Category: Weekend Batchcooks

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Blueberry Muffins



Top Tip! Roll your frozen fruit in some flour before adding to the batter to stop the fruit from falling to the bottom of the muffins/cake.

Bear in mind this is a muffin recipe so it’s not overly sweet like cake.

Ingredients
• 30g self raising flour
• 150g frozen blueberries
• 400g self raising flour
• 150g caster sugar
• 150g butter at room temperature (this is important)
• 3 medium eggs
• 75ml whole milk

Method

Preheat a fan oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Mix 150g of blueberries with 30g self raising flour. Set to one side to use later.

Mix together flour and sugar in a large bowl. Using your hands rub the butter into the flour and sugar mixture until you get a breadcrumb like texture.

Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture. Crack in 3 eggs and pour in 75ml of milk. Using a fork draw the batter together. No need for a stand mixer for this recipe!

Once you have a batter, stir in the coated blueberries.

Divide into muffin cases and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown on top and cooked through.

This is a great recipe to batchcook and freeze.

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Carrot Soup



Use whatever you have in the fridge to make a yummy wholesome soup for all the family!

Ingredients
• 1 tablespoon of cooking oil
• 2 onions, sliced
• 3 sticks of celergy chopped (hold onto the leafy bits for a garnish)
• 5 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 litre of veg stock (use a stock cube)
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Method

Cook off the onions in a little oil until softened. Add the celery and season well with salt and pepper. Cook again until the celery begins to soften. Add the rest of the vegetables. Pour the vegetable stock over and put a lid on the saucepan.

Bring the soup mixture to a simmer and cook until all the veggies are tender. Blitz using a stick blender or eat as it is.

Garnish with chopped celery stalks

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Beef Cheek Ragout

stewing beef, onion and peppers

feeds a hungry family of 4


This recipe is perfectly suited to long slow cooking or a blast in the pressure cooker. I get my beef cheeks from my butcher as they’re not the kind of ingredient you tend to find in a supermarket. There’s a lot to be said for the knowledge that your local craft butcher has about cheaper cuts of meat and the best way to cook them. You don’t get that kind of advice from packets on a fridge shelf.


Double up or treble up your ingredients for an easy batch cook.


Ingredients

1 trimmed beef cheek
1 chopped large onion
2 chopped peppers
2 chopped sticks of celery
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
4-5 cloves of crushed garlic (more or less if you prefer)
1 teaspoon each of salt, white pepper, paprika, sugar, 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 8 hours or until the beef cheek is fall-apart tender. If cooking in a pressure cooker this dish will take about 3 hours.


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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Triple Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients

100g dark chocolate
2 eggs
100g caster sugar
50g plain flour
50g cocoa powder/drinking chocolate (your preference)
1 teaspoon baking powder
150g chocolate chips


Method
Preheat the (fan) oven to 170 degrees Celcius. Line a square brownie baking tin well.


Melt the dark chocolate either in a bowl sitting over steaming hot water (bain marie) or by zapping in a pyrex bowl in the microwave at 30 second intervals. Stir after every 30 seconds until you have all the chocolate melted.


In a second bowl whisk the eggs and sugar until they are light and frothy. Once the chocolate is melted, carefully whisk it in bit by bit. Don’t put it in all at once or you’ll end up with scrambled eggs!


Finally, blend in the remaining dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder and baking powder) into the whisked egg, sugar, and chocolate froth. I use a stand mixer so just turf them all in together and whisk quickly until they are combined. Chocolate chips on top are optional but I do recommend them!


Bake the batter in the oven for 25 minutes. Then leave to cool completely before slicing and serving. It is very squishy

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Celebration Chicken Curry


This is an extremely simple curry recipe that is deliberately low in salt. This makes it suitable for diners of all ages and perfect for large family occasions or you can portion it off and freeze this meal for another day. This recipe makes 2 family meals for under €10.


Ingredients
• 2 tablespoons of oil
• 800g boneless skinless chicken thighs (you can totally use fillets if you choose)
• 300g each of the following… chopped peppers, chopped onions, chopped carrots, and frozen or fresh peas
• 1 large tablespoon of curry powder
• 1 teaspoon of ground garlic powder or garlic flakes
• 2 tablespoons of tomato puree
• 500ml of water
• 25-50 of potato starch to thicken at the end (optional)
• Chopped Chives to decorate


Method
Heat a heavy casserole on a medium heat. Start with oil in the pan and saute off the chicken until it takes some colour. Remove the chicken and pour in the vegetables. Saute in the juices from cooking the chicken for a few minutes. Add ¼ of the water and put the lid on the casserole to accelerate the cooking process.

After 5 minutes lift the lid, sprinkle in the curry powder, garlic flakes and tomato puree. Stir well so that these ingredients begin to cook. You will be able to notice a change in the scent from the pan as the tomato puree heats through.

Add the remaining water, stir well, then return the chicken to the casserole pan. Put the lid back on and put the entire casserole dish into the oven at 160 degrees Celsius for 1 hour.

After 1 hour in the oven, remove the casserole. Stir in potato starch to thicken the sauce or use a cornflour slurry alternatively. Serve with steamed rice or crusty bread.

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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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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.