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
Method
Heat oven to 180 degrees celsius and line two 20 x 30cm baking trays with baking paper
In a medium bowl, mix together masa flour, seeds and the teaspoon of sea salt.
Add the olive oil and boiling water. Mix together until all dry ingredients are incorporated.
Turn out the mixture onto the baking trays. Using wet hands and/or a spatula, press out the mixture to be as thin as you can make it across the trays. Scatter a pinch of sea salt flakes over the top.
Bake in the oven for 35 minutes or until golden brown around the corners. Remove and allow to cool, then break into cracker-sized pieces. Store in an air tight container if not using straight away.
About this recipe
It took me some time to give home made crackers a go because I always worried they would be fiddly and difficult. I imagined rolling and kneading with bits of dough sticking to the rolling pin and myself becoming more flustered and sweary. No doubt you can make this variety of cracker and I bet it’s delicious, but if you don’t care too much about your crackers looking perfect then I say, give this recipe a try.
It’s very simple – only one bowl to clean at the end! – and the seed-flecked crackers look pretty on any cheese board or nibbles tray. They are made with masa harina, a corn-based flour that forms the basis of much Latin American cuisine, including tamales, tacos and tostadas. Masa marina is the secret weapon that ensures these crackers are a cinch to make – it becomes pliable on the addition of boiling water and provides a robust, grainy texture and no faffing about with rolling pins is required. It’s even gluten-free!
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 …
I am just back from a truly fabulous trip away overseas, so please do forgive my gap in posting. While I recover from jet lag and make my way through a substantial stack of dirty socks and other clothing (why does one half of a …
Ingredients:
Method:
Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees celsius.
Cut the tomatoes, eggplants and garlic in half lengthways.
Spray a large roasting tin with olive oil spray, or drizzle with olive oil. Place the tomatoes and eggplants in a single layer in the tin. Place the garlic cloves on top of the eggplants and tomatoes and scatter with basil leaves.
Roast for 30 minutes or until tomatoes and eggplants have started to collapse.
About this recipe
It’s not really a recipe so much as my documenting of what I did with a lucky bounty from my parents, who are amazing gardeners as I have documented here before. These Andiamo tomatoes are special; they are a variety of San Marzano – a robust plum tomato prized for its sweet flesh and lower water and seed content. They come from San Marzano Sul Sarno, in the Salermo province of Southern Italy, where volcanic soils are thought to make the tomatoes sweeter and less acidic. San Marzano tomato types are favourites for sauces, canning or bottling whole. I took my Dad’s advice with this batch though, and roasted them – they came up beautifully and tasted delicious with the soft little baby eggplants and a smattering of garlic and basil. I topped toasted slices of Vogels with this mixture and a generous spread of feta. Lip-smacking lunches for days and a daily reminder of my luck in having such generous, green fingered parents.
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 …
My parents are amazing gardeners and I couldn’t resist this little scallopini left over from their crop. Mainly because, what a cute vegetable, everyone! How could you not want to take it home? Little and frilly and kind of like a flying saucer. I’ve eaten …
Savoury cheesy beery sauce on toast, that is my delicious experience with Welsh Rarebit to date. And my, this lovely little cheese-on-toast treat is scrumptious.
Has anyone else ever read the Grimble books by Clement Freud? Grimble was my first encounter with Welsh Rarebit. The exact details escape me but I know our young protagonist Grimble experiments with this dish when left to contend with household management while his parents vacation in Peru.
Fortunately I was in the business of making midwinter Christmas fare, not catering for myself in the absence of parental guidance. Ever since Grimble, I have been fascinated by the notion of Welsh Rarebit, not in the least part because of its name. History is divided on whether ‘Rarebit’ was once ‘rabbit.’ Indeed, no rabbit is involved in this dish, although if you add an egg, you can call it a buck rabbit.
There were no eggs or buck rabbits involved in this rendition, for which we used Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall‘s Welsh Rarebit recipe with a few alterations. This is really quite simple to make, and despite its sloppy brown appearance, it is truly tasty I heartily recommend for warming, comforting deliciousness when you need some heating up.
Ingredients:
Method:
Melt the butter and whisk in the flour to make a roux sauce. Slowly add the warmed beer, whisking and stirring as you go to make a smooth, beery sauce. At this point, add the cheese and stir it in as it melts. Add the mustard, Worcestershire sauce (to taste – I found one tablespoon plenty, although the recipe calls for two) and the brown sugar. Season with black pepper.
Toast the bread. Top with the beer and cheese mixture and place under a hot grill until it is browned and bubbling. Serve immediately.
Today we greet the last entry in the ‘Almonds’ section of the Edmonds Cookbook, Broccoli with Almonds. And can I say, what a delight. Lightly cooked broccoli covered with lemony butter and toasted sliced almonds. Oh yum.