APPLE AND FENNEL SEED SODA BREAD

Rustic, crumbly soda bread

1 small loaf

100g stoneground rye flour

50g strong white bread flour, plus extra to dust

100g wholemeal flour

2 tbsp ground linseed/flaxseed

1 tbsp toasted chopped hazelnuts

1 tsp sesame seeds

1 tbsp fennel seeds

1 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp flaked sea salt

1/2 grated apple

200ml whole milk

1.  Heat the oven to 210C/fan190C/gas 7. Lightly flour a baking sheet.

2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl then add the milk and stir to form a wet dough. Scrape the dough into a ball and lift onto the baking sheet. Dust the dough with a little flour and slice a cross in the top with a very sharp knife. 

3. Bake the loaf for 1 hour until crusty and baked through. Stick a skewer in it; if the centre is very sticky, put it back in for a little longer. Allow the loaf to cool before slicing or tearing, and spreading on lots of butter.

BEETROOT GNOCCHI

This dish reminds me of sluggish pomeriggi in the trattoria of Bologna. Fresh pasta, floury and soft, with a painless, no-frills sauce. And probably a fierce glass of red to wash it down.

Here, the fresh garlic, crisp sage and toasted hazelnuts bring strength and bite to the earthy, soft gnocchini. Gnocchi are simple enough to knock up (there's a bit to do a the beginning but this can all be done in advance) and they go a long way for lunch - you'll be full after a small plate so there will be plenty left over for surprise diners.

BEETROOT GNOCCHI

with, TOASTED HAZELNUTS, FRESH GARLIC & SAGE BUTTER

SERVES 2

ingredients

100g beetroot, peeled and chopped

250g King Edward potatoes, peeled chopped

75g plain flour

1 small/medium free range egg, beaten

salt

100g lightly salted butter

fresh garlic, sliced in rounds

handful sage leaves

approx. 10 hazelnuts, crushed

Parmesan

Bring two pans of salted water to the boil. Put the potatoes in one and the beetroot in the other. Cook the beetroot and the potatoes until soft enough to slip a knife through.

Put the beetroot into a food processor and whizz until pureed. Push the puree through a sieve once or twice to make it really smooth.

Mash the potatoes. They should be light and fluffy with little moisture. Keep them on the heat for a bit if the is any excess water.

Measure out the flour into a deep bowl, or on a floured surface. Make a well in the flour and add the egg, beetroot and potato. Season with salt. Mix through with your fingers, so that the colour of the beetroot spreads evenly. The mixture should turn into a soft dough. If too wet, add more flour.

Cut the dough into equal sized squares and roll into long sausages. This is where you can experiment with size and shape, but to go for the traditional diamond, cut the dough diagonally, every 2-3 cm. Lightly dust with flour.

Bring a pan of salted water to the boil.

Gently toast the hazelnuts in a small pan and set aside.

Meanwhile, melt the butter and add the sliced garlic. You want this to cook very gently before adding the sage. Once the garlic has softened slightly, add the sage to infuse into the butter and crisp up.

Add the gnocchi to the pan. As soon as they float to the top, they'll be ready!

Serve up in a pasta bowl and drizzle with the sage garlic butter. Grate with a generous helping of Parmesan and sprinkle over the hazelnuts.

Talk to no one, look at no one, just eat.

RASPBERRY AND ALMOND FLAPJACKS

Quick to whip up, blooming gorgeous to look at, and irresistibly scrumptious to eat.

RASPBERRY AND ALMOND FLAPJACKS


makes about 20

ingredients

150g salted butter
5 large tbsps set honey
80g golden caster sugar
250g jumbo porridge oats
100g raspberries
50g toasted flaked almonds

dried rose petals to decorate

Preheat the oven to 200˚C/400˚F/Gas mark 6.

Line a small, shallow baking tray with baking parchment and set aside.

Melt the butter, honey and sugar in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Reduce the heat to very low and gently stir in the oats. Remove from the heat and add the raspberries. Stir them through. You want them to break up slightly so the flavour melts through the oats. Mix in the almonds.

Spread the oat mix onto the to baking parchment and pat it down so that the oats are compact. Place in the hot oven for 15 minutes, or until the flapjacks are golden brown. If the edges start to burn, don't panic! Trim them off and sprinkle over natural yogurt, or use in a crumble topping.

Slice the jacks with a sharp knife as soon as they come out of the oven so they are soft to cut, then leave them to cool on a wire rack.

Very good with a pot of tea, or if you are picnicking in the park, they taste even better alongside a cheeky bottle of elderflower cider!

WALNUT POLENTA

Eat with eggs, with cheese, with apples and pears, fried with bacon, paired with braised meat and, best of all, on its own. I present to you the most versatile and comforting of winter companions: walnut polenta.

WALNUT POLENTA


serves 2

ingredients
100g polenta (instant polenta is great for a quick fix)
400ml water
1tsp salt
50g fresh walnuts, chopped

In a large saucepan, bring the water to the boil. Add the salt and stir. Sprinkle the polenta grains into the boiling water and stir with a wooden spoon. Turn down the heat to a simmer and gently stir. Polenta thickens with heat - like risotto - so keep adding water to loosen it. Repeat this process for up to an hour (this is unless you're using instant polenta when it will be cooked in just a few minutes).

When cooked, mix in the walnuts. They will still have a crunch, but using fresh walnuts will give a softer texture.

Spoon the polenta onto a plate, bowl or chopping board. As it cools, the polenta will firm up and be easy to slice for serving with whatever you fancy.

For the best polenta have it plain; warm up a knob of salted butter, pour over and season. Or dress with balsamic vinegar and olive oil, and garnish with basil leaves.

Bloomin' delicious.

PANIC COOKIES

We all make a furious attempt to get present-buying over with quickly and have a few days of uncluttered peace before stuffed turkeys and drunk grannies get the better of us. But with Christmas parties and yuletide drinks ahoy, the precious 'thought that counts' gets scooped up in the constant hangover.

So here's a last minute solution for curing the lingering aches, pleasing the old farts, and saving a bit of shrapnel for the figgy pudding.

WHITE CHOCOLATE, WALNUT AND RAISIN COOKIES.
(MAKES APPROX. 30)

ingredients
80g caster sugar

1 egg
150g salted butter, chopped into small cubes
75g self raising flour
100g ground almonds
60g walnuts, roughly chopped
40g raisins
(1/2 tsp honey optional)

100g white chocolate (preferably G&B's delicious Vanilla White Chocolate)

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 4. Line a baking tray or two with baking parchment.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the butter, sugar and egg until smooth. Fold in the flour and ground almonds, followed by the walnuts, raisins and honey. make sure the nuts and raisins are spread evenly through the mixture.

With a teaspoon, scoop equal portions of the cookie mix onto the baking trays, sitting them about 1 cm apart. Put into the pre-heated oven and bake for 8-10 minutes or until they begin to brown at the edges.

Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of boiling water. Do not sit the bowl in the water but rest over. The steam will gently soften the chocolate. When melted, take off the heat and begin to dip half of each cookie in the chocolate. Leave to cool in the fridge for 5 minutes so that the chocolate stiffens onto the biscuit. Try one.

Take about 10 cookies per person and place carefully in a see-through container. I used old plastic pint glasses but jam jars or soup pots look great too. Cut a large square of brightly coloured tissue-paper or cloth and place over the lid of the container. Finally, tie the cloth in place with a piece of string or ribbon and cut off any excess material.

In 30 minutes you'll have yourself a gift worthy of the whole present list and a halo hovering over that throbbing head.

I KNEAD BREAD

Today, my Sunday morning kicked off punctually at 8 o’clock, setting out of the house with baking buddy, Miss Mackenzie, on the hunt for yeast and bread flour, in preparation for a morn of energetic bread making. I wanted my house to smell like a bakery. I wanted to breathe in those heavenly fumes, waft the warmth into my nostrils and watch the perfectly formed dough rise in the oven...


My mum – Happy Mother’s Day to her – is, and always has been a queen for whipping up a freshly baked loaf, mixing flavours and always succeeding in getting a warm approval. And as I am away from the comfort of her kneading expertise, I felt the ‘knead’ (ahem) to brighten up my weekend with a loaf of the highest ‘a la mère’ quality.


Asking around for thoughts on flavours just put me right back to where I started. Any amount of fresh inspiration couldn’t erase the thought of one particular combination. I was advised to add Marmite to my bread. Or Parmesan cheese and sun-dried tomatoes, or blue cheese and rosemary. Even the sound of banana and apricot couldn't shake me. But stubborn as I am, the thought of walnut and honey baked in a warm loaf makes me want to collapse into a heap of joy. Its sweet crunch, humid from the oven, and spread with a little melted butter, tops them all. It has no place in the bread bin and MUST be eaten immediately; no time wasted, just instant pleasure.

So, we kneaded the dough. And let it rise. And baked it. And ate it. And what a perfect complement to a, not so lazy, Sunday morning.

WALNUT AND HONEY BREAD

INGREDIENTS

500g strong white/wholemeal bread flour (either works)
7g dried yeast
300ml warm water
25g butter
Extra flour for dusting
1tbsp honey (or molasses if you’ve got it –even better)
50g crushed walnuts

Preheat the oven to 230 degrees C/ 450 degrees F/ gas mark 8. Mix all the dry ingredients together, and then rub in the butter. Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the warm water. Use your hands to combine the ingredients until you have a non-sticky ball. Knead the dough well on a floured table, for approximately ten minutes until it bounces back when pressed.
Place into a bowl and cover with a damp tea towel. Find your warmest place in the house, apart from inside the oven. Leave it to rest until the dough has risen to double its original size (usually 1 ½ hours), knock the air out again, and leave it to prove once more for about 30 minutes. Add the walnuts and honey, and shape into desired form. Place into a large, deep, floured bread tin, or a floured baking tray for about 8 rolls. Bake in the heated oven for 30-35 minutes, until the dough is cooked and the top, brown.

Now, slice, and serve with a knob of butter, your favourite jam and a mug of fresh coffee. Mmmmmm...