Preheat your oven to 190℃. Peel, core and cut the apples into quarters. Cut the quarters into chunks. Add the apple pieces to a small saucepan with the sugar and 45ml water. Cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Spoon the apple into an ovenproof dish or individual ramekins. Put aside.
For the crumble: Add the oats, flour, butter, sugar and cinnamon to a mixing bowl. Rub the butter into the mixture with your fingers until it has an even crumb texture. Spoon the crumb mixture onto the apple chunks. Place in the oven and bake for 20 – 25 minutes. Serve slightly warm with vanilla ice cream.
100ml flour 2 eggs, lightly beaten 250ml breadcrumbs oil for deep frying
Grate the mozzarella into a mixing bowl and put aside. Cut the bacon into chunks and add it to a saucepan with a dash of oil. Cook until done. Spoon the bacon into the bowl with the grated mozzarella. Place the same saucepan back onto medium heat and add the 80ml of vegetable oil and chopped onion. Simmer/fry the onion while stirring occasionally until it is soft and translucent. In the meantime pour the milk into a jug and warm it slightly in your microwave oven. Now add the 160ml flour to the onion and cook through for about a minute, stirring until it starts to bubble lightly. Gradually pour in the warmed milk, stirring continuously. Turn up the heat once all of the milk has been added. Keep stirring until the mixture comes to a boil. Remove the mixture from the heat and add the salt, chives, bacon and mozzarella. Mix thoroughly. Grease a large roasting tin and pour the croquette mixture into it. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer until firm.
Line up three bowls: add the flour to the first; the eggs to the second and the breadcrumbs to the third bowl. Scoop a spoonful of the mixture into your hands, roll it into a small cylinder and then proceed to roll it in the flour. Dip it in the egg and finally into the breadcrumbs to coat completely. Place the shaped and breaded croquettes on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Keep going in this way until all of the mixture has been utilised. Heat some vegetable oil to 175℃ and fry a few croquettes at a time, until golden. Drain on kitchen paper and keep warm while cooking the rest. Serve warm.
This pull-apart bread is a traditional snack in the Netherlands and is an absolute guilty pleasure. Borrelbrood is the perfect addition to a casual BBQ as a tasty side for the meal.
1 Medium sized bread 100g Cheese spread 100g + 30g Butter 4 Cloves of garlic, minced Smoked ham, sliced Mozzarella cheese, sliced
Preheat your oven to 200℃. Make slits into the loaf of bread (without slicing through) about 3cm apart. Now turn the bread and start making some more slits 3cm apart in the poolside direction to make squares. Place the loaf on a large square of aluminium foil and place it onto a baking tray. Add the cheese spread, 100g butter and minced garlic to a small saucepan. Place on a medium-low heating stir until melted and completely amalgamated. Spoon the butter-cheese mixture into the slits of the bread. Lay the ham into every second slit and the mozzarella into the alternating open slits. Melt the 30g butter and brush the bread to get that nice golden colour. Cover the bread with the overhang from the aluminium foil and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Open the foil to reveal the top of the bread and proceed to bake it for another 10 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven and serve warm!
If you like chocolate and you like prunes, this flourless cake is what you have been waiting for!
400g prunes 200ml Port or Madeira 30g granulated sugar
For the prunes: Add the prunes, port and sugar to a small saucepan and place on medium heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar and then allow the mixture to simmer on a medium to low heat until the liquid is reduced to a syrup. Remove the saucepan from the heat and set aside to cool.
340g dark chocolate, chopped 170g butter, cubed 80g sugar 200g cooled prunes (from the mixture you have made above) 6 eggs, separated 1,2ml salt
Preheat your oven to 170℃. Grease a 22cm loose-bottom cake tin and dust the bottom and sides with cocoa powder. Add the chopped chocolate and butter to a heatproof bowl over simmering water. Allow to melt, stirring occasionally until completely melted and smooth. Add half the sugar (40g) to the chocolate mixture and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the bowl from the saucepan. Now take 200g of the prunes from the port syrup, drain and chop into small pieces and add these to the chocolate mixture. Allow the mixture to cool for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate and stir to combine.
Add the egg whites and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk the whites until they form soft peaks. Now start adding the remaining half of the sugar, a teaspoon at a time, with the machine running. The whites should hold their shape and be glossy. Spoon a third of the whites into the chocolate mixture and stir it through to slacken the chocolate. Fold the rest of the whites into the mixture with a metal spoon, until there are no white streaks left. Gently pour the batter into the prepared cake tine and bake for 45 minutes. Cool the cake in the baking tin. Serve with the remaining prunes in the syrup.
This is one of the easiest and tastiest side dishes you will ever make and as a bonus, you will have one bowl and one jug to clean! You may prepare this dish the day before you want to serve it and simply heat it up when needed.
If you cannot decide whether you want to have savoury or sweet it is best to go with both! These cupcakes are quite unusual but very satisfying and ticks all the boxes when you honestly don’t know what you are craving… it simply balances your tastebuds and it works! The recipe yields 12 regular cupcakes.
Preheat your oven to 190℃. Line a 12-hole cupcake/muffin tin with paper cups and lightly spray with a cooking spray. Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until soft and creamy. Add the egg to the mixture and beat a few seconds more. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. Add one spoonful of the flour mixture, alternating with the milk until everything is incorporated. Switch off the mixer, add the 250ml of crumbed feta cheese and mix through with a spatula. Spoon the mixture into the prepared baking tin and bake for 25 minutes.
Add the 150g butter and marmite to a small saucepan. Place on medium heat and once the butter has melted, take it from the heat and whisk to incorporate.
Take the baked cupcakes from the oven and spoon the marmite mixture over the cupcakes. Cool slightly on a cooling rack before serving.
This bread has a moist texture and is absolutely perfect for a topping of tomato, salad, cucumber and avocado. Easy to make and it will prettify your table!
Sprinkle the yeast onto the water and give it a good stir. Add the flour, salt, beetroot and oil to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook and mix on low speed for one minute. Add the yeast mixture and mix/knead for another 3 minutes. At this stage you want a dough that comes loose from the sides of the bowl. If the dough is too soft to come together in a ball, add a handful of flour and allow your machine to incorporate it. Keep adding small amounts of bread flour until the dough just comes together in a kneadable dough. Add a few drops of vegetable oil to a clean mixing bowl and cover the sides and bottom with a thin layer. Now add the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap/a bag and put aside to rest for an hour. Preheat your oven to 210℃. Take the dough from the bowl, gently knock it back and shape it into a round. Place on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Cover the bread with a clean tea towel and rest for another 20 minutes. Bake the bread for 30 minutes. Cool completely before cutting.
If you would like to “decorate” your bread as in the image below, follow the following guidelines: Once you have knocked back the dough, cut about a third of the dough from the rest. Shape the larger quantity dough into a ball and place it in a small, deep cake tin. Brush the surface with a small amount of water. Roll the rest of the dough to a 1cm thickness and cut into strips about three centimetres wide. Roll each strip into a coil and place onto the dough ball. Stand for 20 minutes before baking.
This is a triple-cheese take on the classic Potato Gratin!
6 – 8 large potatoes 3 cloves of garlic, minced 15ml rosemary, finely chopped 250ml ricotta cheese 250ml mozzarella cheese, grated 250ml feta cheese, crumbed 250ml heavy cream salt
Preheat your oven to 190℃. Peel the potato and cut each into slices not thicker than 5mm. Keep aside. Mince the garlic and keep in a small bowl. Chop the rosemary and keep in another small bowl. Add the ricotta, mozzarella and feta cheese to a bowl and mix it through with your hands. Now, select a medium sized, ovenproof dish and start layering. Lay a third of the potato slices onto the bottom of the dish, slightly overlapping. Season with salt and then sprinkle with a third of the chopped rosemary and a third of the garlic. Now spread a third of the cheese on top. Repeat the layers until all the potato and cheese have been layered, ending with the last of the cheese. Gently pour the cream onto the cheese layer and tightly cover the baking dish with aluminium foil. Place the gratin into the oven and bake for 60 minutes. Check whether the potato is cooked by inserting a sharp knife. If not, or if the cream isn’t absorbed, cover the dish once more and let it bake until fully cooked. Remove the foil once the gratin is cooked and place it back into the oven for another 30 – 40 minutes, until golden brown. Serve as a side dish or as a vegetarian dish with salad.
Cook the lentils according to the instructions on the packet. Set aside. Add the ghee to a saucepan on medium heat and fry the onion for 2 – 3 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli and fry on low heat until fragrant. Add the fennel seeds, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, garam marsala and sugar. Stir the mixture for about one minute while cooking gently. Add the spinach, mint and 45ml water to the saucepan and immediately cover with the lid. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Place the spinach and spices into a blender, add 320ml water and blend until smooth. Pour the sauce back into the same saucepan, on low heat. Add the yoghurt, salt and the juice of about half a lemon. Serve with fragrant rice and tomato salad.
My Whisk and I 