My friend Mags has been raving about this recipe for ages. We both have a serious bread addiction and this recipe is from a slimming club site. So when she shared the recipe I had to make it. If you’ve ever had Irish wheaten bread this is similar in taste.
Ready to bake
It takes two minutes to knock together, can be enjoyed by those who have issues with gluten and is pretty cheap to make. If you want something to keep kids busy this also something to do with them on a rainy afternoon and the will be super pleased with themselves.
It’s not the lightest fluffiest bread, but it is packed full of fibre and perfect served with cheese and chutney or buttered along side soup. I topped mine with some pumpkin seeds for a bit of crunch, but you can also sprinkle with porridge oats.
Ingredients
500ml Yoghurt
180 Grams Porridge oats
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Bicarbonate of Soda (baking soda)
1 Egg
Method
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees (Celsius). Grease a load tin, you can also line it with baking parchment if want to (but I just greased the tin really well and it was fine)
Mix the yoghurt, salt and baking soda together, before stirring in the porridge oats
In a separate bowl, crack the egg and whisk with a fork until light and fluffy. Stir into the porridge mix and stir until we’ll combined
Transfer the mix into the loaf tin and bake for 50 minutes. Test with a tooth pick, when it comes out clean it’s ready.
Autumn is definitely here, and it’s time to break out the one pot comfort food recipes. I love recipes that I can make from what I usually have in a cupboard or the fridge and this one of them. Dried yellow split peas are really cheap, and packed full of protein and fibre. They also work brilliantly in Indian dishes like dhal.
This is a really rich satisfying, cheap and easy to make meal. Perfect for chilly days when you want something nutritious and satisfying. It’s also packed with lovely warming flavours like ginger, chilli and garlic.
This soup freezes well or can live in your fridge for 3-4 days.
Ingredients
1 Leek (finely sliced)
2 Carrots (grated)
250 Grams Yellow split peas
1 Litre Vegetarian stock (I used 2 stock cubes to make this)
Thumb sized piece of ginger (grated), or 1 Tsp of ground ginger if you don’t have the fresh stuff)
1 Tsp Tumeric
3-4 Cloves of garlic (minced)
1 Tsp Chilli powder
1 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
Method
Heat the oil in large pot over a medium heat, and add the leek and carrot. Cook for 5-10 minutes until soft
Add the rest of the ingredients and stir. Turn up the heat bring the soup up to just before the boil
Reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally
Serve topped with toasted hazel nuts or pumpkin seeds for a little extra crunch
Some ingredients are just made to go together and pears and almonds are two of the them.
I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with pears. When they are perfect they’re hard to beat. The only issue is that they are like granite and inedible, and then turn to mush within about 20 minutes. They are the ultimate passive aggressive fruit!
Frangipane filling
This recipe is great for using pears that are too hard to eat if you can’t be bothered with the game of chicken involved in waiting for pears to ripen.
This is a pretty rich recipe, but isn’t meant to be eaten every day and looks really impressive if you’re cooking for friends.
It’s important to blind bake the pastry case first
You can make the pastry case and the frangipane filling in advance, which means you can have more time with your guests. You could even use shop bought pastry if you don’t have time (home made is better though). This is really good on it’s own but a little fresh cream or ice cream also doesn’t hurt if you want to be properly indulgent.
Yummy with ice cream
Ingredients
For the pastry case
200 Grams Plain flour
100 Grams Butter (chilled and cut into small cubes)
1 Tbsp Caster sugar
1 Egg yolk
For the frangipane filling
115 Grams Butter (at room temperature)
115 Grams Caster sugar
115 Grams Ground almonds
1 Tsp Vanilla extract (optional)
2 Eggs
2 Large pears
Method
In a food processor add the flour, sugar, and butter. Whizz until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs (you can run the butter and flour in together by hand if you prefer)
Add the egg yolk and a small amount of cold water and whizz again until the mix starts to come together. Start to press the mix together to form a dough, adding a small amount of cold water if necessary. Form into a ball, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes
Grease a 9in x 9 in loose bottemed flan tin. When the pastry has chilled, place on a floured surface, and roll out in a circle approximately 1/2 cm thick.
Lay into you prepare flan tin making sure that it’s pressed into the edges. Place a sheet of baking paper on top and baking beans (I use old dried rice) to weigh down the pastry and blind bake in an oven pre heated to 180 degrees. Bake for 15 minutes before taking the case out if the oven, carefully lift the the baking paper by the 4 corners taking care not to spill any of the baking beans/rice onto the pastry case.
Return the pastry case to the oven and bake for a further 10 minutes before removing from the oven and allowing to cool
To make the filling, add the butter and sugar to a bowl and mix with an electric whisk until light and creamy. Add the vanilla, almonds and eggs and beat in until combined
Peel, core and quarter the pears, before cutting into slices about 1cm thick
Spread the almond mixture into the pastry case. Arrange quarter of the pear so the narrow part is towards the centre of the tin and wider part is towards the outside work as quickly as you can to prevent the pear discolouring
Once you have arranged the pears, return the flan tin to 180 degree oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until the centre is just starting to set (it will continue to cook as it cools). Allow to cool in the tin for another 15 minutes before attempting to cut.
It’s cold, dark, and miserable outside, I’m having a “big” birthday and there is nowhere open to go out and celebrate.
Combine the cake mix thoroughly before adding the apples.
To try and stave off the impending dispair this will bring, for the mean time I’m all about the comfort food.
Toss the apples in a little flour before adding to the mix. Apple should be folded into the mix with a metal spoon.
I’ve made blondies before and they have a similar texture to brownies but as they don’t use chocolate, they have more of a caramely flavour. This works really well with apple and cinnamon. This time of year these are the flavours I love.
Yummy with ice cream
These are great with a cup of tea or coffee, but they’re also fantastic with custard or ice cream as a dessert. These freeze well, and will last 2-3 days in an air tight tin.
Ingredients
2 Apples (peeled, cored and cut into 1cm cubes)
1/2 Tsp Baking powder
100 Grams Soft brown sugar
100 Grams Caster sugar
1 Tsp Cinnamon
275 Grams Plain flour
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Egg
100 Grams Butter (melted)
Method
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees, and line a 8 in x 8 in baking tin
Add the eggs and sugar to a bowl and mix with an electric whisk until light and fluffy
Gradually whisk in the melted butter (allow to cool a little before adding)
Hold back 2 tablespoons of flour, but gradually add the rest of the flour, baking powder and cinnamon and fold into the sugar and eggs mix with a metal spoon
Once you have peeled and chopped the apples toss the pieces in the 2 tablespoons of flour
Fold the chunks of apple into the batter until evenly distributed
Transfer the mix to the baking tin, and bake for 50 minutes. Check . Allow to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before cooling on a wire wrack
Whenever possible I like to eat seasonally, it’s usually cheaper, and usually better for you, and better for the planet. Autumn has some great fruit and vegetables. One of my favourites are plums. Usually inexpensive and really versatile. I love this plum cake, no only because its relatively straight forward to make, but the cinnamon and cardamon add a whole other level of flavour. The addition of sour cream adds a tenderness to the sponge. This will also live quite happily in a cake tin for 3-4 days. I love it with whipped cream, but it’s also perfect comfort food served with custard.
Ingredients
300 Grams Plain flour
1, 1/2 Tsps Baking powder
1 Tsp Ground cinnamon
1/2 Tsp Ground cardamon
1 Tsp Salt
3 Eggs
100 Grams Butter
200 Grams Sugar
60 Grams Sour Cream
4-5 Plums
Ready for the oven
Methods
Mix the flour, salt, spices and baking powder together
In a separate bowl cream the eggs and sugar together with an electric whisk (hold back 2 tablespoons of sugar to top the plums with)
Add the eggs and sour cream to the butter and sugar and whisk until light and fluffy
Gradually whisk in the flour mixture until you have thick cake batter
Grease a 9 inch spring firm cake tin, and pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees
Transfer your cake batter to the cake tin and spread evenly.
Cut the plums in half, remove the stone and cut each half into quarters
Starting in the centre of the cake, arrange the slices of plum in a circle (or any type of pattern you like) and sprinkle with remaining sugar
Bake for 35 mins, or until a skewer comes out clean when stuck in the cake
Sticky delicious caramel, soft juicy pear, and a light sponge with a gentle hum of ginger.
It’s that time of year, frosty mornings, long dark nights and cravings for comfort food.
This cake is perfect with custard as a dessert, or just enjoy a slice along with a cup of tea or coffee.
Use pears that are not too soft and mushy, so they will stay in tact during baking.
Yummy as a tea time treat.
Ingredients
For the caramel
1 Orange (juice, keep the zest for the sponge)
60 Grams Butter
330 Grams Brown sugar
For the cake
4 Pears
1 Tsp Ground ginger
3 Eggs
375 Grams Plain flour
2 1/2 Tsp Baking powder
220 Grams Sugar
250 ml Vegetable oil
125 ml Milk
Method
Add the sugar, butter, and orange juice to a pan. Bring to boil, ans simmer for 2-3 minutes until caramel begins to thicken. Allow to cool slightly
Add the sugar, oil, orange zest, eggs to a bowl and with an electric whisk until throughly combined
Then add the flour, baking powder, and groung ginger gradually. Half way through adding the other ingredients add the milk.
Whisk until the batter is thoroughly combined
Peel and core the pears, cut into thick slices or quarters . Arrange in the bottom of a well greased 9 inch spring form cake tin
Cover the pears with the caramel, then add the cake batter on top.
Bake in an oven preheated to 220 degrees for 10 minutes, reduce the heat to 180 degree and bake for a further 55 minutes, or until a skewer comes cleanly out of cake.
Allow to cool completely before removing from the tin
I did the thing I normally do when I go to a farmer’s market. I bought way too much random stuff because I thought it looked good. I got it home and then had to think what I was going to do with it.
Note to self, stop buying too much stuff at the market.
This is a scrummy mix of colours and textures. Delicious Autumn vegetables in a creamy sauce, with a little bit of heat from smoked paprika, topped with crunchy, cheesy garlic bread.
Who doesn’t like garlic bread (weirdos, that’s who). You can use any combination of vegetables you like, pumpkin, butternut squash, or green beans also work well.
Crunchy Cheesy Perfection
I tried this recipe on one of my oldest friends. I was nervous because she owns a steak restaurant and is a confirmed carnivore and got two enthusiastic thumbs up (still sorry I forgot to send you home with a doggy bag Mags, but here is the recipe as promised). Go get your comfort food on.
Ingredients
1 Tbsp Olive oil
250 Grams Brussels sprouts
150 Grams Cavelo Nero (or Kale)
1 Pepper
1 Onion
175 Grams Mushrooms
2 Courgettes
400 Grams Cream cheese
250ml Vegetable stock
1/2 Tsp Smoked paprika
Handful of parsley
25 Grams Butter
2 Cloves of garlic
50 Grams Cheddar Cheese
1 Baguette
Method
Cut the bottoms of the Brussels sprouts and halve. Remove the stalks from the cavelo nero and slice. Cook the sprouts and cavelo nero in the vegetable stock for 5 minutes, until just tender
Slice the courgettes, onions, mushrooms and pepper, and fry in the olive oil in a large frying pan for about 5 minutes until soft
Add the sprouts, cavelo nero and vegetable stock to the frying pan. Sprinkle the smoked paprika over the vegetables, and add finely chopped parsley and cream cheese
Mix until thoroughly combined
Crush or mince the garlic and combine with butter
Slice the baguette into 2cm slices, and spread with the garlic butter
Put the vegetable mix into an oven proof dish and top with the slices of buttered baguette
Top with grated cheese and bake in an oven preheated to 180 degrees, for 30 minutes until golden brown
Seaneen's Sunnyside Kitchen 