Tag: Recipes

Categories
Mains Recipes

Creamy Pumpkin Soup

This week, on a visit to my good friends Kelvin and Eva, I was treated to a bowl of Eva’s delicious, Austrian-inspired pumpkin soup. I am please to say she has agreed to share the recipe in this guest post. Over to Eva. Enjoy!

………………………………………..

Homemade soups are one of my favourite comfort foods for a cold autumn day. As I am a member of a community farm near where I live, it’s that time of year when you get an abundance of different pumpkins and squashes. So here is a recipe that my mum used to make for us, served with a special pumpkin seed oil, that comes all the way from Austria, also referred to as the “black gold of Austria”.

You Will Need

  • 2 -3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 onions, finely chopped
  • 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon of paprika
  • 1kg pumpkin or squash (try kabocha), peeled, deseeded and chopped into chunks
  • 1 sweet potato chopped into chunks
  • 150g of lean smoked diced bacon
  • 700ml vegetable stock
  • 150ml double cream or sour cream or crème fraiche
  • * Pumpkin seed oil, optional

Method

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, then gently cook the bacon till crisp. Add the chopped onions and garlic and cook for 5 mins, until soft but not coloured.
  2. Add 1kg pumpkin or squash with the sweet potato chunks to the pan, then carry on cooking for 8-10 mins, stirring occasionally until it starts to soften and turn golden.
  3. Add the paprika, give it a quick stir and immediately pour the vegetable stock into the pan and season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 mins until the squash and potato are very soft.
  4. Pour 150ml double cream into the pan, bring back to the boil, then purée with a hand blender.
  5. Reheat the soup if needed, taste for seasoning, then serve scattered with croutons and a drizzle of pumpkin seed oil, if you want. A perfect accompaniment for a more complete meal is a freshly baked baguette!

*Styrian pumpkin seed oil is a geographic protected product by the EU. Nutty and rich, pumpkin seed oil is full of good fatty acids, minerals and vitamins and on top of it all it is cholesterol free. It partners perfectly with green salads, cheese, scrambled egg and pasta dishes. Did you know it takes 2.5-3kgs of pumpkin seeds to press 1 litre of pumpkin seed oil?

As the author of a guest post on A Different Kitchen, I get to choose the next track for Kevin’s ADK Playlist. This track reminds me of childhood dinners around the kitchen table in Austria with my family: Billy Joel with Piano Man.

Categories
Mains Recipes

Smokey Puy Lentil Roast

Ready for some autumn evening comfort food? If that’s a yes, you’ll love this rich, smokey, spicy stew with seasonal roasted vegetables and puy lentils. It’s vegetarian and vegan, while the puy lentils are a great source of protein.

Servings

4 adult servings.

Timings

40 mins to make and cook.

You Will Need

  • 1 roasting tray’s worth of chopped root veg (mine comprised sweet potato, swede, carrot, parsnip and celeriac)
  • 1 red pepper, chopped
  • oil
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 medium chillis
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 onion
  • 8 – 9 mushrooms
  • 1 tbsp gojuchang paste
  • 1 500g carton of tomato passata
  • water
  • 100g puy lentils
  • 4 – 5 leaves of cavolo nero

Method

  1. Warm the oven to 180C. Fill a roasting tray with the chopped root veg and red pepper, and drizzle to coat with the oil. Place in the oven for 30 mins, once it is up to temp.
  2. Drizzle some oil in a wok. When it is warm, add in the crushed garlic, chopped chillis and cumin, and stir.
  3. Tip in the chopped onion and mushrooms, and stir again. When the onion is softening, add in the gojuchang paste and stir.
  4. Pour in the passata. Fill the carton with cold water and add in also. Put in the puy lentils and turn up the heat to boil, then reduce to a simmer. Leave for about 10 mins, while the sauce reduces and the lentils cook.
  5. Chop the cavalo nero into strips and wilt in for the last 5 mins.
  6. Take the roasting tray from the oven – the veg should be softened and a little charred around the edges. Scrape the roasted veg into the wok. Stir to combine.
  7. Spoon into bowls to serve.

Customise It!

Feel free to swap in any veg you like or have to hand. Butternut squash or celery will work well. Boil or steam some brussels sprouts and add in if you wish. For the second serving of this dish I mixed in some new potatoes that were already cooked and in the fridge – see below.

The key ingredients you should keep are the passata, garlic, chillis and the gojuchang paste – which combine to create the delicious smokey background sauce – and the lentils, which give texture and protein.

Talking of Smokey, here’s a classic track to add to the ADK Playlist. I actually prefer this ska version to his original, however: The Beat with The Tears of a Clown.

Categories
Bakes Desserts Recipes

Hummingbird Slices

I tasted Hummingbird Cake for the first time on my recent motorhome trip to Scotland. It was served up in the delightful Cocoa Skye cafe in Brora (you can check out my post on it here). I decided I would come up with my own take on this when I reached home.

Incidentally, many of the beautiful places featured in my recent posts from Scotland have been battered this week by Storm Babet. Flooding has affected Angus, Aberdeenshire and Caithness, leaving us feeling how fortunate we were to experience brilliant sunny weather there, just a few weeks ago. Friends in Scotland – our thoughts are with you.

A little research tells me that Hummingbird Cake originated in Jamaica, and is now popular across the US. I’ll be interested to hear from any of my lovely American followers whether that is so?

I consulted several recipes before coming up with my own. One of those I read was by Jamie Oliver, who gave his version this convincing endorsement: “bake it, and get it in your gob”. Say what you mean, Jamie lad, say what you mean.

All the recipes I looked at made this a double decker cake. I wanted to make it single tier – I find a tray bake easier to serve and store, while having only one layer of cream cheese frosting makes it just a little less calorie-tastic.

I have stuck with the core ingredients of banana, chopped pineapple and pecan nuts in a spiced sponge, with cream cheese frosting and zesty sprinkles. The finished product is shown in my photo above, and has gone down very well with the family. So here we go, the ADK take on Hummingbird Cake.

Servings

Depending on how you cut it, at least 12 – 14 slices.

Timings

20 mins to prepare the cake, 30 mins to bake in the oven at 180C (the frosting is made while the cake is baking).

You Will Need

  • 280g self-raising flour
  • sprinkle of salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp mixed spice
  • 120g caster sugar
  • 50g pecan nuts, chopped
  • 2 bananas, mashed
  • 150g chopped pineapple, fresh or tinned
  • 2 eggs
  • 120ml sunflower oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 100g soft cheese
  • 100g icing sugar
  • 70g baking spread
  • 1 lime

Method

  1. Turn on the oven to 180C. Prepare a traybake tin (mine is 22cm square) by greasing and lining with kitchen paper.
  2. Sieve the dry ingredients – flour, salt, baking powder and sugar, into a bowl. Add the chopped pecans and mix.
  3. In separate bowl, mix the mashed bananas, pineapple, beaten eggs, oil and vanilla.
  4. When the oven is up to temperature, pour the contents of the wet ingredients into the dry. Stir until fully mixed, then pour into the prepared baking dish, evening it out with a spatula. Place in the oven for 30 mins.
  5. Meanwhile, make the cream cheese frosting. Sieve the icing sugar into a bowl with the soft cheese and spread. Mix with an electric mixer until smooth. Place in the fridge.
  6. Take the cake from the oven. Check it is baked by inserting a skewer in the centre – if it comes out dry it is done. Set aside to cool.
  7. Once cooled, lift the cake on to a board and carefully spread the cream cheese frosting all over. Grate the zest from the lime and sprinkle over. Place back in the fridge to chill.
  8. Take from the fridge and cut into slices. Keep these in a box in the fridge.

Customise It!

I liked this as it is, but you could decorate the topping with some small pieces of chopped pineapple or pecan if you wish.

I’m still enjoying listening to Scottish bands in the ADK Kitchen, so here is another great track to share with you: Del Amitri with Always The Last To Know.

Categories
Mains Recipes Snacks

Veg Chilli Sausage Rolls

What to make for a meal when you’ve just returned from holiday and haven’t yet done the weekly shop?

That was this week’s challenge following arrival back from our motorhome trip to Scotland. This vegetarian chilli version of sausage rolls came together using a few pieces of fresh veg we still had in the van, and some store cupboard ingredients. Served up with a choice of tomato ketchup, brown and bbq sauce, they make a great fun and filling meal that you can eat with your fingers.

My photo above shows the rolls having just been taken out of the oven, cooling on a wire rack. The residual heat of the oven gives the house a comforting warmth, now the autumn nights are starting to draw in.

Servings

Makes 14 sausage rolls, so 3 – 4 servings.

Timings

About 40 mins in total to prepare, and 25 mins to bake at 180C.

You Will Need

  • veg oil
  • 1 red onion
  • 1 red pepper
  • 1 yellow pepper
  • 1 carrot
  • 2 medium red chillis
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 400g tin of kidney beans
  • 1 400g tin of tomatoes
  • 225g plain flour
  • pinch of salt
  • 100g spread for baking
  • a few tsps of cold water
  • nigella seeds to sprinkle
  • 1 egg, beaten

Method

  1. Peel the onion, chop roughly into chunks, and put in a food processor with blade fitted.
  2. Cut the flesh from the peppers, and add to the food processor. Cut the top off the chillis and add the spicy flesh to the processor also. Blitz it all for a few pulses until it is all finely chopped.
  3. Add a little oil to a wide-based frying pan and warm on the hob. Add in the cumin and then the finely chopped veg. Stir and let it all soften in the heat.
  4. Without cleaning the processor bowl, put in the kidney beans and tomatoes, and blitz again. Add to the frying pan and stir in to mix.
  5. Stir every so often, letting the moisture steam away, leaving the mix to gradually thicken over about 10 mins. You are aiming for a thickish consistency that can hold its own as a sausage roll filling.
  6. Switch off and transfer the mix to a cold plate, spreading it out so that it cools. Place the plate in a cool place.
  7. Having washed and dried the food processor bowl and blade, you can now use it to make the pastry. Sieve in the flour and salt. Add in the spread cut into chunks, and pulse a few times till it resembles breadcrumbs. Pour in a few drops of water and pulse again. Repeat until the pastry comes together and is whirling round the bowl in one large ball, with the blade.
  8. Remove to a floured surface and finalise shaping it into a roundish ball. Wrap in cling film and put in the fridge for 10 mins. Turn on the oven to warm to 180C.
  9. Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll out on a floured surface into a long rectangular strip. Take the cooled filling mix and spoon it in a line down the centre. Try to make it a consistent width all along, so that the rolls will be evenly filled.
  10. Brush one long edge with the beaten egg. Lift up the other long edge, so that the pastry folds over the filling and tucks in under its other side. Roll the whole length over so that it sits on top of the egg-brushed edge. Gravity will then help the rolls seal, and no one will be able to see the join!
  11. Cut into individual rolls and place on a metal tray lined with baking paper. Prick with a fork, brush the tops and sides with the beaten egg, and sprinkle over the nigella seeds. Place in the oven for up to 25 mins. Keep an eye on them and remove earlier if they are looking browned to your taste.
  12. Serve up with your favourite ketchups and table sauces for dipping, and absolutely no cutlery. Your guests have full permission to eat and dip with their fingers.

Customise It!

This dish is about using up what you have, so switch up the veg to include a brown onion, garlic, celery, mushrooms etc. Herbs and coriander would go well. Stick with the kidney beans and tomatoes, though, as these give the texture the filling needs to hold its shape. You could add a line of grated cheese alongside the filling, before you roll it up, and the cheese will then melt as they cook. Be daring – if it seems a good idea for you to include it, go for it!

For the ADK playlist, here’s a track from another Scottish band we played a lot when we were away, but I didn’t quite get to feature on any of my travel-related posts. They have also just announced a tour next year, which I am hoping I can get tickets for – I saw them live the last time they toured and enjoyed them very much. This is Texas with In Our Lifetime.

Categories
Breakfast Recipes

500 Miles?

We have walked a fair few miles so far on our motorhome tour of Scotland, though perhaps not quite the 500 that Scots duo Craig and Charlie – The Proclaimers – sing about in their popular singalong folk anthem.

My main photo above was taken on one such walk through terrific scenery – along the Aberdeenshire coast from Stonehaven to the centuries-old silhouetted ruins of Dunnottar Castle. Very gothic.

A hearty, filling breakfast is essential before setting out on a hike like this. It will probably come as no surprise that breakfast meal of choice on this trip has been Scots porridge oats. The classic Scots dish is incredibly nutritious, oats being a good source of fibre and healthy fats. Add in some fruit, nuts and seeds and you’ll have all the fuel you need for an active day in the great Scottish outdoors.

My version of porridge may not necessarily be one for the purists, as it is made in the motorhome’s microwave oven. However, it is is made entirely from local ingredients that we have picked up from shops, been gifted or, ahem, scrumped en route.

The core ingredients are oats and milk, the oats puffing up as they warm in the heat of the milk. To this I add at least one fresh fruit. At a small, very remote, rural site that we camped on in the Borders, the farmer told us to help ourselves to the plump fresh blackberries from the hedges. These work well in porridge as they burst in the heat, flavouring and colouring the oats purple.

Scottish raspberries work just as well, giving the porridge a pinkish hue.

Another pitch in Aberdeenshire was in an orchard, where we were offered as many crisp apples from the trees as we wished. Chopped apple is great stirred into the warm oats.

We have also picked up various sprinkles at refilleries in Oakham and Stonehaven – chopped nuts, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, and some dried fruit. Refilleries are great for motorhoming as it’s possible to buy and carry on board just the quantity required.

The method is simple. Put 4 – 5 tablespoons of Scottish oats in a microwavable bowl, and cover it in semi-skimmed milk. Add in berries if using.

Microwave on full for around 3 mins, stirring half way through. Keep an eye on it, and when it starts to bubble up the sides of the bowl, remove it.

You may need to act pronto here, otherwise it can easily erupt, volcano-like, all over the sides of the bowl making a holy mess of your microwave.

Stir in your sprinkles of choice, a swirl of local honey if you like, and enjoy. With this warm, hearty fuel inside you, you’ll be ready for a healthy outdoor hike. Even if it’s not quite as far as Craig and Charlie’s. Here are the Proclaimers with I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles).

Categories
Mains Recipes

Korean Salmon Noodles

Here’s another tasty dish using the Korean Sauce recipe you can find in my Korean Pulled Pork Sandwich post. The Sauce is really is versatile and, once made up and in a jug in the fridge, it can spice up and make more interesting a variety of other dishes.

In today’s offering, it serves both as a topping for baked salmon, and as a stir fry sauce for veg, served over noodles as shown in my photo above.

Servings

A main meal for 2.

Timings

With a batch of the Sauce already made up, this dish takes a further 15 – 20 mins.

You Will Need

  • a jug of Korean Sauce – follow here for the recipe
  • 2 salmon fillets
  • 1 onion
  • a few mushrooms, chopped
  • half a green pepper, and half a red pepper, cut into strips
  • 1 pack of fresh beansprouts
  • 1 pad of dried noodles
  • a few scallions, chopped

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 180C. Grease a roasting tray and place the salmon fillets in it. With a basting brush, spread a few spoonfuls of the Korean sauce over the top of the fillets and place in the oven for 15 – 20 mins.
  2. Heat some oil in a wok and chuck in the onions, mushrooms and peppers. Stir fry until the veg is all nicely charred. Add in the beansprouts and a few spoonfuls of the Korean sauce. Stir again so that all the veg is coated in the sauce.
  3. Place the noodles in a pan of boiling water for about 2 mins, then drain.
  4. Serve the stir fried veg over a bed of noodles, topped with the salmon fillet. Garnish with chopped scallions.

Customise It!

Mix up the stir fried veg as you wish – bok choi, mange tout or carrot sticks would all be excellent. Sprinkle sesame seeds over if you like – they go really well with the Korean Sauce.

Next track for the ADK Playlist is from a band whose music I have been exploring recently. I always thought PSB stood for Purple Sprouting Broccoli, but now I know it also stands for Public Service Broadcasting. They make an interesting sound, incorporating samples from classic, archived audio files, with clear influences including David Bowie and Kraftwerk. Here’s a track to introduce them by, using Mission Control’s commentary on the moon landing. This is Public Service Broadcasting with Go!

Categories
Recipes Sides

Korean Cauli Roast

Here’s a delicious side dish that is built for sharing as part of a spicy banquet or feast, ideally with some cold drinks. Give everyone a fork each and let them tuck in, choosing a roasted floret or two and twirling it round to become coated in the spicy Korean Sauce.

The recipe for the Korean Sauce can be found in my Korean Pulled Pork Sandwich post. Although I made the Sauce originally to pour over pulled pork, I found it goes equally well with other dishes, as shown here with roasted cauliflower florets. If you’re not making the pulled pork, or if you want the Sauce to be vegetarian or vegan, just add water in place of the pork juices.

Servings

Served alongside other sides and mains, this will feed 4.

Timings

5 mins to steam the cauli, then 20 mins to roast.

You Will Need

  • 1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
  • a saucepan of Korean Sauce (vegetarian version)
  • 3 – 4 scallions
  • half a carrot
  • a handful of sesame seeds

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 180C.
  2. Put the cauli florets in a steamer basket over a pan of boiling water for 5 mins (I find this helps the cauli become tender and succulent in the roasting process).
  3. Warm the Korean Sauce on the hob or in the microwave.
  4. Remove the cauli from the steamer and lay out on a roasting tray.
  5. Brush all over with the Korean Sauce, and put in the oven for 20 mins.
  6. Remove the roasted cauli and place in a serving bowl. Drizzle over some generous spoonfuls of the Korean Sauce, and garnish with chopped scallions, carrot sticks and sesame seeds.

Customise It!

There will already be chopped chilli in the Korean Sauce, but you can add a bit more as a topping if you want an extra fiery kick. Matchsticks of cucumber also work well as a topping, and give a kind of antidote to the heat!

Here’s an old track I heard in a friend’s car the other day, and which I hadn’t heard in years. It has a really catchy chorus, so you may find yourself humming it, as I have been this week. This is Dr. Feelgood with Don’t You Just Know It.

Categories
Mains Recipes

Korean Pulled Pork Sandwich

I ordered this for lunch recently in a hipster cafe-bar that had a very tempting variety of dishes on the menu. I thought it was amazing so decided I would try to recreate it myself.

I’ve roasted pulled pork before in my electric slow cooker, but hadn’t really created anything I could call a Korean sauce.

After a bit of reading up, I treated myself to a couple of specialist ingredients I hadn’t bought before, but which seemed to be quite key to the whole concept: rice vinegar and Gojuchang paste. The rest of the ingredients, such as dark soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger and so on, are things that I tend to have in usually.

I’m glad I invested in the specialist foods – particularly the Gojuchang paste, which has a distinctive dark and smoky taste with a chilli kick. I found both in the Asian aisle of my local Sainsbury’s.

Servings

A meal for 4 with some left over for lunch the next day.

Timings

20 mins to prepare the pulled pork, then 6 hours in a slow cooker. It took me about 25 mins to make the sauce while the pork was finishing off.

You Will Need

For the Pulled Pork

  • Joint of shoulder of pork between 1kg – 1.4kg
  • sea salt and black pepper
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 clove of garlic, crushed
  • 1 500g carton of tomato passata
  • 60ml cider vinegar
  • 1tsp paprika
  • 1tsp ground cumin

For the Korean Sauce

  • oil
  • 1 small red onion, finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 2cm piece of root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
  • 1 red chilli, chopped into fine rings with seeds removed
  • 60ml dark soy sauce
  • 2tbsp rice vinegar
  • 50ml runny honey
  • 1tbsp Gojuchang paste
  • cornflour
  • water

To Serve

  • Brioche rolls
  • spring onions
  • half a carrot

Method

  1. Switch on the slow cooker and turn to a high setting.
  2. Heat a little oil in a wok or large frying pan and sear the pork on all sides. When nicely browned, transfer to the slow cooker bowl and season with a few twists of sea salt and black pepper.
  3. Put the other ingredients into the wok or pan, and stir to combine in the heat. When warmed, pour over the joint of pork. Put the lid on the slow cooker and leave on a high heat for 30 mins. Then reduce to medium setting and leave for 5 and a half hours more.
  4. Start making the sauce about 40 mins before the pork is due to finish.
  5. Heat some oil in a saucepan and add the onions, garlic, ginger and chilli. Leave until sizzling and softened.
  6. In a jug, combine the soy, rice vinegar, honey and Gojuchang paste, then pour into the saucepan. Give it all a stir and leave to simmer.
  7. When the pork has completed its 6 hours, remove it from the slow cooker and leave to rest in a rectangular serving dish.
  8. Tip the juices from the slow cooker into the saucepan and stir.
  9. Add a paste of 2 tbsp cornflour and 1 tbsp water, stirred so it forms a creamy liquid. Stir it in and watch the sauce thicken. Do this again until the sauce has a thickish consistency so it will cling to the pork when poured over.
  10. Using 2 forks, dive into the pork joint and pull it apart from the centre. You should have lovely soft, flaky fibres of tender meat. Pop one in your mouth to appreciate how good it tastes.
  11. Pour the sauce into a jug and serve alongside the dish of pulled pork.
  12. Serve with the rolls, halved and lightly toasted on the inside, with a garnish of chopped scallions and carrot sticks.

Customise It!

I will be posting other recipes that use the Korean Sauce, but which will be vegetarian or vegan. For these, don’t add the pork juices, and use water instead.

Here’s a track for the Playlist from The Wedding Present. I’ve seen them live a few times and they are always worth the ticket price. Their sound is a cross between Buzzcocks and Orange Juice, so no surprise that I’m a fan. This is My Favourite Dress.

Categories
Bakes Recipes

Spiced Apple & Oat Muffins

I still have lots of apples from the garden around for baking with at the moment – you’d almost think they grow on trees…..

Even after making my Dorset Apple Cake, there were still plenty more to combine with oats and spices in these tasty muffins, shown in my main photo above. Great with a cup of tea, for dessert or breakfast, and lovely with a few spoonfuls of Greek yoghurt on the side.

Servings

12 muffins.

Timings

10 mins to prepare, 25 mins to bake at 180C.

You Will Need

  • 190g plain flour
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • half tsp salt
  • 1 and a half tsp mixed spice
  • 120g caster sugar
  • 170g finely chopped apple
  • 60g sultanas
  • 1 egg
  • 60g oats
  • 150 ml milk
  • 90 ml vegetable oil

Method

  1. Warm the oven to 180C and grease a muffin tin or mould.
  2. Sieve the flour, baking powder, salt and mixed spice into a bowl. Add the sugar, chopped apple and sultanas, and mix so that the fruit is coated in flour.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix the egg, oats, milk and veg oil.
  4. When the oven is up to temperature, combine wet ingredients with dry, and stir to mix. Spoon into the muffin tin or mould and bake for 25 mins. Cool on wire rack before serving.

Customise It!

Cinnamon or nutmeg will go just as well as the mixed spice if you wish. A handful of toasted chopped nuts would be a good addition.

With a number of posts recently featuring spice, it’s amazing that I have thus far managed to avoid adding a track by the Spice Girls to the ADK Playlist. This probably has something to do with the fact that I am not a massive fan. This song, which I do like, comes fairly close, however. Bryan Adams and Mel C (aka the Sporty one) with When You’re Gone.

Categories
Bakes Blog

I am a Bake-Off Winner!

This week I’ve received the exciting news that I have won an award in the Great Bloggers’ Bake-Off 2023!

My Spicy Veg Strudel was joint winner in the Savoury Bake category, along with a magnificent Courgette and Mint Tart. You can check out all the award winners here.

I very much enjoyed entering the Bake-Off for the first time, and winning an award is, shall we say, the icing on the cake.

Well done to Mel and Gary for organising and hosting such a fun event, and Jeanne for judging. Massive praise to all our Bake-Off entrants: you demonstrated the creativity and innovation of the online baking and foodblogging community, with such a consistently high standard of bakes.

So here’s a well done message to all involved in customary ADK style: Fatboy Slim with Praise You.