The last time I wrote, I happened to mention a roast chicken was potentially in my future. That came true, which makes me happy because there are few things less satisfying than putting a nice roast in the oven and pottering about your Sunday while …
Ingredients Method About this recipe You know those grey rainy Sunday days in winter that feel a bit blah and uninspiring? Yes, me too. Perhaps today is even one of them. This chickpea concoction can help somewhat with zippy lemon and warm spices. It fits …
Ingredients:
Plum and apple mixture:
Crumble topping:
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.
Place the apples, plums, cinnamon vanilla and 2 tablespoons of water into a pot – the water should be covering the base of the pan. Depending on how juicy the plums are, you may need to add more water. Place the pan over a medium heat. Bring to a simmer and then turn the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, until the fruit is softened. Add more water if the pan starts to dry and set aside.
Mix all crumble topping ingredients together in a bowl.
Tip the cooked fruit into a 1.6 litre capacity oven proof dish. Tip the crumble topping mixture over the top of the fruit and spread to cover all fruit evenly- use your hands of the back of a spoon to press it in firmly.
Place the crumble in the oven and bake for 30 minutes until the topping is golden brown.
Rest for 10 minutes and then serve warm with a big dollop of ice cream or whipped cream (or both!).
About this recipe
Our nights are drawing in here and the weather is tending cold and rainy. Although this means we are all in greater need of comfort – it also means it’s the time of year when just the right type of fruit for a soothing, warming pudding is in abundance!
Crumble is both comforting in taste and in name – how cute and cuddly is the name ‘crumble’? This classic pudding has its origins in World War II Britain, where the topping was created as a substitute for breadcrumbs. My version is a little more luxurious with the addition of some almonds for a bit of crunch and a nice pairing for the plums. You can leave them out and up the flour by 1/4 instead.
My one strict direction is that this must be eaten warm for maximum comfort and the aforementioned cream or ice cream is highly recommended. Stay comfy and enjoy x
Ingredients Method Place all ingredients into a food processor or a blender. Process on high speed until it forms a wet, loose texture. If it is dry and clumpy, add a little more olive oil and process again. Taste and add a little more salt …
Ingredients Method About I had such a great weekend visiting Whanganui a couple of weeks ago. The highlight was of course seeing our dear friends who have made their home there. One of the many bonuses of staying with them was discovering the Feijoabulous recipe …
Ingredients:
Method:
We’re really in Autumn here now and I’m enjoying the mellow days and slight cooling in the air. I enjoy Autumnal eating – warming soups and stews, sauces and pickles made from the last of the summer tomatoes, feijoas. I was lucky to be gifted a bounty of cooking apples and although chutney flittered across my mind (because yum, a lick of chutney on some hearty bread), I settled on jelly because I fancied the idea of an over-nighter of a recipe. My Dad grew up in Bannockburn, Otago and home made jelly was a regular fact of life, along with a lot of other goodies given the remoteness of Bannockburn in the 1950s. He talks about the apples being bound up in muslin and tied to the bath taps to drip into a bowl overnight – no squeezing allowed! I’m not quite that adventurous nor in possession of enough apples to consider tying them over the bath, but it was still a pleasing feeling to get up in the morning to a lovely bowlful of juice. It was very pretty and I almost regretted boiling it up for jelly – but not quite, because the jelly is proving to be quite delicious on toast. And even better with some sharp cheese if, like me, you subscribe to the cheese-and-jam school of thought.
Ingredients: Method: In a large pot, heat the oil. Add the ginger, garlic and all the spices. Keep stirring to prevent anything burning. Once the coriander and mustard seeds start to pop (2-3 minutes), add the lentils, rice and carrots. Stir to coat in the …
This is truly a store cupboard staple as it requires things I bet you already have to hand. Even better, it’s a delight for chilly Winter days – it’s warming and filling with a healthy dose of things that will keep you well, including vitamin …
I come from a reasonably large family of four kids and I believe this is why I always cook too many potatoes. Potato-duty for family meals was a large scale operation and the mission was successful upon delivery of a large pot or roasting pan full to the brim of peeled spuds. Anything less than this feels dangerously close to running out.
I am gradually un-learning this habit. Luckily alongside this I have learned an excellent way to use up surplus cooked potato: the delicacy that is potato bread. It’s delightfully simple – mashed potato, flour, butter and a pan + heat source is all you need. It’s also delicious.
I met potato bread when visiting my husband’s family in Ireland, where potato bread is an essential part of any cooked breakfast or ‘fry.’ And in fact a definitive part, as there are many regional variations on the cooked breakfast and potato bread, along with soda bread, is what marks out a cooked breakfast as Irish. As it was my husband’s birthday last week, I treated him to a proper Irish-style cooked breakfast with potato bread. Frankly this was a treat for me too. I use this recipe (my finished product does not look as tidy); the only addition I recommend to the method is cooking the potato bread twice. Once to make sure it is formed, and the second time in butter just before serving.
The only other rule to follow is the sauce – it must be topped with ‘red sauce’ (tomato sauce), and not under any circumstances ‘brown sauce’ (HP sauce) as this belongs with the bacon and sausages. And as with all meals in Ireland, served with a large cup of tea.
You can happily enjoy Easter without being carnivorous, what with some of the best things about Easter being non-meaty (chocolate and hot cross buns, loaded with butter obviously). But if you fancy Easter roast lamb, then let me convince you that making your own mint …