Category Archives: Recipes

Recipe: Honey & Wholemeal Spelt Loaf

This recipe is really VERY simple, but the result is quite something. For such a basic loaf the flavour and the texture are great and even someone with the most basic exposure to baking could attempt to bake it. Sorry for the delay in getting it up.

 

: Honey & Wholegrain Spelt Loaf

An easy to make, but tasty, alternative loaf

Ingredients

  1. 500gr Wholegrain Spelt Flour
  2. 1 Tablespoon of Honey
  3. 1 package of Fast-Acting Yeast
  4. 400ml Warm Water
  5. 1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
  6. 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil

Instructions
Set the oven to 200 C  (180C For Fan Ovens)

  1. Mix the flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl
  2. Dissolve the honey in the arm water and mix it into the dry ingredients
  3. While the dough is still rough, add the oil and then mix well
  4. Knead the dough for a few minutes and then divide it between two 500gr bread tins
  5. Cover them and leave then for around 25 minutes to prove
  6. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 40-45 minutes

Preparation time: 15 minute(s)

Cooking time: 45 minute(s)

4 :  ★★★★☆ 1 review(s)

 

A Vegetarian Lasagna Even Meat Eaters Will Like

I’ve always thought that mushrooms, when done well, take on some of the qualities of meat.

This recipe is an excellent example of that and the result is an exceptionally tasty vegetarian lasagna that will be enjoyable for a mixed party without the need to worry about keeping utensils separate and plates clear of meat.

Check out the updated image gallery for this recipe here!

Recipe: Vegetarian Lasagna ~ Mushroom Edition

Summary: A satisfying lasagna that will please meat eaters and vegetarians alike

Ingredients

    • 1 Medium Onion
    • 2 Garlic Cloves
    • 200gr Frozen Spinach
    • 450gr Portebello Mushrooms
    • 1 Tin chopped tomatoes
    • Dried Basil
    • Dried Oregeno
    • Salt & Pepper To Taste
    • 200gr Parmasen Cheese
    • Grated nutmeg
    • 250ml Crème Fraiche
    • 1 Pack of Pasta Sheets

Instructions

Preheat The Oven To 200C

    1. Cut the onion into small cubes, crush the garlic cloves and cook them together with a little butter or oil under a medium heat in a frying pan until they are translucent, once cooked place to the side
    2. Cook the frozen spinach and once cooked, add to the onion and garlic.
    3. Wash, DRY and slice the Portebello Mushrooms then cook them on a dry griddle or in a pan
    4. Mix all your cooked ingredients in a pan and add the tin of Tomatoes, the Oregano, Basil, salt and pepper to taste
    5. Cook for 5-10 minutes until the mix is throughly heated and some of the moisture has evaporated, then remove from the heat
    6. Line the base of medium rectangular oven-proof dish with pasta sheets. Spread a layer of the mix on the pasta sheets.
    7. Top the mix with a thin layer of creme fraiche before adding a second layer of pasta sheets
    8. Repeat this process until you run out of mix
    9. Add a last layer of Pasta sheets and top this with creme fraiche and Parmesan cheese. Grate a little nutmeg over the top and put in the oven for 30 minutes.

Quick Notes

You could use more Crème Fraiche and more Parmesan but we were looking to keep the fat count low-ish.

Cooking time (duration): 40

Diet type: Vegetarian

Number of servings (yield): 4

Meal type: dinner

Culinary tradition: Italian

My rating: 4 stars:  ★★★★☆ 1 review(s)

Microformatting by hRecipe.

Griddle Bread: Loving The Soda

Prompted by someone else I did a bit of research on Griddle Bread and tried to figure out what it was because, never having had it before (at least that I could recall), I was a bit skeptical.

When I discovered it was simple Soda Bread made in a griddle pan, I relaxed a little. In fact I soon found out it was easier then imagined and tasty as heck.

The first step in the process was to find an easy recipe for Soda Bread. I dug recipe one out from Maura Laverty’s Full & Plenty: Breads & Cakes*. The beauty of this one was it was super easy.

Recipe: Soda Bread (basic recipe)

Summary: A versatile and simple recipe that anyone should be able to handle.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb plain flour
    1 teaspoon salt
    1 teaspoon sugar
    1 teaspoon bread soda Buttermilk to mix

Instructions

  1. Sift the dry ingredients together several times.
  2. Make a well in the centre and pour in the buttermilk gradually, mixing the flour from the sides.
  3. Turn on to a floured board and knead lightly for a few minutes.

 

And Then For The Griddle
Armed with that rather smashing recipe and the following instructions for griddle bread, I forged ahead with the cooking of the Griddle Bread. To do that, follow the recipe and instructions as above and then:

  1. Roll out the dough 1 inch thick
  2. Cut it unto four farls or quadrant wedges.
  3. Cook them on a hot floured griddle or pan, 10 minutes on one side, 10 on the other.

The result is a wholly incredible bread, soft in the middle but nicely crusted on the outside. I did a small sample with cheese grated into the dough which worked very well too. For a gallery of Griddle Bread images, including a tasty Poached Egg & Griddle Bread Brunch, click here.

*From P16, Full & Plenty: Breads & Cakes, the Anvil Edition first published in 1985.

It’s Pancake Tuesday Tomorrow: Time To Make The Pancake Batter

The key, in my mind, feature of a good pancake batter is that it is made either the day before or the morning of the pancake making. Back in 2008 I made this somewhat basic but still useful How To Make Pancake Batter Video for the now (sadly) defunct Our Grannies’ Recipes website.

How To Make Traditional Pancake Batter
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHfBEBY3sx8]

It is really a very simple mix, and here is the recipe. Tomorrow, I’ll post the Cooking the Pancake video.

Recipe: A Traditional Pancake Batter

Summary: A good batter should be made at least a few hours in advance

Ingredients

    • 4oz of Self Raising Flour
      half a pint of full-fat milk
      1 medium egg (I prefer free range)
      A pinch of salt

Instructions

  1. Thoroughly mix the ingredients together in a bowl using a whisk (make sure to completely mix the ingredients as lumps will ruin a good pancake). 
  2. Pour the mix into a jug and allow to stand at the very least for a few hours.
  3. Cook in a shallow frying pan over a low to medium heat for 3-4 minutes, depending in your personal taste.

Quick Notes

This recipe was featured in Our Grannies’ Recipes, a book I edited for Mercier Press in 2008. The book was a crowdsourced collection of Irish recipes.

Cooking time (duration): 5

Diet type: Vegetarian

Number of servings (yield): 8

Meal type: dessert

Culinary tradition: Irish

My rating: 5 stars: ★★★★★

Microformatting by hRecipe.