The Great British Bake Off......

A new series of this has recently begun and I have been inspired to make this 8 strand loaf. I have no idea what attracts me to baking bread as it is not my forte, but the idea of plaiting the 8 "tentacles" into something resembling Paul Hollywood's loaf called to me and here we are.

The recipe is here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/eight-strand_plaited_57815

As I write, I'm waiting for it to double in size and then the fun can begin.

A bit slow at first but it's getting there.......

Ready to plait..........let the fun begin

Well........it looks a bit like it should.  Prove for 1 hour.

And here's the finished article....... smells good, hope it tastes good.

Filling in the gaps

It's been a while since I posted anything.....how remiss of me.  So by way of catch up, here's a few things I've made since I last posted and a few things I've made pre-blog which are worthy of note ...............

How about a nice Lamb Casserole with Feta Dumplings

The recipe came from Channel 4's Sunday Brunch.

Simon Rimmer’s rich lamb casserole from Sunday Brunch is easy to make and is topped with crisp golden dumplings and feta cheese

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the filling

• Vegetable oil, for frying
• 450g good-quality lamb mince
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 1 carrot, finely diced
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• Few sprigs rosemary
• 200ml Madeira
• 200ml strong beef or game stock

For the topping

• 225g plain flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 100g unsalted butter, cubed
• 175ml sour cream
• 150g feta cheese

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas mark 6. For the filling, heat some oil in a deep heavy-bottomed saucepan and brown the mince. Remove the mince from the pan and set aside.

2. To the same pan add the onion, carrot and garlic and fry gently to soften but not colour.

3. Add the lamb mince back to the pan, add the cinnamon and tomato purée and cook out for 4-5 minutes.

4. Add the rosemary, Madeira, stock and some seasoning, and bring to the boil. Then allow to simmer for at least 30 minutes.

5. For the topping, in a blender pulse together the flour, baking powder, salt and butter. When it looks like breadcrumbs add the sour cream and do the same again. The dough will be very sticky.

6. Spoon the filling into individual pie dishes, then spoon dollops of the batter on top. Sprinkle over the feta and bake for 25 minutes until crisp and golden.

Then the Hairy Bikers Big Book of Baking was out again to make the 

Pogasca or Bacon Scones

The recipe for these can be found here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/bacon_or_crackling_75198

An unusual and very tasty version of Brownies made with Guinness !  Hence the name Guinness Brownies

these went down very well and if you want to try them, the recipe is here:

http://hiconsumption.com/2012/06/guinness-brownies/?utm_source=scribol.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=scribol.com

Rocky Road

This recipe came from BBC Good Food Magazine August 2012 and was titled Emma Morris's Rocky Road.  It's very rich and chocolatey.  

100g butter
300g dark chocolate, broken up
3 tbsp golden syrup
135g rich tea biscuits, broken into pieces
handful of mini marshamallows
140g chocolate bars of your choice

Put butter, chocolate and syrup into a pan over a low heat.  Melt them together, stirring until smooth.  Cool for about 10 minutes.

Line a 17cm (about 6" ) square tin with foil.

Stir the biscuits, marshmallows and sweets into the chocolate until they are covered.  Spoon the mixture into the tin, level it out a bit.  Put into the fridge until it is hard then remove from the tin and cut into squares or fingers.


When I made this, I used ginger nut biscuits instead of rich tea.  Digestives or shortbread would be nice too.  My marshmallows were the standard sized ones so I snipped them up with scissors.  I used Maltesers, though I reckon Crunchies or Diam bars would be good.

You could add dried fruit to the mixture too.


"Here's one I made earlier"

Baked Raspberry Cheesecake

A recipe from Olive magazine:

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3842/baked-raspberry-cheesecake

Chocolate Torte a variation on the Salted Caramel Chocolate Torte found here:

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/896660/salted-caramel-chocolate-torte

The Hairy Bikers Big Book of Baking has been out again today.

I've made the German Onion Muffins, which were very tasty.  I think they'd be great with some Tomato Soup.  I think they'd be nice with some cheese in as well.

Makes 6

40g butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
175g plain flour
1 tsp caster sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp flaked sea salt
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
250ml buttermilk
2 medium free-range eggs
1 tsp poppy seeds

❄ Melt the butter in a small pan and gently fry the onion for 10 minutes or until softened and lightly browned, stirring regularly. Set aside to cool for a few minutes. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas 6. Line a 6-hole muffin tin with paper muffin cases or some squares of baking parchment.

❄ Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl and stir in the sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and chopped dill. Make a well in the centre. Stir the buttermilk into the onion and break the eggs on top, then stir well with a wooden spoon. Pour the mixture on to the flour and stir lightly until only just combined.

❄ Divide the mixture between the muffin cases, sprinkle with poppy seeds and bake in the centre of the oven for 16-20 minutes until the muffins are puffed up and golden brown. Scrumptious served warm but great cold too.

I've also made this recipe, which came from a Morrisons supermarket magazine.

Persian Style Lamb with Forced Rhubarb

Serves 4

1 tbsp olive oil
400g lamb neck fillet, cut into chunks
1 red onion, sliced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 cinnamon stick snapped in two
1 tsp cumin seeds
400ml pomegranate juice
400g can chopped tomatoes
300g forced rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 2cm lengths
20g demerara sugar


Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole and add the lamb and onion.  Cook, stirring until the lamb has browned.

Add the garlic, cinnamon and cumin seeds.  Mix well and add the pomegranate juice and chopped tomatoes. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 40 minutes then add the rhubarb and sugar.  Stir and cook uncovered for 20 minutes until the lamb is cooked through.

Serve with herby couscous.

This is an unusual dish but very good.  A bit like a tagine.  I think I would like a bit of chilli added to give a bit of heat.

The rhubarb I used wasn't forced.

Got the new Hairy Bikers "Big Book of Baking" Last week and it is good. So many recipes I want to try.


This weekend, I've made the Cardamom and Lemon Cookies, Cardamom Cake and the Pies with Jarlsberg Cheese and Ham.


The cookie recipe can be found here:


http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/cardamom_and_lemon_74033 

I haven't got a cookie stamp so I used the bottom of a glass, which happened to have a nice little pattern on the bottom.  I just knew those glasses that came from the Shell garage in the 1980's would come in handy one day !


The pie recipe is found here:


http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/savoury_pies_with_14115 

Now, the pies were lovely, BUT, I felt they needed more filling.  Next time I make them, I'm making double the filling and I'm making 24 smaller pies instead of 12 large ones.

Vodka and cake?

Late last year, someone gave me this recipe and I just had to try it........  I mean, Christmas pudding?  vodka? what's not to like?


Christmas Pudding Vodka


300g mixed dried fruit
75g caster sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
2 tsp ground mixed spice
6 cloves
1/2 whole nutmeg
zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon
750 ml vodka


I used a Rumtopf to make this drink in but you can do it in a large jar or bottle.


Mix everything together and keep in a cool dark place, shaking daily to help dissolve the sugar.  The longer you keep it the better but at least a couple of months is good.


Strain the vodka from the fruit and put it into a bottle. (I used the original vodka bottle).  You might like to strain it through a very fine cloth to get rid of the grains of spice.


Now at the end of all this, you are left with a lot of very boozy fruit.  You could have it over some ice cream, or do as I did.


I picked out the cloves, cinnamon sticks and nutmeg and then used the "Orange Tea Bread" recipe (February 3rd 2012) as a base for a cake.


Boozy Cake


The fruit left from the christmas pudding vodka minus whole spices.
1/2 pt milk
450g self raising flour


Mix together and place in a greased and lined (2lb) loaf tin or 8" cake tin.


Bake at 180'C/Gas 4 for about 2 hours until a skewer stuck into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Crispy Topped Cumberland Pie

Last night we tried this recipe from the March 2012 issue of BBC Good Food Magazine. We all enjoyed it, so no doubt it will be made again.

Crispy Topped Cumberland Pie

Serves 5

2 celery sticks, cut into 1cm pieces
1 onion, chopped
2 large carrots, sliced into chunky pieces
5 bay leaves
3 sprigs thyme (or 1/2 tsp dry)
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 beef stock cubes, crumbled
850g feather blade beef or other braising cut
850g large potatoes
25g each mature cheddar cheese and Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 160'C/140'c fan oven/Gas 3.

Heat 1 tbsp oil and the butter and soften the celery, onion, and carrots with the bay leaves and 1 thyme sprig (or half of the dried) over a low heat for 10 mins.

Stir in the flour, puree, Worcestershire sauce and stock cubes.  Cook 1 min then gradually add 600ml hot water.  Tip in the beef and bring to a gentle simmer.

Cover and cook in the oven for 2 hrs 30 mins.  Uncover and cook for 30 mins to 1 hour until the beef is really tender and the sauce thickened.

Meanwhile cook the potatoes in a pan of boiling water until they are about 3/4 done. Slice into thick rounds about 1cm thick and toss with the remaining oil and thyme.  Layer onto the beef, scattering with the cheese as you layer*.

Increase the oven to 200'c/180'C fan/Gas 6 and bake for 30-40 minutes until golden and crispy.

* you can cover and chill at this point.  Keep in the fridge for 1 day or freeze for up to 3 months.

Chipotle and Tamarind Glazed Prawns

We're having a Mexican night at the weekend and this is a recipe I will be making. It comes from the BBC Good Food magazine of July 2008. 

Chipotle and Tamarind Glazed Prawns

Serves 4-6

100g golden caster sugar
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 and 1/2 tbsp chipotle paste  *
2 tbsp dark rum
2 tbsp tamarind paste  *
1-2 tbsp olive oil
30 large raw peeled prawns, defrosted if frozen

Put the sugar into a saucepan over a medium heat, add the garlic, chipotle, rum, tamarind and 2 tbsp water.  Stir then simmer for 5 mins until you have a thick, dark sauce.  Season to taste.

The sauce can be made a few hours ahead.

Heat a wok or large frying pan.  When it is smoking hot, add the oil.  Add the prawns and fry for 1 minute then add the sauce. Cook for 2-3 mins until the prawns are pink all over and the sauce has turned into a sticky glaze.

Serve with wedges of lime. (or lemon as above)

How to make Tamarind Paste

Soak a 14 oz block of tamarind in 14 fl oz lukewarm water for 15 to 20 minutes.

Now take handfuls of the tamarind pods and keep squashing and squeezing the now softened pulp to separate it from the veins, seeds and tough membranes.  You can do this through a sieve if you prefer. Discard the veins, seeds and membranes and keep the puree.

The ratio of one block of tamarind to 14fl oz water will yield approximately 16 fl oz concentrated tamarind pulp, ready to use in your recipe. It will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks and will also freeze.

How to make Chipotle Paste

This is an adaption of a recipe in Mexican Food Made Easy by Thomasina Miers.

50g chipotle chillies

1/2 small onion roughly chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp olive oil

80 ml white wine vinegar

15ml balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp tomato puree

2 tbsp demerara sugar

1/2 tbsp sea salt.

Wash the chipotles and snip off the stalk. Cover with water in a small pan and simmer 30-40 minutes until completely soft.  

Put the onion, garlic, herbs and cumin into a blender with 200ml water and the chillies and any liquid left in the pan.  Blend until smooth.

Heat the oil in a large pan, add the chilli paste and fry for about 3 mins.  Add the remaining ingredients and another 100ml water and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring.

Store in a clean sterilised jar in the fridge.  This will keep for months.