Peanut Butter Banana Bread with Coffee Ice Cream

Is it weird that this recipe sounds like breakfast to me?

Pintxos! Sweet and Savoury Goat's Cheese Bites and Grilled Halloumi with Peaches

Pintxos! "Yeh, what the hell is that?" I hear you ask.

Pronounced "pinchos", pintxos are small tapas like snacks eaten throughout Northern Spain in the Basque region. Eating pintxos at a bar, usually standing up with a glass of Txakoli ("Chak-o-lee") is the most common way for the Basque people to socialise with their friends and family.

As a Londoner, on hearing of this time old tradition I had the innate London cynicism to question how anyone in the modern Western world has time for such leisurely and social eating. Of course, the obvious thing to do in such a situation is go and find out for myself.

So, off to San Sebastian I went.

Pfttt, who am I kidding? Yes, I do love food. But the sun, sea and sand were pretty appealing as a holiday prospect too. And of course the chance to spend some quality time with friends. Just look at this place.

Spicy Mixed Dried Fruit Hot Cross Buns

For me, this week has been about celebration. And any celebration worth celebrating has got to involve some baking! Fact.

With it being almost Easter and all, I thought it was about time I tried my hand at Hot Cross Buns. This guys' baking book has been on my shelf for a couple of years now. As you know, I'm not all that much into following recipes myself. But baking something new, well, I needed some expert, GBBO standard advice.

So swiftly turning to page 82, Chapter 3: Easter I found Chocolate Orange Hot Cross Buns - perfect!

Well, kind of... Inevitably I want to put my own stamp on my celebration buns. So out with the Chocolate Orange, and in with a little bit of what I fancy, which happens to be a lot of warming spice and dried mixed fruit. A fairly classic combo in anticipation of the melting butter that will marry so well with a freshly baked generously spiced and fruit bun. 

Sweet Corn Chowder

Last minute.com pretty much sums me up at the moment. Time, days, life is just whizzing by. It is so easy to get over whelmed at how time flies as you dash about doing one thing after another, after another, after another, barely having a second to think. Every decision I make seems instantaneous in consequence. This is very disconcerting for someone who likes to plan ahead. My diary is my Bible.

Having said that, it might come as a surprise that in amongst the whirlwind of everyday life I find quiet solace in possibly the most hectic, traumatising (for some) place on earth – the London Underground.

The London Underground is like another world. You are distanced from the wider world, unreachable from the needy demands of cyberspace and commitments to friends, family and work. That time spent on the tube is yours. You cannot give that time to anyone on the phone or anyone in an email or in reply to their text message. You are free from the inundation of news feeds and time lines.

Admittedly noisy, rushing people on the Underground can cause just as much disruption to quiet mindfulness as news feeds and text messages. However this can be blocked out by escapism through music. And you will rarely find me without headphones firmly plugged in whilst travelling on the Underground.

It is here, in the routine forty minutes of my day, twice a day, that I take my solace. Whether I am jammed between a pole and a suitcase or sitting comfortably surrounded by angry, envious glares wishing that the next stop is mine so that they can have a seat; either way those forty minutes belong to me. And on days like the days I’ve been having these past couple of weeks those forty minutes consist mainly of forty winks!

The minute I get off the Underground to head home, my mind is racing and phone buzzing once again. But at the forefront of all these demands is always food. Thinking “need fresh food now” and “can’t be bothered to go to the shops, what have we got at home?” is basically how I came up with this recipe. Store cupboard ingredients plus really simple, fresh execution equals delicious, nutritious, wholesome dinner – a.k.a Sweet Corn Chowder.

Sweet Corn Chowder

Sweet Corn Chowder (serves 4)

1 white onion, chopped finely

5 small potatoes, peeled (optional) and chopped into 1 inch cubes

2 cups sweet corn (approx 250g), frozen or fresh or canned, it doesn't matter

1 hot chilli, split down the middle

1 handful coriander, chopped finely

1 tsp stock (or 1 stock cube)

3 cups milk

2 bay leaves

1 tbsp oil

A dash of cream – if you’re feeling luxurious

1) Sweat the onions gently on a low heat. Add a pinch of salt as they cook to stop them burning. Pop the bay leaves in with the onions. Let them cook together for 2 minutes.

Sweating onions with bay leaves

2) Next add the potatoes and stir into the onions briefly. Now mix the stock into 1 cup of water, pour this over the onion and potatoes. The water should just cover the potatoes. Add the chilli. (The reason I have only split the chilli down the middle and not chopped it is so that it only imparts a mild warming background flavour rather than full on heat. This soup is all about the subtleties.) Put the lid on and let the potatoes cook until soft. This will take about 7 minutes.

3) Add three cups of milk. Let this come to the boil. (Watch that the milk doesn’t boil over. Trust me scrubbing boiled milk off your cooker is not fun or easy.)

Sweet corn

4) Now take about half your sweet corn and blitz with a ladle full of soup. This can be used to thicken the soup. Add the rest of the frozen corn into the soup whole. And mix in the blitzed mixture. (FYI: I prefer frozen sweet corn to canned and fresh over both these options. But for convenience sake I try and use frozen when I can. But use whatever is convenient for you and preferred by your own taste buds of course.)

The finished soup!

5) The final flourish is a handful of chopped coriander. Serve alongside some crusty bread of choice – you’ll want something that will soak up those gorgeous flavours. That’s it - simple, delicious soup!

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Until next time...

Apple, Walnut, Cheddar Cheese Bread & Honey and Sesame Seed Bread

No-knead, no-rise, no-yeast bread in 40 minutes start to finish? Yep, you’d better believe it. When I first saw this recipe here I couldn’t believe how easy it was. Bread is usually a long processes involving waiting around, for a couple of hours at a time, to give your yeast a chance to prove (any bread buffs out there – get the pun?!) that it is alive and kicking (what an attention seeking little so and so!). No-knead, no-rise, no-yeast means no waiting...at all.

Whilst the bread is baking in the oven, you have just about enough time to wash up, call some friends round and crack open a bottle of wine. Once this bread is out of the oven, it requires immediate consumption. This is not a dramatic over exaggerated expression of how delicious this bread is. Rather, a slight drawback of taking a short cut in baking. If left to go cold it can be a little stodgy. Of course if you do bake it in advance, I would simply advise warming it up before you eat it.  

On the plus side, this recipe is all about getting creative. Use the basic recipe of said amount of flour, salt, water and olive oil and let your imagination/taste buds do the rest! I’ve tried paprika and chilli, olive and rosemary (as used in the original) and even date and walnut. The ones in this post were my favourite. Sweet apple, crunchy walnut and salty, creamy cheese. Mouth watering already? Mine too! I just love the mix of sweet and savoury. When I go to the cinema, it’s always half sweet and half salty popcorn for me. And as for honey and sesame seed, if you’ve ever tried Jewish breads you’ll know honey and sesame is a tried and tested combination. This bread couldn’t be any easier if it tried. Now there is no excuse for not baking your own!

Apple, Walnut and Cheddar Bread (serves 8)

300g self raising flour

Pinch of salt

2/3 tbsp olive oil

150ml warm water

1 green apple, cut into small cubes

Approx 50g walnuts, roughly chopped

Approx 40g cheddar cheese, grated

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Start by measuring out the flour and pinch of salt. Add the oil, warm water and cheese. (The measurements are quite specific but honestly, if you pour in 1 whole tbsp of oil instead of 2/3 by mistake it’s not the end of the world. The same goes for the water and cheese.) Stir until the mixture comes together using a wooden spoon.

As the dough forms it will start to come away from the sides of the bowl. At this point tip out onto a clean surface. Push the dough around and shape into a flattened circle. Pile the apple and walnuts into the middle of your circle and pull the dough over to cover. Use your hands to try and evenly distribute the apple and walnuts into your dough. If it seems to stick to your hands, add a little more flour.

Shape into a round loaf, by tucking in the edges of your circle underneath (as seen in the video below). Use the handle of a wooden spoon to indent 8 segmentations in the loaf. This will make the loaf easier to cut/pull apart once bakes. Sprinkle some cheese on top for a cheesy crust. And now it’s ready to bake, for 30 minutes at 200 ºc.

Honey and Sesame Seed Bread (serves 8) 

300g self raising flour

A pinch of salt

2/3 tbsp olive oil

150ml warm water

4 tbsp runny honey

3tbsp back sesame seeds

3tbsp white sesame seeds

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Start this is the same way as the other bread. Start by measuring out the flour and pinch of salt. Add the oil, warm water, honey and sesame seeds. (The measurements are quite specific but honestly, if you pour in 1 whole tbsp of oil instead of 2/3 by mistake it’s not the end of the world. The same goes for the water, honey and sesame seeds. If you only have one kind of sesame seed, that’s fine too.) Stir until the mixture comes together using a wooden spoon.

As the dough forms it will start to come away from the sides of the bowl. At this point tip out onto a clean surface. . Push the dough around and shape into a round loaf. Use the handle of a wooden spoon to indent 8 segmentations in the loaf. This will make the loaf easier to cut/pull apart once bakes. And now it’s ready to bake, for 30 minutes at 200 ºc.

I shared my breads with four of my friends at a “bring-a-dish” dinner party at mine, so I couldn’t blog about this recipe without mentioning them. I knew we are all foodies or at least dedicated food consumers (we all went travelling together and came back a lot heavier after two months in each others company!). But I did not realise how many great recipes they all have up their sleeves! Here is a little snippet of our feast, and my God it was a feast!

Ricotta and Roasted Veg Stuffed Pancakes

Mushroom and Pesto Puffs, Camembert, Apple Toast

Tiramisu

Apple, Walnut, Cheddar Cheese and Honey, Sesame Seed Bread 

Cheese Board

The chefs! 

Until next time...

Boring Bruschetta

Everyone loves bruschetta. A toasted slice of bread usually topped with tomatoes, maybe a bit of onion, garlic and of course good olive oil and basil. It is a staple on any good Italian restaurant menu and its simplicity is what makes it so delicious to eat. 

Unfortunately the humble bruschetta made its own bed and lay in it. Its simple ingredients can make it seem boring and unimaginative. I mean really bruschetta can be compared to beans on toast, cheese on toast. Hell! We may as well compare it to the mundaneness of melting butter on toast! They're all, at the end of the day, just a bit of toasted bread with something desirable thrown on top. So, how is it that we find so much pleasure in such seemingly boring recipes? 

Well, I think the magic is in attention to detail. Perfectly cooked beans, bread sliced to the right thickness etc. 
For now, I will restrict my attention to the detail of bruschetta, and share some of the ways I think you can make "boring bruschetta" something more special. 

And the detail starts with the bread...

Ciabatta to be precise. It has the perfect, airy and slightly chewy texture with a good crust. 
Cut to about 2/3cm thickness and lightly brushed with olive oil. 
To get the best, slightly charred, flavour I like to toast the bread on a griddle pan but sticking them under a grill works fine.
And finally, once toasted on both sides, I take a peeled clove of garlic and rub it onto one side of the bread.

Now for the toppings...

Original Tomato and Basil:

2 tomatoes, deseeded and evenly diced
a handful of basil leaves finely chopped
1 garlic clove
chilli flakes
1/2 tablespoons olive oil

It is important to deseed the tomatoes else your mixture will be too wet. Then simply combine all the ingredients, seasoning with salt, chilli flakes and pepper to taste. Add the olive oil depending on how big your tomatoes are such that each piece of tomato is lightly coated. 

Feta, Mint and Peas:

1/2 cup cooked and cooled mashed peas
1/4 cup feta cheese
a small handful of mint leaves finely chopped
a little olive oil

Simply combine the peas and feta together in a bowl, add  a generous amount of mint and a little olive oil so the mixtures melds together. Note that the proportions of peas and feta are very flexible, add more peas to make it sweeter, more feta for a saltier flavour. But the mint is essential to make the mixture taste fresh.

Mozzarella, Courgette, Fennel and Orange:

1 mozzarella ball
1 courgette ribboned
1 fennel bulb sliced thinely
1 orange
1 lemon
olive oil

Slice the mozzarella and keep aside. Ribbon the courgette into a bowl using a potato peeler, add the fennel. Zest the orange into another bowl, add its orange and the juice of half a lemon. Add a pinch of sugar, salt and a sprinkle of black pepper. Drizzle in enough olive oil to make a dressing (probably about 2 to 3 table spoons) and whisk together. Now, dress the courgettes and fennel with the liquid, don't add it all at once, but just enough to ensure they are nicely coated. 
To assemble the bruschetta, top the bread with a slice of mozzerella and then the courgette and fennel salad. 

Ricotta, Tomato, Chilli and Mint:

1/2 tub of ricotta cheese
1/2 red chilli finely chopped
a small handful of mint finely chopped
1/2 a tomato deseeded and evenly diced

Simply combine all the ingredients so that the tomato, mint and chilli are evenly distributed in the ricotta. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Of course, if you don't like spice, you don't have to add as much chilli or alternatively you can add more if you like things hot! I think the chilli works brilliantly against the coolness of the creamy ricotta.   

And there we have it, simply delicious bruschetta!

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So the perfect bruschetta does take some effort. You can keep it simple or jazz it up with unusual toppings. Despite its simplicity I hope I have shown bruschetta does not have to be boring. 


Until next time...