Ren Behan - Author Wild Honey and Rye

Food Writer

Recipe

Carrot Gingerbread Cake

This recipe is taken from Veggie Desserts + Cakes – Carrot Cake and Beyond by Kate Kackworthy, with permission from Pavilion Books. Kate writes at Veggie Desserts.

Carrot_Gingerbread

 

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Carrot Gingerbread

Yield 20

"These chunky slabs of gingerbread are rich, dark and elegantly spiced. I’ve added lots of grated carrot to make them extra moist, and it blends beautifully with the treacle and ginger. Although this old-fashioned classic takes a while in the oven, it is very easy to make. For extra decadence, serve the gingerbread with hot custard, although a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream would also team up very well." Kate Hackworthy

Ingredients

  • 200g/7oz/scant 1 cup unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
  • 200g/7oz/scant 1 cup light soft brown sugar
  • 200g/7oz/2⁄3 cup black treacle (molasses)
  • 375g/13oz/3 cups plain (all-purpose) flour
  • 3 tsp ground ginger
  • 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
  • 250ml/8½fl oz/1 cup whole milk
  • 150g/5¼oz carrot (1½ medium carrots, peeled, grated)
  • 2 large free-range eggs, beaten
  • 3 pieces of stem ginger in syrup, chopped

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 160°C/140°C fan/320°F/gas 3. Grease and line a 23 x 30mm/9 x 12in baking pan with baking parchment.
  2. Heat the butter, sugar and treacle in a pan, stirring, until smooth and melted. Leave to cool slightly.
  3. Sift the flour, ginger and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl. Stir in the milk, carrot, beaten egg, stem ginger and treacle mixture and stir to combine.
  4. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour until well risen and springy in the middle.
  5. Leave to cool in the pan for a few minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before cutting into squares.

Notes

I increased the heat to Gas Mark 3. 

Courses Dessert

Veggie Deserts and Cakes, Carrot Cake and Beyond is published by Pavilion Books, RRP £14.99.

Recipe: Skinny Carbonara from {Everyday Super Food by Jamie Oliver}

Today sees the publication of Jamie Oliver’s brand new cookbook Everyday Super Food and I’ve been busy trying out some of the recipes for myself at home, beginning with Jamie’s Skinny Carbonara.

If you’ve been following Jamie on Instagram or on the You app, you’ll have noticed that this is the year he turned 40. He himself has enjoyed making some simple lifestyle changes, for example, by practicing mindfulness and by making some changes to his diet and lifestyle. Everyday Super Food is really his ultimate manifesto for helping you do the same.

I have four copies of Jamie’s new book to giveaway (see entry form below) with the recipe for Jamie’s Skinny Carbonara also shared below with the publisher’s permission.

Every Day Super Food

The Skinny Carbonara was very tasty and quick to make – fifteen minutes at most. I didn’t see any instructions for juicing the lemon and I ended up adding in the juice of one whole lemon. Next time, I would use the juice of half a lemon. I had quite a lot of pea mixture left over, so blitzed it up with some chicken stock and had a an extra cup of pea soup for lunch the next day. The whole family enjoyed it and the addition of peas and ground almonds gave the dish an extra lift and a bit of texture, along with the crispy bacon. Nobody noticed the wholewheat spaghetti so that’s a permanent switch for us in the future!

I can’t wait to try the Mega Veggie Burger featured by Helen here, or the Baked Eggs with Popped Beans that Katherine tried here. I’m also looking forward to trying Jamie’s Grilled Corn and Quinoa Salad, shared by The Happy Foodie.

Skinny Carbonara Ren Behan
My version of the tasty Skinny Carbonara recipe from the book

The book ties in with a new six-part Channel 4 series, Jamie’s Super Food, due to broadcast this autumn and you can buy the book from today.

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SKINNY CARBONARA SMOKY BACON, PEAS, ALMONDS & BASIL

Prep

Cook

Total

Yield 2

Humble little peas are a source of nine different micronutrients, and are especially high in thiamin, a B vitamin that helps our hearts to function properly

Ingredients

  • 200g freshly podded or frozen peas
  • 1 tablespoon flaked almonds
  • 1 small clove of garlic
  • ½ a bunch of fresh basil (15g)
  • 15g Parmesan cheese
  • 1 lemon
  • 150g wholewheat spaghetti
  • 1 rasher of higher-welfare smoked streaky bacon
  • olive oil
  • 1 large free-range egg
  • 100g fat-free natural yoghurt

Instructions

  1. Put a pan of boiling salted water on the heat for your pasta, dunk a sieve containing the peas into the water for just 30 seconds, then put aside, leaving the pan on the heat.
  2. Very lightly toast the almonds in a dry non-stick frying pan on a medium heat, then blitz until fine in a food processor. With the processor still running, peel and drop in the garlic, a pinch of sea salt, the basil leaves, the finely grated Parmesan and the lemon juice. Blitz until it comes together, then pulse in the peas, to try and keep a bit of texture.
  3. Cook the pasta in the boiling salted water according to the packet instructions. Meanwhile, very finely slice the bacon and fry slowly in the frying pan with 1 teaspoon of oil on a medium-low heat until golden and crispy, then use a slotted spoon to transfer to kitchen paper, so the flavoursome fat stays in the pan.
  4. Scoop in three-quarters of your pea mixture to heat through.
  5. Whisk the egg and yoghurt together well. When the pasta’s done, reserving a mugful of cooking water, drain the pasta and toss straight into the pea pan, mixing well, then take the pan off the heat (this is very important, otherwise the egg will scramble when you add it, and we don’t want that).
  6. Pour in the egg mixture and toss until evenly coated, silky and creamy, loosening with cooking water if needed. Taste and season to perfection, and serve topped with the remaining pea mixture and the crispy bacon.
  7. It might be skinny, but it’s beautifully light and delicious. Enjoy!

Courses Healthy

Cuisine Italian

 

Skinny Carbonara
Jamie’s Skinny Carbonara {Image from the book, taken by Jamie Oliver}

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Everyday Super Food by Jamie Oliver is published by Penguin Random House

ⓒ Jamie Oliver Enterprises Limited (2015 Everyday Super Food) Photographer: Jamie Oliver

With thanks to Jamie’s PR team for the recipes, previews and review copy in the post.

Recipe: Spring Green Smoothie, New York and Goal Setting

Hello Spring Smoothie

Hello Spring Green Smoothie…

Spring has finally sprung here in the UK and I am so glad, not least because for the past five weeks, we’ve all been feeling really under the weather. Hence the lengthy blog silence, which I’m really sorry about. February started well. After lots of planning and packing, we spent a week in New York over half term with all three children, braving the chilliest weather there – literally arriving on the coldest day on record. I might have punctuated my trip with lots of visits to the Magnolia Bakery. We came back, extremely elated having had such a brilliant week, but somewhat exhausted…hence this spring green smoothie recipe.

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