Category: Weekend Batchcooks

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Homemade Brown Bread Recipe

Irish brown bread with pinhead oatmeal, sesame seeds, and buttermilk


Ingredients
• 225g coarse wholemeal flour
• 30g wheatgerm
• 30g pinhead oatmeal
• 30g sesame seeds
• 170g plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 90g butter, melted
• 330ml buttermilk

Method
Preheat a fan oven to 210 degrees Celsius. Line a 2lb loaf tin with baking paper.

Take a large mixing bowl and place all the dried ingredients inside. These are the 2 flours, seeds, wheatgerm, oatmeal, baking soda and salt if you’re using it. Using a fork, mix the dried ingredients together until they’re combined.

Make a well in the centre of the dried ingredients and crack in the 2 eggs, pour in half the buttermilk. Using the fork, stir everything together until it starts to clump. Pour in the rest of the buttermilk and stir once more. You will end up with a very thick batter. It doesn’t look one bit like bread dough!

Pour the batter into the lined loaf tin. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top and put the loaf tin into the hot oven.

Bake at 210 degrees for 20 minutes. Then, turn the heat down to 200 degrees Celsius and bake for a further 45 minutes.

After this time, check the bread is cooked by inserting a skewer into the deepest part of the loaf. If it comes out dry and clean then the bread is baked. If not, return it to the oven for another 10 minutes before testing again.

Once the bread is cooked, take the tin out of the oven, and lift the bread from the tin carefully (it’s very hot). Wrap in a damp teatowel and place it on a cooling rack. This will soften the crust to make it easier to slice. If you prefer a crispy crust, turn off the oven and put the bread back onto the rack in the oven while it cools.

Once completely cold the bread will keep for 3 days in a bread bin, you can freeze it for up to 3 months if well wrapped. You can also slice the loaf, then freeze individual slices which will keep for up to 1 month. If cooking for one or two people I recommend this method of baking, slicing, then freezing.

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Breakfast Burrito

Soft tortilla wraps with peppers, onion, eggs

Portions: 5
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 peppers, chopped
• 12 eggs
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp garlic granules/powder
• Salt & pepper
• 5 soft tortilla wraps
• 200g grated cheese

Method

Heat the sunflower oil on a medium heat in a large frying pan.
Add the onion and peppers and soft in the heat. Season with salt and pepper.
Once the vegetables are soft, crack in the 12 eggs, sprinkle in the paprika and garlic, then stir so that the ingredients are combined.
Keep on stirring until the egg mixture is cooked (scrambled egg texture).
Turn off the heat. Lay out the tortilla wraps and divide the mixture evenly between them.
Sprinkle the grated cheese on top before rolling into burrito parcels.
Allow to cool before wrapping in baking parchment and then tinfoil (this insulates the burritos) and freezing.
In the morning, remove the tinfoil wrapping and microwave the burrito for 3-4 minutes on medium until piping hot all the way through. Enjoy.

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Lentil Bolognese

Lentil Bolognese vegetarian bolognese with lentils and spaghetti

Every single ingredient comes from the press or the freezer in this comforting bolognese recipe. There’s no need to sweeten the mixture as the sweetness will come from the carrots and peppers.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
50g chopped onions
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
50g chopped peppers
2 tablespoons tomato puree
100g chopped carrots
200g dried split lentils
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 vegetable stock cube and hot water
1 teaspoon each of dried oregano, thyme, salt, and pepper
2 tablespoons chopped basil
Dried Pasta for serving

Method
Cook the onions in the vegetable oil in a large saucepan on medium heat for 5 minutes before adding the garlic, tomato puree, and peppers, and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the carrots and lentils and stir well. Pour in the chopped tomatoes and 300ml of vegetable stock made with a stock cube. Add the dried herbs and seasoning. Stir so that everything is combined. Cover the saucepan and bring to a low simmer for an hour. Stir every so often so that the lentils don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

*Recipe Suggestion: This recipe is perfect for the slow cooker. Pop in all the ingredients (excluding the basil), stir well and place the cooker on high for 3-4 hours.

To serve, cook the pasta according to the instructions, strain then combine with the sauce, sprinkle chopped basil on top.

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Umami Stew


Ingredients
• 500g lamb neck pieces (stewing meat)
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 2 large peppers, sliced
• 3 large carrots, sliced
• 500g whole baby potatoes
• 300ml beef or lamb stock
• 1 tbsp ginger and garlic paste
• 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• Fresh coriander and parsley to garnish

Method
Combine the lamb, onion, peppers, carrots, and potatoes in a slow cooker. Stir the ginger and garlic, plus the three sauces into the stock. Pour the mixture over the vegetables in the slow cooker.
Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook for 6 hours on high.
Serve with chopped soft herbs on top.

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Recipe Sausage (actual) rolls!

Sausage roll a baguette and sausage meat in a roll


🌭🌭🌭
Ingredients

6 dinner rolls or hot dog rolls
6 tbsp of tomato relish
300g sausage meat
100g grated cheese
Method
Cut a long v-cut into the top of of each roll. Using your hand pull out the v-shape and set
aside the leftover bread for later.
Using the back of a spoon flatten out the inside of the groove in the rolls. Spread one
tablespoon of relish inside of the groove in each roll. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the
relish.
Divide the sausage meat between each roll and spread it on top of the cheese. Replace the
leftover bread that you removed from the top of the roll.
Bake in the airfryer for 20-25 minutes at 170 o C until crispy and golden. Or bake in a
conventional fan oven for 25-30 minutes on a baking tray at 180 o C.

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The Irish/Thai Yellow curry

The Irish/Thai Yellow curry is made with seasonal Irish root vegetables and served with a soft boiled egg. It’s a very budget friendly meal that is not spicy, but full of flavour. The perfect antidote to rainy miserable days.

Naturally gluten free, you can amend this recipe to make it vegan by using tamari instead of fish sauce and leaving the eggs out.

Read on below for the slow cooker adaptation.


Ingredients
• 300ml vegetable stock
• 2 small onions, diced
• 3 teaspoons Thai yellow curry paste
• 400ml tin of coconut milk
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
• 5 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 medium turnip (swede), peeled and cubed
• 1 cup of frozen peas
• ½ head of broccoli, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 4 soft boiled eggs
• 100g salted peanuts (or any nuts you prefer)

Method
Bring the stock to a simmer and add in the onions. Lid on for 5 minutes to soften the onions. Stir in the paste and turn off the heat this is important so that coconut milk doesn’t curdle. Pour the coconut milk into a large pot stirring often to make sure the milk doesn’t split.

Bring back to a simmer. Add the carrots, potato and turnip. Stir well to make sure they are coated in the sauce then turn down the heat and cover the pot. Leave the pot to slowly bubble away for 40 minutes. After which time, stir in the frozen peas and broccoli. Simmer for a final 5 minutes.

Serve with a soft boiled egg and peanuts on top.

***Slow Cooker Instructions*** Add all the ingredients as far as the turnip on the list to the slow cooker and stir well. Cook on high for 4 hours. After 4 hours, remove the lid and stir in the peas and broccoli, cover and cook for another 30 minutes. Serve with a soft boiled egg and peanuts on top.

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Warming Beef Stew Recipe!

beef stew with onion, carrot, chickpea, garlic


Serves 6 hungry adults.

Ingredients
• 500g stewing beef
• 100g frozen chopped onions
• 200g frozen chopped carrots
• 100g frozen chopped turnip/swede
• 1 tin drained chickpeas
• 1 tbsp dried garlic
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 150ml beef stock (made from stock cube)
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1.5 tsp smoked paprika

Method
Combine all the ingredients in a slow cooker/crockpot/heavy casserole dish. Stir well so that the herbs and spices coat the meat and vegetables.

If cooking in the slow cooker/crockpot, put the lid on and cook on high for 6 hours.

If cooking in a heavy casserole dish in the oven, add a further 400ml of hot water to the pot. Put the lid on and cook at 160 degrees for 3 hours.

The dish is ready when the meat is tender. Serve with rice or mash. Eat with a spoon.

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Honey Buns Recipe

Makes 18 Buns or 12 Muffins

Ingredients

140g self-raising flour
80g wholemeal flour
40g oats
150ml milk
100ml runny honey
75ml sunflower oil
3 medium eggs (or 4 small eggs)
2 ripe bananas

Method
Preheat a fan oven to 170 degrees Celsius and line a muffin tin with bun cases.

In a large bowl combine the self-raising and wholemeal flour, along with the oats then stir. Take a second bowl and combine the milk, honey, sunflower oil, and eggs. Stir with a fork so that they are combined before pouring into the first bowl with the dry ingredients.

Whisk so that the wet ingredients are mixed with the dry ingredients. Once you have a batter, break in the 2 ripe bananas and stir. Spoon the mixture into the bun cases. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes and allow to cool before serving.

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Slow Cooker Beef Ragout Recipe

stewing beef, onion and peppers

Serves 6

Ingredients

450g stewing beef, chopped into chunks
1 chopped large onion
2 chopped peppers
3 chopped & peeled carrots
1 tin of chopped tomatoes OR 300g cherry tomatoes
4-5 cloves of crushed garlic (more or less if you prefer)
2 tablespoons tomato puree
1 teaspoon each of salt, white pepper, onion salt, paprika, and dried oregano
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar

Method

Combine all the ingredients in the slow cooker pot and stir well. Cook on high for 5-6 hours or until the beef is fall-apart tender. If cooking in a pressure cooker this dish will take about 1 hour.

To serve, break up the meat with a spoon and stir in some freshly cooked pasta. Garnish with chopped basil.

To make this meal stretch further add a drained can of chickpeas at the start.

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Soy Garlic Chicken Recipe

Soy chicken, which is served in a bowl with veggies and rice


Mouth watering chicken which is perfect served in a bowl with veggies and rice (serves 4 hungry adults).

Ingredients
10 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 scallions (spring onion) chopped
1 tablespoon each of ground white pepper, coriander, and cumin
A pinch to a teaspoon of chipotle chilli flakes (season with your heart folks)
4-5 tablespoons of soy sauce
8 chicken thigh fillets (boneless and skinless)

Method
Add the garlic, white section of the scallions, spices, and soy sauce to a large tray. Stir. Add the chicken thigh fillets to the marinade and coat well.

Cover the tray and allow the chicken to marinate in the fridge for 1-3 hours.

I’m cooking for a gang so it’s quicker to sear the chicken off on the griddle, then return to the tray and bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 15-20 minutes until cooked through.

Serve on a bed of sticky rice with fresh vegetables. Pour over the marinade from the tray for additional sauce and sprinkle with the green sliced scallions