Author: Caitríona

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Cowboy Beans


Servings: 12-15 people

Ingredients
• 1 lb sausage Meat
• 2 red onions, chopped
• Lots of garlic (I used 7 cloves finely chopped)
• 1 big mug of beefstock
• 2 tablespoons tomato puree
• 1 teaspoon chipotle chilli flakes
• ½ teaspoon white pepper
• 3 stalks celery chopped
• 1 large courgette, chopped
• 3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 tin of blackbeans, drained
• 1 tin of butterbeans, drained
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• ¼ teaspoon of black treacle


Method
Take a massive saucepan and place it onto a medium heat. Start by frying off the sausage meat. Then add the onions and a little splash of stock at this stage if you notice the bottom of the pan getting sticky. Add the garlic, seasonings, and tomato puree before stiring in the vegetables, beans, tomatoes, and finally a little bit of black treacle.
Cover, bring to a simmer and cook for 2-3 hours on low until the vegetables are tender. I put the lid onto my casserole and cooked it in the oven at 150 degrees for 2 hours.
Serve on a bed of fresh potato wedges, lashings of parsley or coriander (or both) and maybe some chopped cooked bacon if you’re feeling very luxurious.
Allow to cool before bagging or boxing and freezing for another day.

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Maccaroons

Ingredients
200g caster sugar
2 medium egg whites
300g dried coconut


Method
Preheat a fan oven to 170°C. Line a baking tray with a sheet of non-stick greaseproof paper.
Combine the sugar, egg white and coconut with a fork in a large bowl, until you get a sticky paste.

Wet your hands and shape the mixture into balls. Space the eight balls of mixture on the baking tray.

Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until golden. Allow to cool before lifting them off the paper, otherwise they will stick.

Dip in chocolate and drizzle with chocolate if you like.

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Sausage Tray Bake


As a busy working parent, I am always on the hunt for an easy recipe for dinner! Single pan/tray bakes save the day at least once a week here. The dressing makes the final result super-punchy but you can always leave it off for the fussy ones (they’ll probably have ketchup on the side if we are all honest).
Serves 4 hungry adults. Cooking Time is approx 55 minutes


Ingredients
• 500g sausages
• 6 large spuds, peeled and chopped
• 1 large onion, sliced
• Small amount of sunflower oil, salt and pepper
• 2-3 peppers chopped into chunks
• 1 small head of broccoli cut into florets
• For the dressing: Oil, salt & pepper, basalmic vinegar, 1 crushed/minced clove of garlic, plenty of fresh chopped coriander


Method
Preheat a fan oven to 180 degrees Celsius. You can also lash this into a cold oven but do increase the overall cooking time at the end!
Line a deep dish baking tray. Put the spuds, onions, and sausages into the tray with the oil and seasoning. Stir well to make sure everything is coated. Put the baking tray into the oven and roast for 40 minutes.
After 40 minutes, remove the tray from the oven and add the tender vegetables. Stir around in the tray to combine. Roast for a further 15 minutes.
To make the dressing: combine all the dressing ingredients in a jam jar. Put the lid on and shake well. Pour over the tray bake, stir to coat all the ingredients and serve immediately.

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Pickled Onions


You can make as much or as little of these punchy pickled onions as you like. They taste better over time but my jar lasts about a fortnight in the fridge. The jar I use is a 500ml jar, half these ingredients if you are using a classic jam jar.


Ingredients
• 3 sliced red onions
• 1 heaped teaspoon sugar
• 1 heaped teaspoon salt
• 150ml hot water
• 150ml white vinegar
• Spices/Seasonings of your choice – here I used fennel seeds, coriander seeds and cumin seeds


Method
Combine the sugar and salt in a jug with the hot water until fully dissolved. Add the vinegar to the hot water mixture and stir well.
Put your spices/seasonings of choice into a large jar. Stuff in as many onions as you possibly can.
Pour the pickling mixture into the jar on top of the onions until you reach the top of the jar

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Homemade Jambons


Ingredients
· 50g butter
· 100g plain flour
· 300ml warm milk
· 200g grated cheese (cheddar is the best but whatever you have to hand is fine)
· 100g chopped ham (optional)
· Salt & Pepper to taste
· 1 roll readymade puff pastry
· 1 beaten egg for glazing


Method
Get a large saucepan onto a medium heat.
Melt the butter in the saucepan. Stir in the flour and slowly add the warm milk bit by bit to prevent lumps. Stir until it has thickened.
Turn off the heat, add the melted cheese and ham. Stir this into the sauce mixture – it will get THICK. Spoon the mixture onto a plate or bowl and allow to come to room temperature before covering and chilling until later.
Once cool, preheat a fan oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Take a sheet of puff pastry and divide it into 6 large squares or have fun and divide into many small squares.
Spoon a generous amount of the filling into the centre of each square. Then pull the corners into the centre to sit on top of the filling mixture. Brush the top of the squares with beaten egg.
Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and baked through. Allow to cool a little before eating as the filling gets very hot

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Swiss Roll Recipe


*Note this is probably the only recipe where I use imperial measurements as this is a legacy recipe from both my grandmothers.


The ratio for making fatless sponge is 1 egg:
1 oz caster sugar: 1 oz self raising flour and a tiny amount of vanilla extract at the end. You increase the quantities to get more sponge.
This makes it very adaptable to whatever you are baking.
For the sponge you see today this is what I used…


Ingredients
5 medium eggs
5 oz caster sugar
5 oz self raising flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the filling: 200g of raspberry jam Additional caster sugar for rolling the sponge


Method
Preheat your oven to 170 degrees celcius. Line your tin with baking parchment, ensuring that there is plenty of overlap.
Put the eggs and sugar into the mixer and using the whisk attachment whisk until pale, light and fluffy. Its volume should at least double in size. Turn off the mixer and sieve the flour/baking powder directly onto the baking parchment.
Now gently pour half the flour into the egg/sugar mixture and fold with the metal spoon. Taking care not to knock the air out. Repeat with the remaining flour.
Pour the mixture into the lined baking tray. Bake in the oven for approximately 22 mins or until golden.
Remove from the oven when baked and leave to cool for 5 mins on a cooling rack.
Sprinkle a piece of baking parchment with caster sugar and tip the sponge upside down on top of the sugar. Next peel off the baking parchment gently.
Taking the edge of the baking parchment together in your hands, tightly roll together until you reach the short edge of the sponge.
This part is not unlike rolling sushi. Use the teatowel/parchment to force the sponge to roll onto itself tightly.
Keep on rolling until you reach the end of the sponge. Now cover the sponge with the parchment, then the damp teatowel and twist like a Christmas Cracker.
Leave the roll to cool for approximately 15 mins before filling with jam, serve and eat on the day that it is baked for best results

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Crispy Pancakes Recipe


Ingredients

50g butter
100g plain flour
300ml warm milk
200g grated cheese (cheddar is the best but whatever you have to hand is fine)
100g chopped ham (optional)
Salt & Pepper to taste
Method
Get a large saucepan onto a medium heat.
Melt the butter in the saucepan. Stir in the flour and slowly add the warm milk bit by bit to prevent lumps. Stir until it has thickened.
Turn off the heat, add the melted cheese and ham. Stir this into the sauce mixture – it will get THICK. Spoon the mixture onto a plate or bowl and allow to come to room temperature before covering and chilling until later.

For the pancakes… Check out the recipe before this on my profile for crispy pancakes! Or make your own panckes like normal, make double quantities and hold half the batch to one side to fill.
Put a large tablespoon or two on half of each pancake. Fold in half and seal the edges with some beaten egg or milk. Put the filled pancakes onto a baking sheet and freeze or chill for an hour.
To assemble the giant Crispy Pancakes! You will need 2 medium eggs, 200g seasoned plain flour, 200g panko breadcrumbs. dip the partially frozen pancakes in seasoned flour, then egg, then panko breadcrumbs.
Bake in the oven at 200 degrees Celsius for 25 minutes until the centre is heated through and the outside is golden brown. Enjoy with a leafy green side salad

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Pancakes/Crepes



Whatever you do make this batter the night before. It makes life so much easier on you. Yes, when you take it out of the fridge it may look a little split, just give it a quick whisk before adding about 50g of melted butter. That will add a depth of flavour to your pancakes and prevent them from sticking to a non-stick pan. No need to add any oil at all to the pan.

Ingredients

· 250g plain flour
· 3 medium eggs
· Decent pinch of salt
· 450ml of whole milk
· 50g of melted butter

Method
Combine the flour, eggs, salt, and milk together in a large bowl. Whisk well. Don’t worry about small lumps, these will settle overnight. Once you have a light batter, cover the bowl and leave it in the fridge to rest for about 10 hours.

The following morning, take the bowl out and whisk in 50g of melted butter. Cook each pancake on a medium heat. Use your fillings/toppings of choice

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Buttermilk Pancakes


Ingredients

250g (1 cup) plain flour
1 teaspoon bread soda/bicarbonate of soda
2 small-medium eggs (1 large egg should be fine either)
150ml buttermilk
Optional 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon sunflower oil for frying/greasing the pan.

Method

Put the flour and bread soda into a large bowl and stir so that they’re combined. Make a well in the centre and crack in the 2 eggs, pour in the buttermilk (add the vanilla extract if using). Whisk until you have a batter. Don’t worry too much if you have small lumps, as these should disappear after the next stage.

Put the oil in a heavy, shallow non-stick frying pan (see notes on frying pan below). Before you put the pan on the heat, spread the oil over the surface. I like to use a little bit of kitchen paper for this. Next, put it on a medium heat and allow it to come to temperature. This takes about 5 minutes or so. Once the pan is hot, give the batter a second vigorous whisk and you should see those lumps disappear (or at worst get smaller, they’ll be gone completely in the cooking process don’t worry).

Using a tablespoon as a measure, pour out 3-4 pancakes onto the surface of the frying pan. Once the bubbles begin to appear on the surface of the pancakes, and the batter has changed colour from pale to slightly darker, flip the pancakes using a non-stick spatula. Cook for a further 1-2 minutes, until the pancakes turn golden on both sides. Lift and serve.

If you want to wait for all the pancakes to be cooked before serving, pop them onto a heat-proof plate and cover with a bit of baking parchment/tin foil, then a heavy tea towel to stop them from getting cold. Lift the “insulation” everytime you cook another batch to add to the pile.

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Focaccia


Ingredients
• 250g strong white flour
• 1 teaspoon dried yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 20ml olive oil (plus more for the top of the focaccia)
• 100ml water
• Dried herbs of your choice


Method
Put the flour, yeast and salt into a large bowl and stir loosely with a fork. Add the olive oil and mix in well until you get a very loose breadcrumb texture. Add 75ml of water (cold or room temperature is fine, don’t use warm) and mix into the flour. You’re aiming for a loose, wet dough. If you have a stand mixer make the most of the dough hook. If not, rub a little oil on your hands before mixing so that the dough doesn’t stick. Add the remaining water bit by bit. The dough is very loose and slack. Knead it well until smooth, this will take about 20 minutes by hand or 10 with a stand mixer.
Grease a large bowl with some oil and put the dough inside, then cover the top with cling film. Leave the dough in a dark spot, not too warm, to rise for about 3 hours or so. It nearly needs to over-prove to get the irregular air bubbles when you bake it.
Take a ceramic baking dish (mine is 20cm square), lightly oil it and dust with a little flour. Preheat a (fan) oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Gently turn the dough out of the bowl directly into the dish and use your knuckles to pad it into the corners, the knuckles will give it the lumpy surface. Sprinkle the top with dried herbs of your choice (I used rosemary and thyme and some dried garlic), then spoon a little olive oil over the herbs so that it pools in the shallow parts of the dough.
Once the oven is up to temperature, bake the bread in the oven until golden brown on top. This should take about 25-30 minutes. Leave to cool in the dish for at least 15 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack