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July 13, 2015

Roasted Summer Vegetables with British Goat’s Cheese #TasteOfSummer

Roasted Summer Vegetables with British Goat’s Cheese

Most of the time we associate roasted vegetables with autumn or winter, in that root vegetables roast so well and sweeten up in the process. But I find that certain summer vegetables get on very well with a drizzle of cold-pressed rapeseed oil in a roasting tin before going into a hot oven. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been roasting plenty of British asparagus during the asparagus season – now sadly pretty much at an end. I actually used salad potatoes in this recipe, which I wouldn’t normally roast, but after par-boiling them for a few minutes I decided to throw them into the tin, too, along with some mini peppers. The salad potatoes actually roasted beautifully and became lovely and fluffy on the inside and a little bit crisp on the outside. Any waxy or new potato variety would work well, too. Another ‘first’ this summer was tasting a salad with roasted grapes and walnuts. I also love roasted summer courgettes or carrots with a sprinkle of caraway seeds. Roasted summer vegetables can be eaten warm just as they are, or, as in this recipe, with the addition of some British goat’s cheese. You can also serve the roasted vegetables cold, mixed with a little cream cheese as a filling for roasted sweet potatoes.

All of these ideas speak to me of summer and so I thought this recipe would make the perfect addition to the Waitrose #TasteOf Summer campaign, currently ongoing.

Over the next few weeks, up until 26^th August 2015, Waitrose are asking you to tell them your favourite #TasteOfSummer and to share your creations on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the chance to win one of their three summer food experiences –

You could win a pair of tickets to an exclusive barbecue event with Heston Blumenthal, at his pub, The Crown Inn, located in Bray, Berkshire. Winners must be available to attend the event on Saturday 25 July.
Or, you could win a ticket to their ‘Cocktails & Party Bites’ evening course at the Waitrose Finchley Road Cookery School in London on Thursday 13 August.
Or, you could win a complete summer party menu as chosen by the Waitrose Entertaining and Waitrose Cellar specialists – so all you’d need to do then is invite your friends over and crack open the bubbles!

Every week, Waitrose are also showcasing the most popular summer flavours across their social media channels.

To enter, you just have to share your favourite summer food or drink on Facebook (find the Facebook page here) Twitter (follow @Waitrose) or Instagram @Waitrose using the #TasteOfSummer hashtag.

Prep 10 mins

Cook 20 mins

Total 30 mins

Author Ren Behan

So, whether you’re enjoying an ice cream at the seaside, or perhaps some freshly caught fish and chips, a barbecue in the garden, a simple summer salad, scones, strawberries and clotted cream whilst watching the tennis or even a slice freshly baked cake topped with fruit at the summer fair – there are lots of chances to win a great summer food experience.

Linking up to July and August’s Simple and in Season, too!

Disclosure: I have been commissioned to create this recipe by Waitrose to help promote their Taste of Summer Campaign and received some vouchers in consideration.

June 15, 2015

A Polish-Inspired Beetroot Salad with Apples, Radish and Dill

A Polish-inspired beetroot summer salad with apples, radish and dill

I was interested to read this week about the four distinct waves of Polish migration to the UK. I tend to only think of my parents’ generation, resettling to the UK after the Second World War and of course, of the most recent wave. In fact, there have been Poles in Britain since around 1830, following the November Uprising of 1830-1831, with a second wave happening between 1880 and 1920.

Both my mother and father’s family settled in England during the third wave, shortly after the war. My father left Poland at the tender age of sixteen, having first undertaken a forced and perilous journey of approximately 1700 miles from Poland to northern Russia. Aged eighteen, my father and his twin joined the Polish Army in Exile formed by General Anders. They formed in Buzuluk, and travelled via Tashkent, Bukhara and Moynaq. They were then part of a brigade that went to Suez and Durban in South Africa, before arriving in Scotland. Once in Scotland, they trained with a Polish tank brigade, later taking part in the Battle of Falaise, going on to liberate the towns of Ypres, Ghent and Passchendaele, amongst many others. After the war, they were kept on as peacekeeping troops.

Family history book, my father in the Polish army, Polish folk art.

It wasn’t until many years after the war my father formed a business with his brothers, who had all fortunately survived the war, and they employed my grandmother, my mother and her brother, who had also resettled in England from Poland during the war. My dad later married my mother and they had five children, of which I am the youngest. The family business employed many fellow Poles and their families creating new industry in Manchester for a period spanning three decades. Their contribution to society, like that of many migrant Poles, was not insignificant.

By the time I was born, my grandmother had her own house and a small garden here in England. I remember her garden being full of all the things that she used to grow in Poland. In fact, most Poles had a little allotment patch either at the front or at the back of their house. I remember playing in her garden and seeing plenty of beetroot, runner beans, cabbages, carrots, potatoes, radishes and lots and lots of dill. Babcia kept chickens, too, so there were always plenty of eggs. She never quite came out of war mentality, so there were lots of jars of pickles and preserves. Cooking Polish food would make her feel closer to home; it was the only cuisine she knew. Taught by my grandmother, my mother also cooked Polish food for our family and so I knew little else. As a baby my mama tells me I was weaned on beetroot soup and that I loved it.

Migration means many things to many different people. I personally am always fascinated by stories of resettlement and relocation. They are rarely clear-cut and often there is also an element of history involved, too. I know that my parents were always incredibly grateful for the Polish community church hall, where we would often spend time marking significant occasions in Polish history, or folk dancing or fundraising with the Polish Scouts. It still exists to this day, now welcoming new Poles, arriving with predicaments of their own.

These days, of course, communities are often formed online, too. With strong links to the migrant communities around the world, Lebara, a UK-based telecoms group, are bringing together a collection of stories and articles, examining migration and offering a place for people to share collective memories; a community platform, of sorts, aimed at bringing together rather than dividing. It’s an initiative that I’m keen to support, particularly in light of my own family history and my keenness to promote positivity and inclusivity towards those who find themselves far away from home.

As well as thinking about my story and that of my parents’ migration all those years ago, I’m sharing today a recipe inspired by my grandmother’s garden, which by this time of year would be brimming with summer salad ingredients, ready to provide a colourful addition to our family table. The recipe should shortly be featured on the Lebara Community Site, too.

There are plenty of other interesting articles and recipes being added to the Lebara Community Hub all the time – pop over and have a read here.

I’m also linking this recipe up to Simple and in Season June, Extra Veg June 2015, hosted by Helen at Fuss Free Flavours and Meat Free Mondays hosted by Jac at Tinned Tomatoes.

For more Polish recipes, see www.renbehan.com/mypolishkitchen

4 votes

Prep 10 mins

Total 10 mins

Author Ren Behan

With many thanks to Lebara UK for commissioning this recipe and for creating the migrant community hub.

March 25, 2015

Homemade Banoffee Eclairs

Spring is here! This is a recipe from John Lewis COOK Edition…

A short while ago in the food world, a prediction was made that éclairs would be the new cupcake and there are now all sorts of weird and wonderful flavours to try in the trendiest bakeries. I’m sure we’ve all had one from our local bakery – traditionally, an éclair is made from choux dough or pastry, filled with cream and topped with chocolate or fondant icing.

In this post, Love & Olive Oil set their readers a challenge to bake éclairs and they came up with some stunning entries. And I’ll never forget reading this wonderful post by David Lebovitz on Éclairs in Paris – or l’éclair – not to be missed.

The éclair originated in France in the 19th century and, as I’ve discovered this week, they can be made at home, with relative ease. I say that, because there are a couple of steps to follow when making the choux and you do have to pipe, but since the choux is later split and filled and topped with chocolate, they don’t actually have to be perfect.

If you can make éclairs then you can make profiteroles (or cream puffs) and vice versa, so they are a good thing to add to your repertoire. Plus, anyone you serve them to will be incredibly impressed!

…

November 26, 2014

Cod, Chorizo and Pea Puree Bites

It’s almost time to start thinking about Christmas food. I say almost, because traditionally, I don’t really start thinking about Christmas food until December. However, the folks at Lurpak have invited me to take part in their Lurpak Christmas Menu this year and I’ve been tasked with creating an ‘amuse bouche’ or a ‘one bite wonder’ to get the party started. Happily, most of the thinking has been done for me, by Lurpak’s Facebook fans, who have been sending in their suggestions for their ultimate festive canapés. It was hard to pick just one recipe to recreate as there was so many great suggestions, but I was drawn to an idea by Lou Sharp who said that her one bite wonder would be a “Lurpak buttery pea puree topped with a chunk of cod and finished with a slice of chorizo.” So, here is my recreation of that idea – my Cod, Chorizo and Pea Purée Bites.

…

May 25, 2014

3 Quick Cheese Snacks for the Good Food Channel

Today is officially the last day of National Vegetarian Week 2014. In case you’ve taken the challenge and are in search of some simple and tasty recipes to round off the weekend, I thought I’d highlight three recent quick cheese snacks, created for the Good Food Channel. Really though, who needs an excuse to indulge in a little melted cheese?! Of course, you can also use any of your favourite vegetarian alternative cheeses in these recipes…

Three Cheese Snacks — 3 Quick Cheese Snacks created for the Good Food Channel

Firstly, a super-quick Mexican inspired snack – my Cheese Quesadillas with tinned black beans, tomatoes, spring onions and grated cheese. Use a chilli cheese if you fancy, and any beans – black, pinto or fava beans – drained and washed.

Cheese Quesadillas {Recipe Here} for the Good Food Channel

Next, one of our favourites for a quick cheese snack, are my Three Cheese Toasties, with leek, garlic and thyme on sourdough. They take around ten minutes to make, and I simply used a griddle pan to make mine, weighed down a little with a heavy lid. If you have a panini machine or a toastie maker, you can use that instead. I usually like to use a combination of cheddar, mozzarella and Gruyère or Comte – but really, use any cheese that you like or have in the fridge to use up – or a vegetarian alternative.

Three Cheese Toasties {Recipe Here} for the Good Food Channel

Finally, if you have hungry kids, you can’t go wrong with these Cheese and Marmite Swirls. Simply keep a packet of ready rolled/ready to use puff pastry in the fridge or freezer, then unroll, spread with Marmite, sprinkle over the granted cheese and roll up. Once sliced, place them on a baking tray lined with paper, brush with a little beaten egg and bake for fifteen minutes. Serve when warm, but not too hot for little fingers!

Cheese and Marmite Swirls {Recipe Here} for the Good Food Channel

I hope that’s given you a little inspiration for the Bank Holiday weekend, or perhaps, for an after school snack or quick lunch.

How did you get on with the challenge to “go green” for National Vegetarian Week?

Recipes commissioned by the Good Food Channel – recipes, styling and photography by Ren Behan.

April 17, 2014

Easy Easter Recipes – Good Food Channel

Just before I sign out for Easter and wish you all a very happy weekend, I have a few additional easy Easter recipes to share that I was invited to create for the Good Food Channel. I hope they inspire you to have a go at making or baking something yourself at home. Yes, the shops are full to the brim with commercially produced Easter eggs, cakes and hot cross buns, but there’s something truly special about having a go at something yourself at home – especially if it means challenging yourself to try something new or getting the children involved in the kitchen. Just make sure you have some aprons at the ready and your ingredients to hand, then roll up your sleeves and get stuck in. I really hope that some of these recipes feature on your Easter table – don’t forget let me know if they do!

Chocolate Hot Cross Buns {Recipe Here} for the Good Food Channel

Hot Cross Buns are easier to make at home than you may think – the buns above were only my second ever attempt – the first batch were fine, but the liquid I used was slightly too hot and I managed to kill the yeast – so you might want to avoid doing that! My version includes chocolate chips (add them towards the end of kneading) with a toffee glaze.

Creme Egg Cupcakes {Recipe Here} for the Good Food Channel

When baking with Creme Eggs, a good tip is to pop them in the freezer for a little but first, so that once they go into the cake batter and into the oven, they don’t melt immediately! Don’t forget to buy some of the mini Creme Eggs to decorate your cupcakes with.

Caramel and White Chocolate Easter Egg [Recipe Here} for the Good Food Channel

I purchased an inexpensive DIY Easter Egg kit at Lakeland and we had a go at making some of our own Caramel and White Chocolate Easter Eggs – the kids were really thrilled and we found making them a relaxing way to spend a not-so-sunny spring afternoon.

Mini Egg Cake {Recipe Here} for the Good Food Channel

Finally, probably my favourite recipe, a chocolate cake covered in chocolate butter cream and completely encrusted in Mini Eggs – you’ll need about eight large packets but it makes for a great Easter centre-piece!

More Easter Recipes!

Chocolate Rolo Cake for the Good Food Channel

Creme Egg Cheesecake for the Good Food Channel

Re-cap on last year’s Chocolate Orange Easter Tiramisu Party

Finally…I’m off to colour my eggs for our Easter basket and then…put my feet up!

I look forward to seeing your Easter tweets @RenBehan or you can post a photo on my new Facebook page Ren Behan Food.

Have a great Easter weekend.

Click here for all of the Easy Easter recipes!

Ren Behan is a freelance contributor to the Good Food Channel. All recipes, styling and photographs in this post author’s own.

April 12, 2014

Chocolate Rolo Cake

If you’re looking for an indulgent chocolate cake – rich, extravagant, impressive yet easy – you’ve found it. I was asked to create a chocolate Rolo Cake for the Good Food Channel and this is it. I’ve made it a few times since it’s original incarnation and it has definitely become something of a request cake! The cake feeds a large crowd, so it’s perfect for a fundraiser, or a coffee morning or perhaps a birthday celebration or a family gathering. Two layers of chocolate cake filled with caramel sauce, covered in a chocolate fudge frosting and topped with a cascade of Rolo caramels and even more caramel sauce. It’s certainly not for anyone observing a Lenten fast or diet! But I can promise you, it is good!

Here’s the recipe

This recipe first appeared here on the Good Food Channel.

2 votes

Chocolate Rolo Cake

Prep 25 mins

Cook 30 mins

Total 55 mins

Author Ren Behan

Yield 12

An indulgent chocolate cake - perfect for a special occasion! This recipe first appeared on the Good Food Channel's website.

Ingredients

For the chocolate sponge:
A little butter, for greasing
225g/ one cup soft brown sugar
4 large eggs
250ml/ one cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
175g/ 1 & 3/4 cups self-raising flour
75g/ 3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3 tbsp buttermilk
A can of dulce de leche or Carnation caramel
For the fudge icing:
100g/ 2/3 cup good quality dark chocolate
150g/ 2/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
450g/ 2 & 1/4 cup icing sugar
3 tbsp whole milk
2 x 126g packet of rolos, to decorate

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease two 18cm sandwich tins and line the bases with greaseproof paper.
Using an electric whisk or a stand mixer, beat the soft brown sugar and eggs and together for about four minutes until pale and creamy. Slowly add the vegetable oil and the vanilla bean paste and mix again.
Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and stir together well with a metal spoon. Add a pinch of salt and stir in the buttermilk, mix well.
Divide the mixture equally into the prepared baking tins and bake for 30 minutes.
Once cooked, take the sponges out of the oven. Leave to cool in the tins and then turn the sponges out onto a wire rack.
For the fudge icing: Over a pan of gently simmering water in a heatproof bowl, melt the chocolate and set to one side.
Whisk the butter until light and fluffy and gradually add the icing sugar. Add the melted chocolate and keep mixing until the mixture is smooth. Add the milk to loosen the icing slightly, if needed.
Once the cakes have cooled, spread ¾ of the can of caramel sauce over the bottom layer of the cake, reserving the rest for the topping. Place the second cake on top and spread half of the fudge icing all over the cake. Smooth with a palette knife and then continue icing the cake until covered all over.
Gently heat the remaining caramel sauce to make it easier to pour. Leave to cool slightly. Pile the Rolo’s onto the middle of the cake and drizzle over the caramel sauce with a spoon.

Ren Behan is a freelance contributor to the Good Food Channel – Styling, photos and recipe author’s own.

Let me know in the comments box below if you are brave enough to give this wonderful chocolate Rolo cake a go!

April 11, 2014

Homemade Citrus Infused Vodka for JamieOliver.com

It’s all going on! As Easter approaches, I’m happily marking the one-year milestone of writing a weekly blog for JamieOliver.com. My very first post was published just before Easter last year and focused on the Italian dish of lasagne as an alternative to a traditional Easter Sunday lunch, with a second Easter post focusing on the perfect roast. Since then, I’ve been able to settle into my ‘home-from-home’ writing about a whole host of foodie topics, which have included ideas for cooking with kids, as well as themed round-ups and highlights of some of my favourite hand-picked recipes from Jamie’s site. I’m marking my second year by taking a slightly new direction – my blog posts will now often feature some of my own exclusive recipes and photos. There are always plenty of exciting things going on at Jamie HQ. Most recently, the team marked the launch of a brand new site dedicated to all things drinkable Drinks Tube and so in my latest post, I’ve joined the party by contributing an exclusive recipe for a homemade citrus infused vodka – based on my Polish favourite Cytrynówka. I hope you’ll be able to pop over and read some of the posts over in the News and Blogs section of the JamieOliver.com site in the weeks (and hopefully) months to come!

Citrus-Infused Vodka - Cytrynówka for JamieOliver.Com — Citrus-Infused Vodka – Cytrynówka for JamieOliver.Com

I’d love to say a big thank you to Jim Tanfield for giving me the opportunity to be a part of the team and for guiding me editorially throughout the year. A second shout-out goes to Merlin Jobst, as well as to my fellow bloggers, who are all brilliantly placed to share some of the coolest content on the web.

Get the recipe here –

You can find my recipe for Homemade Citrus Infused Vodka and follow the rest of my posts here on JamieOliver.com

Ren Behan is a freelance contributor to JamieOliver.Com

Other infusions/cocktails you may enjoy –

Pomegranate and Vanilla Vodka

Rumtopf or Rum Pot

Ren’s Gin and Rhubarb Fizz

What’s your favourite cocktail or sunshine tipple?

April 10, 2014

Recipe: Creme Egg Cheesecake

Easter is a great opportunity for spending time with family and that shouldn’t include you spending hours in front of the stove, slaving away. I always find it a much more relaxing occasion than Christmas and the food should also reflect that.

This simple, no-bake Cheesecake can be made ahead of time and makes a great dessert centre-piece. It is also a great recipe to pull out of the bag if you find that you are really short of time.

The mascarpone (Italian) cheese in the dish provides a balance of flavours to the sweetness of the chocolate and creme egg fondant. This is just a suggested decoration – you could use Mini Eggs, crushed Easter eggs or whatever you can salvage from the children’s Easter Egg stash!

Tip: For clean slices when you slice the Cheesecake, use a sharp knife dipped in boiling water.

[recipe id=”12349″]

Elsewhere…

Sarah’s Easter round-up for Baby Centre – 15 Fabulous Treats to make at Easter.

Re-visit my Chocolate Orange Tiramisu Party – one of my most popular posts

Time to bake? Have a go at my Lemony Spring Cupcakes, too

What treats are you most looking forward to making this Easter in the kitchen?

Recipe, styling, photos and recipes author’s own. This recipe was previously featured by the Good Food Channel

March 31, 2014

New Lurpak Cook’s Range – Halibut with Herby Hollandaise

What kind of cook are you? Would you say you are fearless and experimental, or do you stick with familiar recipes and repeat things you know will work out well? I think I’m a mixture of both; I enjoy trying new things and cooking with unfamiliar ingredients, and yet my repertoire extends at a steady pace and more often than not, I tend to stick with what I know best. Julia Child once said; “This is my invariable advice to people: Learn how to cook – try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun!” This is pretty sound advice, but since time is something many of us strive to save as far as possible, being experimental in the kitchen is often a luxury. This week’s challenge for me was to road-test a brand new product by Lurpak, from their new Lurpak Cook’s Range of ingredients. Luckily, my recipe turned out well and I conquered my fear of tricky, French sauces with my Herby Hollandaise!

The Lurpak ‘Food Adventures’ campaign marks the launch of the new Lurpak Cook’s Range of ingredients, designed to inspire home cooks to try something new. The Lurpak product range has been extended to include a Cooking Liquid, a Cooking Mist, Clarified Butter and a Lurpak Baking – a product that can be used straight from the fridge. At home, we’re on a mission to eat more fish and to incorporate even more veggies into our diet and the #FoodAdventures challenge seemed like the perfect opportunity to try out a new recipe, incorporating plenty of fresh ingredients.

Within my #FoodAdventures hamper I found a bottle of Cook’s Range Cooking Liquid, some fresh herbs, including bay leaf and dill, and fresh garlic. Lurpak’s Cooking Liquid is a “liquid blend of Lurpak butter and vegetable oil” and it is recommended for pan-frying meat, fish and vegetables, as well as for roasting, greasing tins and baking. I added to my hamper by buying some some fresh halibut and prawns at the fishmonger’s and plenty of vegetables. I challenged myself to try making a Hollandaise sauce for the very first time – using the Cooking Liquid in place of butter to see what would happen.

The Cooking Liquid itself seems to be pretty versatile and I found that a little in the pan went a long way. When cooking, I generally tend to use a splash of oil together with a small amount of butter, which helps to stop the butter from burning. The Cooking Liquid is really just an ‘easy-to-grab’ blend of butter and Rapeseed oil. As soon as it goes into a hot pan, it melts down into a clear liquid and you can cook with it immediately.

First of all, I started on my Herby Hollandaise sauce. To make this, you need a ‘bain marie’ or a heatproof bowl over a pan of very gently simmering water. All you need to do is simply whisk two egg yolks with a splash of white wine vinegar, over a gentle heat, with a pinch of salt and pepper. The gentle heat should start to cook and thicken the yolks without scrambling them! Ordinarily, for two egg yolks, you’d need to whisk in around 125g of butter. I managed to use only 60 ml of the Cooking Liquid and a splash of ice cold water to achieve a silky, smooth, lump-free Hollandaise sauce. I added in some fresh herbs in just before serving the sauce, to keep the fresh herbs looking vibrant.

On the bottle of Lurpak Cooking Liquid it states that for 100g butter/margarine you should use 100ml Lurpak Cooking Liquid. I found I didn’t need quite as much as 125ml in place of 125g butter in my sauce to achieve a good flavour and consistency.

I also added a teaspoon of the Lurpak Cooking Liquid to my vegetables and used it to cook and coat the fish in the pan – adding a little crushed garlic toward the end.

Halibut with Herby Hollandaise — Pan-fried halibut with prawns and a Herby Hollandaise sauce – made with Lurpak Cooking Liquid

The dish couldn’t have been much easier to make – I was particularly pleased with the Herby Hollandaise and the Cooking Liquid seems to have given the dish an overall good flavour, without the sense of having used too much greasy butter.

On Sunday, I also splashed a little bit of the Cooking Liquid over some par-boiled potatoes, before roasting them in a nice hot oven for 40 minutes – they turned out to be perfectly fluffy on the inside and crisp and golden on the outside – so again, a big thumb’s up!

Lurpak Cooking Liquid Roast Potatoes — Roast Potatoes cooked with Lurpak Cooking Liquid

I’m now looking forward to trying the rest of the new Lurpak Cook’s Range – particularly the Clarified Butter for homemade curries and Lurpak Baking straight from the fridge for cakes as I seem to always forget to bring my baking ingredients to room temperature!

Lurpak are launching and promoting their new Cook’s Range throughout April in the UK, so you’re bound to come across the new range very soon. If you’re on any social media channels, you can follow the campaign and find more ideas by using the hashtag #FoodAdventures

1 vote

Halibut with Herby Hollandaise

Prep 10 mins

Cook 10 mins

Total 20 mins

Author Ren Behan

Yield 2

A light supper or dinner-party recipe with pan-fried Halibut, prawns and a Herby Hollandaise cooked using Lurpak Cooking Liquid

Ingredients

For the Herby Hollandaise -
2 fresh egg yolks
A splash of white wine vinegar
A pinch of salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1-2 tablespoons iced water
60ml Lurpak Cook's Range Cooking Liquid (in place of 125g butter)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
3 teaspoons fresh herbs, chopped, e.g dill, chives, parsley
For the fish/vegetables -
2 halibut steaks (or use cod or haddock)
4 large king prawns (skewered)
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tablespoons Lurpak Cook's Range Cooking Liquid
1 bay leaf
Mixed vegetables to serve, e.g carrots, broccoli, green beans
1 teaspoon Lurpak Cook's Range Cooking Liquid

Instructions

To make the herby Hollandaise sauce, place a heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water to make a bain marie. Put the egg yolks, vinegar, salt and pepper into the bowl and whisk the yolks over a gentle heat until the mixture thickens. Add 1-2 tablespoons iced water to loosen, the butter/Lurpak Cooking Liquid and the lemon juice.Take off the heat and whisk together to form a sauce. Set to one side.
Half-fill a medium-sized pan with water and bring to the boil, adding one teaspoon of butter/Lurpak Cooking Liquid. Add the fresh vegetables making sure they are just covered with water, then simmer, uncovered for ten minutes, making sure the vegetables do not dry out.
Whilst the vegetables are cooking, heat a large frying pan until hot and then add two tablespoons butter Lurpak Cooking Liquid. Place the halibut in the pan, skin-side down and cook for two minutes. Add the prawns to the pan and cook for a further two minutes. Season with sea salt and pepper. Carefully flip the halibut and the prawns over and continue cooking on the other side for a further few minutes, adding the bay leaf to the pan for extra flavour. Take the pan off the heat and brush the halibut and prawns with a teaspoon of butter/Cooking Liquid mixed with the crush garlic. Check and drain the vegetables.
Just before serving the fish, gently re-heat the Hollandaise sauce, adding the chopped fresh herbs. Serve the fish alongside the cooked vegetables and sauce.

With many thanks to Lurpak for inviting me to test the Cooking Liquid and come up with a recipe post. I received a product sample of Lurpak Cook’s Range Cooking Liquid, a few ingredients and was paid to develop this recipe. All opinions expressed are my own.

March 20, 2014

Kopytka – Polish Gnocchi for Tenderstem ®

Hurray! Today officially marks the first day of spring. March has already been an incredibly busy month for me recipe-wise and I have lots of great things to share with you over the next few days. Firstly, I wanted to tell you about a new recipe up on the Tenderstem ® broccoli website, which I was asked to create as part of their focus on inspiring recipes from around the world. I created my Polish version of a gnocchi recipe, known as ‘kopytka’ – meaning ‘little hooves’ – made in a similar way to Italian gnocchi, with leftover mashed potato, flour, an egg and a little seasoning. I also added some small pieces of Tenderstem ® to the dough itself, to brighten things up a bit and then served them with more healthy Tenderstem ®, shallots and Polish ham. It’s a really easy recipe to bring together and I’ve already had lots of positive comments on Twitter, from readers letting me know how they’ve got on trying it. I’d love to here from you, too, if you fancy this for a spring supper one evening!

Kopytka (Polish Gnocchi) with Tenderstem ®

Author Ren Behan

Ingredients

200g pack Tenderstem
500g mashed potatoes, cooled
250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 egg, beaten
Sea salt and ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
A small knob of butter
2 shallots, peeled, chopped
200g Polish ham or bacon, such as Sopocka or Wiejska, or use pancetta.

Instructions

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Drop in the Tenderstem. Boil for five minutes, remove with a slotted spoon (keep the water, turn off the heat) and drain under cold water. Chop five sprigs of Tenderstem very finely. Put to one side to add to the dumplings.
Put the mash potato into a large bowl. Add the finely chopped Tenderstem, the flour, egg and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Using a metal spoon at first, bring the mixture together. Then tip it out onto a board and knead it until all the flour is incorporated into the potato.
Sprinkle a little extra flour onto the board and cut the dough into four quarters. Roll each piece into a long cylinder and cut at an angle into one inch pieces. Repeat until you have used up all the dough.
Bring the salted water back to the boil and in batches, drop in the dumplings. Gently boil for three to four minutes.They will rise to the top once cooked. Take them out with a slotted spoon, drain and cook the rest.
Once the dumplings are cooked, add one tablespoon olive oil and the butter to a large frying pan. Gently fry the shallots and the chopped ham. Add the rest of the pre-cooked Tenderstem and add the dumplings to the pan to colour them slightly. Cook for a further two minutes and serve immediately.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size Serves 4

Amount Per Serving
% Daily Value

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

There are also lots of other globally inspired recipes to be found on the site, here.

With many thanks to Tenderstem ® for this recipe commission.

Happy Spring!

Linking up to Simple and in Season – March

March 6, 2014

Join me at the Lurpak Bake Club this month!

The sun is shining and I’m happy to announce that this month I am hosting the Lurpak Bake Club with a very simple challenge theme of Square Bakes. The idea behind the Lurpak Bake Club is to inspire you to bake and to join in, by having a go at any ‘square bake’ of your choice. Or, you could have a go at my own specially created recipe as your mentor, for a Salted Toffee and Pecan Brownie Square Bake. Look out for my five tops tips, too.

To enter, all you have to do is bake (any square bake recipe) and then either Tweet or Instagram your photo with the hashtag #BakeClub, or register and upload a photo directly to the website. If you are one of the three chosen winners, you’ll receive a lovely Patissier’s Hamper, full of chocolate and baking goodies.

patissier-hamper — Image Credit: Sous Chef.co.uk

Tempted? I do hope so – it would be lovely to connect with you and to see your entry over on the Lurpak Bake Club site.

With many thanks to the Lurpak Bake Club for inviting me to mentor and host the March challenge.

Find my recipe for Salted Toffee and Pecan Brownies here.

I have been compensated for producing a recipe and for hosting the Lurpak Bake Club this month. The winner’s will be chosen by the Lurpak Bake Club judges.

If you do enter, don’t forget to tweet with the hashtag #BakeClub and also include my handle so I can pop over and see your entry @RenBehan

March 2, 2014

Blueberry and Vanilla Cheesecake Pancakes

I can’t believe we’ve almost hit Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day, on the foodie calendar. This means it’s very nearly time to start our Lenten fasts and use up all of the eggs, sugar and sweet things from our cupboards. Of course, it never really is the end of all the sweet stuff, but it’s a good occasion to mark, in any case. Now, I’m afraid I’ve been a bad blogger and haven’t posted any recipes very recently, so I’m hoping to appease you all with one of my very favoruite pancake recipes – Blueberry and Vanilla Cheesecake Pancakes – yes, it’s a (no-bake) cheesecake, in a pancake, and there is no better thing, trust me. The good folks over at ASDA challenged me to come up with something unusual and so I hope I met the challenge with these. Once you’ve made your vanilla cream cheese pancake filling, simply fill your pancakes with the filling adding almost any fruit, sprinkle over your cheesecake biscuit crumbs and a drizzle of maple syrup (or some fruity sauce) for good measure and you’ll experience something very special indeed.

To make my pancakes, I tried out Asda’s new mix-o-meter, which cleverly allows you to type in the number of people you are cooking for and the number of pancakes you’d like each. The mix-o-meter then works out the quantities of flour, eggs and milk that you’ll need. My pancakes turned out lovely and thin and crispy using this method, with just a little drizzle of oil in the pan for each one.

For even more Pancake Day inspiration, pop over to Asda’s website here where you’ll find some fun facts and tasty recipes.

Or, take a look at some of my other creations –

Polish Apple Pancakes (similar to American-style pancakes)

Creamy Chicken and Spinach (Savoury Dutch Pancakes)

Plus, come back later for my Rhubarb and Ginger Curd Pancakes!

Of course, you can guess what my four year old chose to pick up on our shopping trip….!

Happy Pancake Day for Tuesday!

Here’s my recipe:

Bluberry and Vanilla CheeseCake Pancakes-

3 votes

Blueberry and Vanilla Cheesecake Pancakes

Prep 20 mins

Total 20 mins

Author Ren Behan

Yield 8

Pancakes filled with a sweet vanilla cheesecake filling, and topped with blueberries and biscuit crumbs

Ingredients

8 thin pancakes or crepes
200g full fat cream cheese
150g Mascarpone Italian cheese
3 tbs icing sugar (plus extra for dusting)
100ml double cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
100g digestive biscuits, crushed to fine crumbs
3 tbsp melted butter
Blueberries or other fruit to fill

Instructions

Whisk together the cream cheese, Mascarpone cheese and icing sugar until well combined. Add in the double cream and vanilla extract and whisk again. Set to one side.
To make the cheesecake crumbs, stir the melted butter into the digestive crumbs - you should have a sandy mixture.
Heat the pancakes gently, then fill each pancake with a few spoonfuls of the cheesecake mixture. Sprinkle over some blueberries or other fresh fruit and then the sandy cheesecake biscuit crumbs. Fold each pancake over, dust with icing sugar and drizzle over some maple syrup or fruity sauce.

Courses Dessert

With many thanks to ASDA for the supermarket vouchers to enable me to shop for the ingredients and create this post. All ingredients were purchased at ASDA.

ASDA will be picking their favoruite recipe and the winner will receive a prize.

January 13, 2014

Farfalle with British Pancetta and Italian Artichokes

I have an Italian recipe for you today – using ‘farfalle,’ bow-tie or butterfly pasta and a tasty sauce flavoured with British pancetta, garlic, artichokes, fresh spinach, tomato and cream. This is a lovely supper for a chilly evening and one that reminds me of our wonderful trip to Northern Italy late last spring. A piping hot plate of pasta is the perfect dish to serve up to a large family. The recipe itself is inspired by a new range of Italian products called Parioli Cucina to the theme of ‘seasonal, Italian and savoury.’

One of the things I noticed in Italy, particularly when wandering around the food markets of Bologna, was the abundance of fresh artichokes on offer. The same doesn’t really translate over in Britain and I always think that we’re short of ideas on what to do with artichokes. Granted, preparing fresh artichokes takes a tiny bit of practice, although I follow the steps outlined by David Lebovitz here. As David says “Artichokes are not hard to prepare but they do take a bit of determination.” Since fresh artichokes usually come into season during the late spring (May/June) a good alternative is to use an authentic supply of artichokes in a jar, which are harvested in season, marinated, grilled and then preserved in vegetable oil. I’ve also added British spinach to my dish, from Kent.

A quick note on the British pancetta, too. I was looking out for Italian pancetta, but this caught my eye at the supermarket and as I haven’t seen British pancetta before I was keen to try it. I was impressed to read that it is hand-cured, made with outdoor bred pork and is air dried for ten days. The smoked pancetta really made the dish. It gave it a little extra edge, complimenting the grilled artichokes and fresh spinach beautifully. If you can find some smoked pancetta, do try it in this recipe. Otherwise, use any good quality Italian pancetta you can find.

As to the rest of the ingredients from Parioli Cucina, these are made and imported from Italy. Parioli is a neighbourhood in the north of Rome in Italy and the range includes dried pasta, sauces, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, chopped and plum tomatoes, antipasti (including the grilled artichokes) and olives. For this recipe, I used the Parioli farfalle pasta – which I really liked because the pasta bows were quite small and bite-sized; smaller than farfalle I’ve tried in other ranges. The pasta had a good bite and worked really well with my sauce. I also used some of their tomato sauce called ‘Basilico’ – a Sicilian basil and tomato sauce, made with vine ripened tomatoes from the Puglia region and fresh basil leaves from Neapolitan farms. The sauce had a very rich flavour and I would say was of a better quality to any of the more well-known branded pasta sauces that I’ve tried.

So, all in all, a lovely mix of flavours and textures with both British and Italian ingredients.

I hope you get to try this dish. Let me know if you do and whether you agree with me on the quality of the products used.

1 vote

Farfalle with British Pancetta and Italian Artichokes

Prep 10 mins

Cook 10 mins

Total 20 mins

Author Ren Behan

Yield 4

A family pasta recipe made with both British seasonal and Italian ingredients from the Parioli Cucina range

Ingredients

400g Farfalle or bow-tie pasta (100g per person), I used Parioli Cucina Pasta
2 teaspoons olive oil or oil from the jar of artichokes
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
180g pancetta, I used Tesco finest British smoked pancetta
280g jar grilled artichoke hearts, drained, oil reserved, I used the Parioli Cucina brand
170g or half a jar tomato and basil pasta sauce, I used Parioli Cucina ‘Basilico’
450g/ 2 cups fresh spinach
80ml or 1/3 cup double/heavy cream
Sea salt for the pasta water
Optional, Parmesan cheese for serving

Instructions

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Cook the farfalle according to the packet instructions, or until al dente. When the pasta is cooked, take out one cup of the pasta water and set aside. Drain the rest of the pasta until the sauce is done.
Heat two teaspoons oil in a frying pan, add the garlic and chopped pancetta. Fry until the pancetta is golden brown. Finely chop the artichoke hearts and add them to the pan, stir well. Pour in the tomato sauce and bring to the boil. Stir in the fresh spinach and keep stirring until wilted. Finally, add the reserved cup of pasta water to the pan and stir in the double cream and take the pan off the heat.
Mix the cooked pasta with the sauce. Serve whilst piping hot, with Parmesan cheese grated over the top, if you like.

Courses Main

Cuisine Italian

I’m linking this recipe up with Simple and in Season, a community blog event hosted by me here. The spinach wilted down so much I could have really used twice the amount. It’s also a lovely recipe to bookmark for late Spring when we start to see fresh artichokes in season, too.

With many thanks to Parioli Cucina for inviting me to create this recipe.

December 11, 2013

Make a Christmas Rice Krispie House!

Here’s a little project for the weekend, as an alternative to a baked Gingerbread house why not have a go at my white chocolate Rice Krispie House? This was part of a group of Christmas recipes that I was asked to make and style for the Good Food Channel’s website. I think of all the recipes I made, this was the most fun!

White Chocolate Rice Krispie House for the Good Food Channel – find the full recipe and instructions, here.

The very basic ideas is to melt white chocolate and mix in some Rice Krispies – a bit like making chocolate crispie cakes, but with bigger quantities. You then have to work quite quickly to transfer the Rice Krispies onto two flat baking sheets, pressing down quite firmly to get two large flat slabs. Once this has set in the fridge, you use your white chocolate Rice Krispie ‘slabs’ to make up the structure of your house and with a bit of icing, just stick it all together and decorate.

This is a really exciting project for little people (and big people) and it is a great alternative when you feel like making something, but don’t quite fancy baking.

I did try using buttercream the first time to stick the panels together, but buttercream doesn’t really harden, so I found that royal icing created a firmer structure.You can decorate your house with any sweets you like and then sprinkle around some desiccated coconut for snow.

Other Christmas recipes for the Good Food Channel

Christmas Baking – Profiterole Cupcakes, Mince Pie Cupcakes, White Chocolate Malteser Cake

Stir Up Sunday – Nut Free Mince Pies and a Nut Free Christmas Pudding

Make Your Own Pomegranate Vodka – great for gifts

With thanks to the Good Food Channel for asking me to create these recipe. Styling, photos and recipes my own and reflect commissioned content.

December 1, 2013

Cupcakes & A White Chocolate Malteser Cake – Good Food Channel

There was more than a little cloud of icing sugar in my kitchen this weekend as I busily baked and decorated cakes for the school Christmas fair. Luckily, I’d already had a warm-up, creating some Christmas recipes for the Good Food Channel earlier in November, which provided me with the perfect template for the cake stall and a spot of Christmas baking.

If you’re looking for a festive twist on Christmas cupcakes, then you might enjoy my Mince Pie Cupcakes – made with a vanilla sponge, mincemeat and a luxurious brandy butter icing. You can decorate them with sprinkles, coloured sugar or some retro-picks, as seen here.

Mince Pie Cupcakes for the Good Food Channel – {Recipe here}

A tiny bit more of a challenge, but not much, are these Profiterole Cupcakes. If you’re not quite up for a ‘Bake Off’ style choux pastry challenge – you could cheat by leaving out the choux pastry step and buying some profiteroles to go on the top. Although I have to say, even though I’ve only made choux pastry once before, it is much easier than you might think, so I’d say have a go at the whole recipe.

Profiterole Cupcakes for the Good Food Channel – {Recipe here}

Finally, if you are up for a spot of Christmas baking and are looking for a Christmas showstopper, this White Chocolate Malteser Cake is actually a simple sponge cake, covered in white chocolate butter cream and topped with white chocolate Maltesers, which makes an impressive centrepiece or star prize for the Christmas raffle! For a little twist, you can also spread a little raspberry jam or lemon curd in between the layers before icing. Then all you need to do is have fun eating the little Malteser balls as they roll off!

White Chocolate Malteser Cake for the GoodFood Channel – {Recipe here}

Happy Baking!

Have you come across any festive cupcakes yet this year worth bookmarking? Let me know in the comments box below.

More Festive Ideas –

A Nut-Free Christmas Pudding and Nut-Free Mince Pies for the Good Food Channel

Pierniczki – Polish Spiced Christmas Cookies

Christmas Spiced Cranberry and Plum Chutney

Raspberry and White Chocolate Traybake by Sarah at Maison Cupcake

Gingerbread Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting by A Spoonful of Sugar

Ren Behan is a freelance contributor to the Good Food Channel – styling, photos and recipes author’s own and reflect commissioned content.

November 27, 2013

‘Fruitdrop’ Pear & Plum Banana Bread

This week I’ve had a much-needed health kick whilst getting through a huge box of fruit delivered to me by a company called Fruitdrop. The children got very excited about seeing all the fruit and have been eating much more of it too, usually in the way of fruit salads and a quick morning smoothie. We do eat a lot of fruit in general, but I think seeing a big box bursting with a huge variety of fruit sparked additional interest. The box contained red and white grapes, clementines, apples, pears, melon, kiwi fruit, mango, bananas, plums and a lemon – around fifty pieces of fruit in total. My Fruidrop box arrived in pristine condition and even though we are getting through it (with the help of a couple of batches of this fruity Pear and Plum Banana Bread) it has lasted us well over a week.

The kids really love banana bread as an after school snack and so I very often whip up a batch for them. With all the extra fruit to hand, I decided to layer up some of the pears and plums within the loaf itself, also serving it with some extra fruit.

Fruitdrop is mainly aimed at office initiatives, with a suggestion of ordering enough fruit for 2-4 pieces per person per week, with a fruit box starting at £20. You can also order milk to go along with your fruit delivery and deliveries take place all over the UK on an ad hoc or more regular basis. The fruit is handpicked by Fruitdrop and sourced from wholesale markets from within the UK (although not all of the fruit was British grown). Fruitdrop also guarantee to replace any fruit if you find any damaged or over-ripe.

Pear & Plum Banana Bread

Prep 15 mins

Cook 60 mins

Total 1 hour, 15 mins

Author Ren Behan

Yield 6 -8

A quick and easy extra fruit banana bread recipe for the family (or your co-workers!) to enjoy. You can also use apples, or blueberries as one of the layers.

Ingredients

150g unsalted butter (plus a bit extra for greasing)
100g soft brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
200g self raising flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon (plus extra for dusting)
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 bananas, mashed
120g sour cream
1 pear, ripe, sliced
2 plums, ripe, stone removed, sliced

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180C/160 fan/gas 5. Grease the inside of a loaf tin with a little butter and line with a sheet of baking paper.
Using an electric whisk, beat the butter with the sugar, eggs and vanilla.
Sift in the dry ingredients and stir with a metal spoon. Stir in the mashed bananas and sour cream.
Add one third of the mixture to the loaf tin and spread out using the back of a spoon. Next, add a layer of pear. Then a further third of the mixture followed by a layer of plum. Add the rest of the mixture and flatten the top. Dust with a little extra cinnamon.
Bake the loaf for 1 hour. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for ten minutes before carefully taking it out to cool on a wire rack. Serve when warm or cold with extra fruit on the side. .

Other fruity recipe you might like to try with a fruit box –

You could adapt this Late Summer Fruit Salad with Pomegranate and Pistachio

Or, perhaps try these Toffee Apple Tarts, adding in some pears, too.

You could also use the pears to make these delicious Pear and Chocolate Brownies

With thanks to Fruitdrop for the delivery of fruit for me to review.

Pear & Plum Banana Bread Recipe commission in collaboration with Fruitdrop.

November 22, 2013

Stir-Up Sunday & a Nut-Free Christmas Pudding

The British tradition of Stir-Up Sunday, falls on the last Sunday before advent and involves getting the family to stir up the ingredients for the annual Christmas pudding. The children too are invited to have a stir and make a wish. The tradition was said to have been introduced by Prince Albert to the Victorians – so it’s a long-standing tradition, which is very much making a comeback with more of us keen to have a go at making our own puddings and cakes. At the same time as making our Christmas pudding, we also buy extra quantities of dried fruits, lemons, oranges and spices to make up a big batch of mincemeat, which can then be stored in sterlized jars ready to give away as gifts or to make mince pies with.

To find out more, you may like to read my piece on Stir Up Sunday for Jamie Oliver.com.

Nut Free Christmas Pudding

This Nut-Free Christmas Pudding first appeared on the Good Food Channel

Nut Free Christmas Pudding

Prep 20 mins

Cook 7 hours

Total 7 hours, 20 mins

Author Ren Behan

This nut-free Christmas pudding is light, fruity and golden, with no nuts making it ideal for allergy sufferers. It's easy to make ahead for Christmas day (ideally, anytime from Stir Up Sunday)

Ingredients

50g mixed dried fruit
100 ml brandy, plus extra for soaking
1 apple, peeled, cored and coarsely grated
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 small orange, zested
2 tsp butter, for greasing
100g self-raising flour
1 tsp mixed spice
2 tsp ground cinnamon
100 g fresh breadcrumbs
200 g light soft brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tbsp golden syrup or treacle

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, add the mixed dried fruit, brandy, grated apple, orange zest, lemon zest and lemon juice. Mix well, cover and set to one side for at least an hour or overnight for best results.

2. Grease a one-litre pudding basin with a little butter and set to one side. If you are adding a silver coin or sixpence, boil the coin in a little water so that it is clean.

3. In another large bowl, mix the flour, spices, breadcrumbs, soft brown sugar, eggs and golden syrup together, along with all the soaked mixed fruits and give everything a very good stir. Add the silver coin if using.

4. Pour the mixture into the greased pudding basin. Cover the pudding basin with a square of greaseproof paper and make a pleat in the middle so that the pudding has a space to rise. Tie with kitchen string. Repeat with a square of tin foil.

5. Find a large lidded pan, big enough to fit the pudding basin in and half fill with water. Place an upturned saucer in the bottom of the pan for your pudding basin to sit on. Bring the water to a gentle boil. Carefully place the Christmas pudding onto the saucer in the pan and cover the pan with a lid. Steam the pudding very gently for 5-6 hours, making sure that there is enough water in the pan but that the water doesn't reach the lip of the basin.

6. Remove the pudding and leave to cool. The pudding can now be stored until Christmas day. To store, place a clean square of greaseproof paper over the top of the pudding and re-tie with kitchen string. You can also make a few holes in the base of the pudding and top it up with brandy every couple of weeks. Store in a cool, dark place.

8. To reheat the pudding on Christmas day, steam it again for 2 hours, then carefully turn the pudding out on a plate and serve.

Courses Dessert

Cuisine British

Nut Free Mince Pies

Nut Free Mince Pies for the Good Food Channel [find the recipe here]

I hope you manage to find the time to try making your own pudding this year – it never fails to put me in the Christmas mood – Michael Bublé tunes optional. If you are looking at making your own Christmas gifts this year – try some of these links –

Christmas Spiced Cranberry and Plum Chutney

Pomegranate and Vanilla Vodka

Make Your Own Rumtopf

For more delectable Edible Christmas Gifts pop over and read Katie’s post here.

Recipes and photographs for the Good Food Channel and blog posts for JamieOliver.com reflect commissioned content.

July 24, 2013

Easy Chicken Recipes – Good Food Channel

I’ve been a little busier than usual, creating some easy chicken recipes for the Good Food Channel . A particular highlight, I’d say, was cooking Buttermilk Fried Chicken on the hottest day of the year – a cold beer was necessary at the end of that shoot, I’ll tell you! It’s hard to pick a favourite recipe out of this batch – we loved the Easy Chicken Pie (it was slightly cooler that day!) and I think the Caribbean-inspired Jerk chicken has become a firm summer favourite, too.

Click through the links below the photos to go straight to the recipes.

Easy Chicken Pie {Recipe Here} for the Good Food Channel

Lemon Chicken {Recipe Here} for the Good Food Channel

Buttermilk Fried Chicken {Recipe Here} for the Good Food Channel

Chicken Pasta with Parmesan and Basil {Recipe Here} for the Good Food Channel

Jerk Chicken {Recipe Here} for the Good Food Channel

You can keep track of all my recipes for the Good Food Channel by checking out my profile here.

Earlier on this year, I was also interviewed by the lovely food journalist Katie Bryson and created a Rhubarb and Almond Cake to accompany the feature.

Ren Behan is a freelance contributor to UKTV Food/Good Food Channel – styling, photos and recipes author’s own.

Will any of these recipes take your fancy over the summer?

June 14, 2013

Salted Caramel Chocolate Fudge Cake – Great British Chefs

This cake almost needs no introduction. I called it the ‘Big Daddy’ Salted Caramel Chocolate Fudge Cake because we made it for Father’s Day. Four layers of chocolate cake with salted caramel buttercream and a chocolate fudge topping. The tallest cake I’ve ever made. Half a jar of Bonne Maman ‘Confiture de Caramel’ left to eat and a cake to feed the whole family. I know at least one ‘daddy’ who will be very happy this Sunday…will you have some time to make this, too?

Find my recipe for the Salted Caramel Chocolate Fudge Cake and the full post over on Great British Chefs here.

Here’s your ingredients list –

Caster sugar
Soft brown sugar
4 large eggs
Vanilla bean paste or powder (I use Ndalli)
Vegetable oil or mild, light olive oil
Self-raising flour
Cocoa powder (I use Green and Blacks)
Baking powder
Bicarbonate of soda
Sea salt (I use Maldon)
Plain, natural yoghurt
One packet unsalted butter
Icing sugar
Caramel sauce (I used Bonne Maman Confiture de Caramel from Waitrose or Ocado)
200g good quality dark chocolate (I used Lindt 52%)
Double cream
Chopped fudge pieces to decorate

Off you pop to the shops!

Happy Father’s Day to all the great dads out there!

June 6, 2013

A Rhubarb and Almond Cake for the Good Food Channel

Just before going away to Italy, a large pile of rhubarb was left on my doorstep by my good friend Alex Bray fresh from her mum’s farm and on the same day, a neighbour came round with some from his garden. So, rhubarb is plentiful at the moment and in season, meaning that I was able to bake this this tray bake to be featured by the Good Food Channel blog. The recipe runs along side an interview, put together by the lovely Katie Bryson from Feeding Boys and a Firefighter, for a new section highlighting the Good Food Channel’s favourite blogs. I hope you get a chance to try the recipe. I sweetened it with Agave nectar, so it isn’t excessively sweet and if you have plenty of rhubarb, you could layer up more slices as you add the batter to the cake pan.

You can find my Rhubarb and Almond Cake recipe here

With thanks to the Good Food Channel and Katie Bryson for the feature. This was a paid recipe commission.

Linking up to Simple and in Season, the seasonally-inspired community blog event.

May 15, 2013

Recipe: Espresso Caramel Pear Squares

This week something new and something blue arrived in my kitchen for a coffee challenge. My task was to use this DeLonghi coffee machine – called the Vintage Icona Bar Pump Espresso Machine to create a coffee-inspired recipe. So, with a cup of freshly-brewed coffee to hand, I set about creating a perfect afternoon treat and came up with a traybake with a twist – my Espresso Caramel Pear Squares.

Since we’re travelling to Italy quite soon, my initial thoughts of a coffee-inspired recipe turned to Affogato. Affogato in Italian means “drowned” and there is a simple dessert where a scoop of ice-cream or gelato is topped with espresso. I look forward to plenty of those in Emiligia-Romagna. However, my thoughts then drifted to cake (this usually happens) and so I began tinkering with my mother’s fail-safe tray-bake recipe to create these espresso-infused baked topped with a very simple espresso caramel chocolate drizzle. I also love adding fresh fruit to my cakes and so a couple of British seasonal pears found their way in, too. I found the milk chocolate caramel drops in my local supermarket in the baking section. I often add a tablespoon or two of yoghurt to my traybakes, but using the pears and the liquid espresso gave this cake a lovely moistness in itself. You could use sliced apples, and it would work with stoned plums, too.

I hope you get a chance to try this recipe. The shot of espresso adds a very subtle coffee flavour – it doesn’t so much taste like a traditional ‘coffee’ cake. The pears keep the bake lovely and moist and if there is any left, it keeps superbly well, too, in an airtight container.

The Vintage Icona Bar Pump machine has a milk steamer, called the ‘cappuccino system’ just on the right-hand-side, so you can either serve your cake with an espresso, or create a longer cappuccino of latte – from the comfort of your own home.The machine will even warm you coffee cups for you, too!

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The British seasonal pears also make this recipe a great candidate for my Simple and in Season monthly community blog event.

With many thanks to DeLonghi UK for inviting me to take part in this coffee challenge and for sending me this beautiful machine to try at home. You can follow our progress on Twitter using the hashtag #coffeechallenge.

Can I tempt you with a square…?

May 7, 2013

Recipe: Turkey and Leek Meatballs with Tomato Tagliatelle

We love meatballs! If you make your own at home, you know exactly what’s gone into them and you can add lots of lovely flavours, too. They are easy to make and the kids love them.

These are really tasty, I used turkey mince (very lean and great value) and added leeks and freshly grated Grano Padano cheese for extra flavour to make turkey and leek meatballs. Serve with lots of tagliatelle pasta and tomato sauce and everyone is happy! If you wanted to, you could use an onion, but my kids prefer leeks. You can also add a teaspoon of mustard or even a tablespoon of ketchup for something a bit different.

I’m really pleased to be taking part in the Lean on Turkey recipe challenge, as we’re really keen to eat more turkey, instead of beef or pork and red meat. This time, the challenge was to create a pizza or pasta meal for the family for under £10.

The total cost of this meal was £9.91 from Ocado, but in fact, the turkey breast mince was on special offer (3 for £10) instead of £4.50 for one 500g packet so I was able to freeze a couple of packets for another time, too. Grano Padano cheese is a great alternative to the slightly more expensive Parmigiano Reggiano, which is worth keeping an eye out for as it brings the costs down a little.

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Costing

£1.99 – tomato and Basil Sauce
£1.75 – fresh tagliatelle
£4.50 – turkey breast mince (500g)
60p – large leek
20p – large egg
10p – garlic (one clove)
12p – bread (2 slices)
65p -Grano Padano cheese (50g)
Olive oil, store cupboard
Salt and Pepper, store cupboard

£9.91 at Ocado

Sponsored Post + cost of ingredients covered

With many thanks to Lean On Turkey for asking me to create a recipe for them

Have you tried making your own meatballs at home? What’s your favourite family meal? Let me know if you try these!

Other family favourites

Easy Macaroni Cheese with Baby Leeks

Easy Peasy Homemade Pizza

March 29, 2013

Fish is the Dish – Smoked Mackerel Omelette

The Easter weekend is upon us and I am reminded of how, growing up, we would always eat fish on a Friday, not just on Good Friday. And before the chocolate frenzy begins, there is still time to eat simply. We’re starting our day with a Hot Smoked Mackerel Omelette, for a quick and easy omega-3 boost.

For the last few weeks, I’ve been roughly following a plan and a challenge called Healthy Happy Hearts, encouraging us to eat two portions of fish a week. It isn’t a big change for us, as we already try and eat fish once a week, but upping our intake to two portions means that I’ve enjoyed experimenting a little more with fish at different mealtimes. I’ve written about the Fish is the Dish campaign before and was lucky to have had one of my recipes featured in their free family cookbook along with lots of other bloggers.

Dowload the cookbook in the Fish is the Dish site

This time, Fish is the Dish have been working with one family specifically to help them to eat two portions of fish a week, encouraging us all along with extra hints, tips, menus and recipes. There is research to show that eating fish twice a week will help to raise levels of omega-3 in the body. As a ‘good’ fat that is essential to our diets, Omega-3 helps with brain development, joint function, healthy skin and eyes as well as better mental health.

The hardest part of any cooking-based challenge is to find ways of getting the children to eat more healthily, so I came up with this quick and easy recipe, which the kids, to my surprise, devoured. I did think that smoked mackerel would be too strong a flavour for them, but then, they do like smoked salmon and actually tolerate ‘big’ flavours, such as fresh olives, better than I do. So sometimes, kids will surprise us. Mine were even picking the mackerel out of the bowl before we got it in the pan!

Getting them involved in the cooking or preparation process also helps, too and I find that my kids are more likely to try something new if they’ve helped to make it. I came across this infographic this week whilst writing about Cooking with Kids for Great British Chefs, backing up my theory. A survey showed that 84% of parents said that cooking with their children made them more likely to try new food types. Since the Easter holidays are now upon us, we’ll definitely be spending plenty of time cooking together in the kitchen – we’ll have lots of chocolate Easter eggs to use up (great for crispy cakes or fridge cakes) but we’ll also be making some healthy fishy dishes together, too!

Cooking with Kids – find the full infographic here

How to make a Smoked Mackerel Omelette

Making this omelette is quick and simple. We used some ‘responsibly sourced’ Smoked Mackerel fillets, on offer at the supermarket, too. They were in a vacuum sealed packet. Start with one, or even half a fillet if mackerel is a new flavour for your family. Using your fingers, pull the mackerel away from the skin (it will flake up) and put it in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk up two eggs, add an (optional) little swirl of fresh double cream for a little extra decadence. Next, grate up some cheese, Parmesan or Gruyere work well. Switch on the grill and leave it to heat up. Add a small drizzle of olive oil or rapseed oil (extra omega-3) into a small frying pan, pour in the eggs and put the pan on a medium heat on the hob. The egg will start to set, you can give it a little stir at the beginning, then leave it to start setting on a low heat. After a minute or two, add the flakes of mackerel to the pan and sprinkle over some of the cheese. Cook for one minute and then put the frying pan under the hot grill so that the top of the omelette cooks and puffs up a bit. Once it looks golden on the top, take it out and add an extra sprinkle of cheese. Serve and eat straight away.

I hope you have time to try this over the long and lazy Easter weekend. I’ll be back tomorrow with an Easter sweet treat!

With many thanks to Fish is the Dish for sending my family some fish to try as part of the Healthy Happy Hearts challenge. No additional payment was received.

Follow @FishistheDish on Twitter for extra hints and tips or search for the #HealthyHappyHearts challenge.

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