Blog Archives

Check out The Archives for previous Seasonal Recipes.

29/1/2015

What To Do Right Now - Know Your Onions!

28/1/2015

Plant Garlic, Onions, Shallots.

It's not too late to get these totally invaluable crops planted in your garden.

Most folks go for an autumn plant out on these things, but you can still get away with doing so right up until the end of February; especially in the South of England, where I am fortunate enough to be.

GARLIC - 'Christo' & 'Flavor' I have found to be the most reliable to still form decent sized bulbs from a February plant out.

ONIONS - A good variety of sets are available in garden centres now for 'spring' planting. I like 'Stuttgarter Giant' and 'Sturon' - both seem good at not bolting. 'Red Baron' seems to be bolting on me more in recent years, despite heat treatment of the sets, so I am trying 'Marshall' this year which came out highly recommended in recent RHS trials.

SHALLOTS - I'm a fan of the longer french style shallots, over the round ones, which are a fiddle to slice. 'Longor' and Jermor' did very well for me last year, in fact, I've just used the up last of them so must remember to plant a few more this year!

1 Comment

Deep, Dark, Chocolate & Beetroot Brownies

19/1/2015

2 Comments

If this isn't food porn I don't know what is.

You know you want it.

Fudgey and dark; Earthy and sweet; Ultra squidgy...

The last of my stored beetroot could not have gone to a more luscious use. Having been in the veg drawer in my fridge since October, I thought they might be past their best, but oh no.
This recipe is not for the faint-hearted, or those who fret at the odd indulgence. This is a recipe for lovers of chocolatey greatness.

Ingredients - Makes min. 16

200g unsalted butter
250g good quality dark chocolate
230g golden caster sugar
3 eggs
70g plain flour
30g cocoa powder
Half tsp baking powder
Pinch of sea salt
300g cooked beetroot - boiled or roasted

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/(170 fan) 350/gas mark 4. Grease and line a 20cm x 20cm tin, or 22cm round.
Finely grate the cooked beetroot and set aside.
Melt the butter and the chocolate gently in a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Set aside and allow to cool slightly.
Meanwhile, whisk the eggs and sugar in a large bowl until pale and voluminous; 5 mins or so.
Stir in the chocolate mixture, then sieve in the flour, cocoa, baking powder and add salt. Stir to mix then fold in the beetroot with a large metal spoon just until everything is combined. Don't over mix or they'll turn out too firm.
Pour into the prepared tin and bake in the middle of the oven for about 25-30 minutes. Mine took 30 mins in a round tin but ovens vary so check at 25mins. You want a lovely firm crust on top with softness underneath. Insert a skewer; you’re looking for some moist chocolate crumbs sticking to it. If too wet, pop back in for another few mins. Remember; it will 'dry' more as it cools so don't be tempted to overcook.
Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring onto a wire rack. Cut when cooled, if you can wait that long..?

2 Comments

Ice Cream, You Scream, We All Scream!

4/1/2015

0 Comments

Banana, Cinnamon & Vanilla Greek Fro-Yo

I used to use up over ripe bananas in Banana Loaf - ENDLESS Banana Loaf!

But Santa brought me an Ice Cream Maker for Christmas so NO MORE LOAF! At least for a little while..

Ingredients & Method

3 x RIPE Bananas
1-3 tbsp Honey
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
500g Greek Yoghurt (Full Fat, sorry)

In a large bowl, MASH or blend the first 4 ingredients together until smooth.
Add the yoghurt in stages, beating in.
CHILL mixture in fridge for 2-3 hours min.
Transfer to ice cream machine and CHURN as per instructions. DONE!