Bread making doesn’t get any simpler than this. (Oh dear, I’m starting to sound like those clowns on Masterchef). Griddle bread, as it’s known in my house, is a simple soda bread dough, but instead of being cooked in the oven, you cook it slowly on a non-stick frying pan or a cast-iron “griddle”. This is quite a traditional bread and is a great standby when you haven’t a scrap of granary left in the house. One warning though, once you cut this loaf you’ll keep going back to it until you’ve none left. It’s addictive!
I like my griddle bread “well done”. Cook gently until the surface of the bread is starting to blacken in places. As the bread cools, it gives off the most amazing toasty aromas. There’s something about it that reminds me of cream crackers. Surely not a bad thing?
For a traditional Irish bread that’s baked in the oven, try my Irish Soda Bread recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 cups self-raising flour
- 1 tsp salt
- buttermilk, enough to make a very soft dough (about 250ml-300ml, as a guide)
Method
Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl, then add the buttermilk and mix gently until you have a soft, wet dough, but be careful it is not too “sloppy”. Heat a dry frying pan, then turn down the heat low and dust the pan with plain flour. Wet your hands then add the doughto the pan. Gently smooth out the dough to cover the pan then cook slowly on both sides until brown patches start to develop. This should take at least 8 minutes on each side. Cool on a wire rack.
Coat with plenty of salty butter and enjoy, this is great with your Saturday morning fry-up.
I’m not sure how authentically ‘Moroccan’ this is, but it’s quite possibly the most delicious soup I’ve ever made; and that includes my potato and leek effort which requires a pint of cream. It’s hot, spicy, sweet and sour. I’d imagine this would be a fantastic soup to cure a hangover; protein, Vitamin C, chilli-heat. Like a Moroccan Alka-Seltzer.
The lemon juice and fresh coriander lift this soup into a different dimension so don’t be tempted to omit either. You can substitute the vegetables and pulses as you wish.
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 celery sticks, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 600 ml vegetable stock (Marigold is good)
- 400g can chopped tomatoes
- 400g can chickpeas
- 1 tbsp harissa (this will make the soup quite hot, so use less if you want)
- 100g fine beans, chopped into 2cm lengths (or 100g frozen broad beans)
- zest and juice of ½ lemon
- large handful chopped fresh coriander
Method
- Heat some olive oil in a large pot and fry onion, celery and garlic for 10 ten minutes until the onions are coloured and the celery is almost tender. Add the ground cumin and fry for another minute.
- Turn up the heat and add the stock, tomatoes, green beans, chickpeas, harissa and some freshly ground black pepper. Simmer for 8 mins.
- Add the lemon juice and cook for another minute.
- Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, add the lemon zest and fresh coriander, then serve.
Serves 3-4.
Bit tacky for a food blog? Hmm, perhaps. Give me home-made pizza any day. But I must admit, I’ve been known to visit Pizza Hut. I also happen to be rather partial to their garlic bread. I discovered that the elusive secret to their recipe is plenty of seasoning a good pinch of dried oregano. And you know what? It tastes almost identical to me. Even if you’re not a Pizza Hut fan, give it a try, it’s the best garlic bread you will ever taste! I never make it any other way.
Ingredients
- 1 baguette (or 4 small rolls)
- 150g butter
- 1 clove garlic
- dried oregano
- salt & pepper
Method
- Make sure your butter is really soft. To achieve this, just leave your butter out of the refrigerator at night.
- Make a paste from the clove of garlic and some rock salt, then add to the butter. Use a mortar and pestle for this, or grind on a chopping board with a knife. It’s very important not to have huge lumps of garlic in your butter.
- Season with a little salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper and a shake of dried oregano. Mix well.
- Slice your baguette and spread each slice liberally with the garlic butter. Toast under a hot grill until golden. It will smell and taste amazing.
A posset is a very old drink which dates from the Middle Ages. It was originally a milky drink used as a cure for minor illnesses. Wine was frequently used to curdle the flavoured/spiced milk. Nowadays, possets are generally dense cream desserts made with cream, sugar and citrus fruits. This is the classic recipe, made with lemon.
Ingredients
- 300 ml double cream (must be double cream)
- 75g caster sugar
- juice of 1-2 lemons
Method
- Add the cream to a saucepan with the sugar and bring slowly to the boil. Stir constantly to ensure the sugar dissolves.
- When the cream reaches a gentle boil, reduce the heat slightly and simmer for 3 minutes, stirring all the time.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the juice of 1 lemon. The mixture should begin to thicken. Taste and add more lemon juice if necessary. The mixture should be sweet but very fresh and tangy.
- Leave to cool for 5 minutes then pour into 4 shot glasses or espresso cups. Bang the glasses/cups to remove air bubbles.
- When cool, chill overnight, or at least 3 hours before serving. Take out of the fridge 15 minutes before serving.
Serves 4.
