
- Grease and line a baking pan with baking parchment. Exact size and shape isn’t important. For reference I used my roasting pan of dimensions 20cm x 30cm. If you use a smaller pan, the biscuits will be slightly thicker and you should increase cooking time a little to compensate. Lightly grease the parchment paper.
- Mix the oats, coconut, sugar, flour and salt in a bowl.
- In a large saucepan, heat the agave nectar and coconut butter until warmed and melted.
- Add the bicarbonate of soda to the pan and when it froths, remove from the heat and add the dry ingredients.
- Stir well to thoroughly combine, then press into your prepared baking pan and smooth over.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until the biscuits are lightly browned.
- Cut into squares/fingers whilst warm, and then leave to cool in the tin.
- Store in an airtight box.
[1] Technically, it’s called coconut oil, but its solid like butter and comes in a large jar. Available at Holland and Barrett, a wholefoods store in the UK.
Yogurt Pie
Posted: April 1, 2013 Filed under: Cakes, Desserts 5 Comments »
Wotchers!
Here’s a lovely recipe for anyone with a sweet tooth. It’s like cheesecake – but without the guilt. Made with plain yogurt and a bit of low-fat crème fraiche, the filling is topped and tailed with a delicious, lemon-flavoured……. well, now it gets a bit tricky. It’s not really pastry, because, although it’s crisp, it’s not THAT kind of crisp. And it’s not biscuit either – nor yet cake.
Shortcake, perhaps?
*waves hand dismissively* Anyhoo, whatever it is – it’s delish! All of it!
I found this recipe whilst lurking in the Croatian recipe corner of the internet *flips up collar and chews matchstick moodily*
Oh yes, I go there! *strikes fearless pose* Impressed?
The vanilla slice is the more popular, but I found several fans of the chocolate flavoured slice out there too – varying the recipe by using the simple trick of adding in some cocoa powder.
This is a deliciously simple dessert discovery to have made, because it calls for no fancy ingredients – my favourite kind of recipe. In fact, I had all of the ingredients in the fridge/cupboard anyway, without having to go on a shopping trip.
The trickiest part is grating the topping: You can substitute margarine for the butter, but be sure to use block margarine and not tub margarine, otherwise it won’t chill hard enough to grate.
You can use Greek yogurt if you like, to make it that bit more creamy. I like using just ordinary, plain yogurt because I like the shine it adds to my halo, and not because I can justify eating more than one slice at a time *dares you to say different*
NB this makes a LOT of pie – I bake it in my roasting tin (20cm x 30cm). Although it keeps well in a box in the fridge, I suggest halving the recipe (and reducing the cooking time slightly) if you don’t have a lot of mouths to feed.
Yogurt Pie
To make the dough
250g plain flour
100g caster sugar
170g butter
zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp baking powder
4 large egg yolks
a little low-fat crème fraiche to mix
- Put the flour, sugar, butter, lemon zest and baking powder into the bowl of a food processor and blitz until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
- Add the egg yolks and mix again.
- If the mixture doesn’t come together into a soft dough, use a little crème fraiche for added moisture.
- Tip the mixture out and knead into a smooth ball.
- Cut the dough into two pieces.
- Wrap each piece in plastic and put one into the fridge and the other into the freezer for at least an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 200°c, 180°C Fan.
- Grease and line with parchment the tin you’re going to use. Grease the parchment also.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and roll out to cover the base of your tin.
- Cook the base for 10-12 minutes, then remove from the oven and set aside.
- Make the filling:
For the filling
500ml plain yogurt
200ml low fat crème fraiche
250g caster sugar
2tsp vanilla extract
4tbs plain flour
3tbs cocoa (for chocolate slice only)
4 large egg whites
- Mix the yogurt, crème fraiche, sugar, vanilla and flour (and cocoa if using) together.
- Whisk the egg-whites until stiff, the fold into the rest of the filling.
- Pour the filling over the cooked base and shake the tin to level the filling.
- Return the tin to the oven for 15 minutes. until the top of the filling has set a little.
- Remove the dough from the freezer and grate it evenly over the partially cooked filling.
- Return the tin to the oven for 20-25 minutes until the filling has almost set (just a slight wobble) and the topping is crisp and golden.
- Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
- Chill thoroughly in the fridge.
- Before serving, dust the top with icing sugar and cut into slices.
Iskender Kebab
Posted: March 24, 2013 Filed under: Lamb, Traditional 2 Comments »
Wotchers!
Well, Spring is upon us! *gazes out window at snow-blanketed wonderland* No, really.
Anyhoo – this recipe is perfect for tender spring lamb, even if it’s not quite the weather for barbecuing.
I’ve not recommended an entire plate of food before, but the flavour in this particular combination of ingredients is so fantastic, I really do recommend you try it this way at least once.
Iskender Kebab was created by Iskender Efendi in Bursa, Turkey in the 1860s. Looking for a way to invigorate business at his father’s restaurant, Iskender came up with the idea of roasting lamb on a vertical spit. Trimming the meat of all bone and sinew, it was marinated and then threaded onto a giant skewer and slowly rotated in front of a vertical fire. Sliced vertically when cooked, the meat was tender and juicy and a delight to eat. It was served over Turkish bread, drizzled with yogurt sauce, tomato sauce and melted butter. The toasted bread soaks up the three sauces and the meat juices and the combination is astonishing.
Leg of lamb is the best cut of meat for this recipe. Buy when it’s ‘on special’ for extra value, and ask the butcher to bone it for you. In the UK, Morrison’s butchery department is manned by real butchers, so don’t be afraid to grab something from the chiller and present it to them with your request. You can use the extra lamb for another recipe, but to be honest, I marinate the whole thing and we have it two days running, because it’s that good. 
This is definitely a plan-ahead meal – the meat should marinate for at least 24 hours – but on the second day, if everything else (bread, sauces, salad) is ready to go, the meal comes together very quickly, because the meat takes only 6-7 minutes to cook. I’ve adapted this for cooking the lamb on a grill, because I don’t personally own a vertical kebab grill – Tch! I know, right? I’m living like an ANIMAL! You could also thread the meat onto skewers and cook over a barbecue – once, you’ve brushed all the snow off it, that is.
Iskender Kebab
Day 1
Lamb Marinade
4 large onions
80ml olive oil
juice of 2 lemons
1 tsp salt
1 tsp coarse ground black pepper
500g lamb leg, trimmed of all fat and sinew[1]
- Puree the onions and extract the juice either by pressing the pulp through a fine sieve, or by putting it into a muslin square and squeezing. If it’s a little difficult to get the onions liquid enough, add the lemon juice to the onions to make it pureeing easier.
- Mix in the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
- Cut the meat into large cubes and add to the marinade.
- Leave to tenderise for at least 24 hours.
Tomato Sauce
400ml chopped tomatoess
paprika to taste
chili powder to taste
honey to taste
- Puree the chopped tomatoes.
- Pour the tomatoes into a small pan and add the spices to taste. Personally, I don’t add that much, just enough to give a little warmth.
- Add a little honey if the tomatoes are a little too acidic.
- Simmer until thickened slightly, then cover and chill overnight.
Yogurt Sauce
1 clove garlic
0.5 tsp salt
250ml plain yogurt
- Mash the garlic with the salt. A pestle and mortar is useful here. Otherwise, use the flat of a knife to make the paste.
- Mix the garlic paste with the yogurt, cover and chill.
Turkish Bread
To the purist, this won’t be a traditional Turkish bread, but it’s quick, has a fantastic flavour and the fabulous open texture that suits this recipe well.
2 sachets fast action dried yeast
1 tsp caster sugar
500 g strong white flour
1 teaspoon salt
60 ml extra-virgin olive oil
2 free-range eggs
50 ml milk
375 ml warm water
- Mix the yeast, sugar, flour and salt in a bowl.
- Whisk the rest of the ingredients together and add to the bowl.
- Mix thoroughly to combine. I use the dough hook on my mixer, but you can also do this by hand. NB Be warned – this is a VERY wet dough – as in, impossible to knead. That’s fine. It’ll make for a wonderfully open-textured loaf.
- When thoroughly mixed, cover and set to rise for 1 hour.
- Tip out the dough and fold into an elongated loaf shape. A dough scraper will prove useful here.
- Oil a piece of baking parchment and place the shaped doughdough onto it.
- Leave to rise again for 30 minutes.
- Put a baking sheet into the oven and preheat to it’s highest setting.
- When the oven is hot, remove the heated baking sheet, slide it underneath the parchment and return to the oven for 8-10 minutes, until the loaf is risen and browned.
- Cool on a wire rack.
Day 2
- Cut 2-3 wide (10cm) slices of bread. Cut through the middle as if making a sandwich, then toast both sides of each slice under the grill until nicely browned. Cut into chunky cubes and arrange on the plates
- Warm the tomato sauce.
- Melt 75g butter.
- With the grill on its hottest setting, lay the lamb pieces into the grill pan and cook for 6-7 minutes, until still pink in the middle.
- While the lamb is cooking, drizzle the toasted bread cubes with melted butter and the yogurt sauce.
- Lay the cooked lamb onto the bread, and spoon over the spicy tomato sauce.
- Serve with salad and enjoy!
[1] This will serve four generously – but add as much meat as you like/want.
