Parsnip Parmesan Bread

I'm currently having a another revival of my Delia Smith books. For those not in the UK, I've written about the TV chef I grew up watching before, but this time round I'm obsessed with her breads in "How to cook book 1". She has a couple of interesting breads; one using potatoes and the other parsnips. Her recipes really are pretty much foolproof; she pays good attention to detail to ensure the end product really does look (and hopefully taste) like hers.

With bread in mind, I got some fresh parsnips at my local farmers market; my town of Suffern is having a fabulous monthly winter market.  I love parsnips but the supermarket ones are usually bendy and thoroughly unappetizing, so I happily snapped up a couple of lbs of the fresh ones.

In addition to the bread, I was planning on making a fantastic parsnip gratin with some of them.  That will have to wait, as my husband and I  enjoyed the bread so much that I made it twice, the second time doubling the recipe. No parsnip gratin this weekend.

As an aside, my kids are not so fond of this bread.; it's got quite an assertive flavor for a 3 year old. I did try the hard sell on "cheesy bread"; it oozes parmesan goodness when still warm, but still "no thank you" was the response. Onwards in my veggie eating quest.

I have changed a few things about this recipe as usual; Delia recommends sage in this recipe but I was all out so I added Dijon mustard. No regrets, although the sage would be delicious. I also subbed in some wholewheat flour and found it needed more milk than her recipe.

Parmesan Parsnip Bread

Ingredients

3/4 cup /4oz self rising flour (see below)
3/4 cup/ 4oz whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
6oz peeled and grated parsnips
2 oz Parmesan cheese roughly chopped into 1/4 " cubes
3 tablespoons milk
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours salt and baking powder 
3. Add the parsnips and toss together ( I find clean hands work best) 
4. Toss in the cheese and mix again 
5. In a medium bowl, lightly beat together the eggs, milk and mustard 
6. Add the egg mixture to the flour.
7. Mix until just combined; Delia suggests using a pallet knife, I use my hands but with a light touch
8. The dough will be loose and sticky, if it seems too dry (such as in the winter here) add another tablespoon of milk 
9. Form the dough into a ball and place on a floured baking sheet or pizza pallet 
10. Flatten the ball into a disc approx 6" diameter 
11. Cut a cross on the top and place the bread in the oven 
12. Bake for about 50 mins or until golden on top 
13. Cool on a wire rack and serve

I love this with soup or a creamy cheese and sliced apples or pears.

Tips on this recipe:
Don't have self rising flour? For each cup of regular all purpose flour add
1  1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt. In this recipe where only 3/4 cup self rising flour is required, I would add 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt to a scant 3/4 cup all purpose flour.

Enjoy!

Cheesy Soda Bread

Cheesy Sodabread

As promised weeks ago, I give you Cheesy Soda Bread! Who doesn't like the sound of that?!

This recipe is largely Rachel Allen's from her "Food for Living" book. However, unlike traditional scones or most wheaten bread recipes, these contain no butter. The small amount of cheese is not worth worrying about, particularly if you use a very strong cheddar which will yield lots of great flavor for a small sprinkling. Finally, I subbed in whole wheat pastry flour for half of the regular flour to up the wholegrain ante. You could just as easily sub regular whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour if you cant get whole wheat pastry.

All in all, you can feel good about your waistline while you tuck into these babies. As I explained in my last post, I served these with eggs poached in home made tomato sauce and they were just the ticket to sop up the sauce. Who doesn't love a bit of cheese with their eggs too? Obviously these are suitable for endless occasions. Rachel recommends a number of changes to the basic recipe; chopped chives, or other herbs, or go the sweet route with raisins or chocolate. Amazingly I haven't tried the chocolate option yet but it's just a question of time. It would be really delicious.

Cheesy Sodabread

Ingredients

1/2 lb/ 1 3/4 cups regular flour

1/2 lb 1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or whatever ww flour you have on hand)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

400 ml/ 1 3/4 cups buttermilk

3 oz grated strong cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 475°F or 250°C. If you have a pizza stone put it in the middle of the oven
2. Place the dry ingredients on a bowl and mix well using a whisk
3. Make a well in the center and pour in the buttermilk 
4. Stir in a circular motion using your hands until just mixed 
5. The dough will be soft but not so sticky that you cannot work with it.
6. Place the dough on a floured board and shape it into a large flat round approx 3/4 in deep.
7. Cut out the scones using a cutter of your choice or cut them into shapes (see above for my random ones!)
8. Sprinkle and press a little cheese on the top of each scone
9. Place the scones on a floured baking tray and into the oven. If you're using a pizza stone, slide the scones off a floured pizza paddle onto the pizza stone already in the oven
10. Bake for 10-20 mins depending on the size of your scones.The scones will be done when they look golden and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Master this most basic of recipes and take it in 10 different directions. Chocolate chips are next on my list of add ins!

Enjoy!

A Healthier Take on Cornbread...and rambling on Thanksgiving

Cornbread muffins

I didn't grow up eating cornbread; soda and wheaten bread were my staples but when in Rome and all that. My first impression of cornbread was that it was distinctly dry and honestly a bit tasteless. However, I have come to enjoy it with some changes. I particularly think it makes a delicious stuffing.

A few years ago I tried a great version by Giada Di Laurentis.  She added cheese, garlic, fresh corn kernels and sundried tomatoes to a basic boxed cornbread mix. It was delicious, especially with chili and much more moist than my previous experience; I was a cornbread convert.

This Thanksgiving I need cornbread for 2 purposes; one for the stuffing and I also am on cornbread muffin duty for my daughters school Thanksgiving Feast. So, inspired by Giada's idea, I added fresh corn to a basic but healthier cornbread recipe and hey presto; I thought the sundried tomatoes might not go over so well with the 3 year old crowd.

The basic cornbread recipe is from Eating Well Magazine; which substitutes the usual high butter content with more buttermilk and just a little canola oil. In fact, I used light olive oil as I was all out of Canola. No harm done!

A Healthier Cornbread

based on an Eating Well Recipe

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups yellow stone ground cornmeal

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1 1/4 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons canola or light olive oil
1 cup of thawed, frozen corn (or fresh)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F
2. Grease or butter a 8 " square pan, a 12 count muffin pan or 24 mini muffins (as in the picture)
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt
4. In a large bowl whisk together the egg, buttermilk and oil
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet. Stir until just combined 
6. Finally add the corn and stir gently until just mixed through.
7. Pour into the pan or into muffin cups.
8. Bake for approx 25 minutes (square pan), less for the muffins; approx 15 mins for the mini muffins and 18 for the regular muffins. They will be done when a toothpick comes out clean.
9. Cool the cornbread in the pan. For the muffins, remove them from the pan and place on a wire rack to cool.
10. Like all muffins and quick breads, these will freeze nicely. I recommend triple wrapping in cling film before doing so.

A note on the recipe:

You can easily double this recipe and bake in a 9x13" pan. 

I plan on using my cornbread for the following stuffing recipe. 

I am churning the pumpkin ice cream as I write, thanks to David Lebovitz.

Brownie Pie was made and frozen last night thanks to Rachel Ray; sorry can't find a link to it but it's in the November magazine.

Finally, I plan to brine my turkey tomorrow night using the following recipe. I'm changing it up this year as I usually use this recipe, which is a total winner, if you're looking for inspiration.

Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours! Time for me to be thankful for great food, family, friends and health!

Enjoy!

Panzanella Salad

Panzanella Salad

I composed most of this post over a month ago when the summer was still in full force and therefore tomatoes were at their peak. Life got busy, time passed and finally I'm getting around to sharing this beauty.
One of my go to meals each summer is the versatile Panzanella, or Tuscan Bread Salad. If you're a breadaholic, like me, it's a wonderful summer comfort food. I'll never forget the first time I made it, I enjoyed it so much that I have the time, place and company etched in my food memory bank (a fun place to visit!).

The basic premise of cubes of stale bread, a good olive oil and red wine vinegar dressing, tomatoes, cucumbers and fresh basil, can be taken in many directions. I usually add white beans and chunks of Parmesan which makes it just delicious. I have substituted zucchini, green beans, edamame, peas and also added leftover chicken or pork. Some bacon would be nice although surprisingly I haven't tried that yet.

Traditionally the bread used is stale, not toasted. It's a great 'make ahead' meal; it really needs to sit together in your refrigerator for a couple of hours to give adequate time to marry the flavors and for the bread to soak the yummy dressing.

Summer may be over but we are still harvesting cucumbers from our teeny tiny vegetable patch and the tomatoes are holding their own in our local farm store. So, if you're like me and desperately holding on to the last remnants of summer, make yourself a panzanella salad.

Panzanella Salad

adapted from an Everday Food Recipe

Ingredients

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

2 cans cannellini beans (drained and rinsed)

3 cups of cubed stale crusty bread (preferably wholewheat)

1 lb plum tomatoes (or whatever variety you have), cut into bitesize pieces

1 English cucumber, chopped into bitesize pieces, skin on

1/4 medium red onion, very thinly sliced

4 oz Parmesan cheese, cut roughly into small chunks

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves

Directions

1. Using a large bowl, mix the vinegar, oil, salt and pepper.
2. Add the beans, bread, tomatoes, cucumber, onion and cheese
3. Toss together gently to ensure all ingredients are coated with the dressing
4. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours an up to 8 hours.
5. Add the basil just before serving

A couple of notes on the recipe:

• This is a great leftover "user upper"; add whatever is lurking in your fridge (within reason!) See below for photos of my leftover panzanella.
• We have not been growing english cucumbers, so I roughly peel the kirbys, deseed them and chop.
• This is very tasty as a side with fish or on it's own as a vegetarian dinner.

Enjoy!





Real Food for St. Patrick's Day

I have something to get off my chest about St. Patrick's Day in America. We Irish people do not eat corned beef and cabbage on St. Patricks Day, or any other day for that matter. Nor was it a tradition to do so in years gone by. One of the most traditional meals eaten is "bacon and cabbage" but the corned beef was substituted when the Irish emigrated to America and (like me) could not readily locate or afford back bacon.

And another thing; the soda bread masquerading in your local Supermarket as Irish, is nothing like real soda bread. To me it tastes like a huge, stale, oversweetened scone. Eucchh! Real soda bread is not sweet and rarely has raisins in it. It's a simple bread made of flour, baking soda, buttermilk and salt. Thats it!  There, I feel better now!

So, in honor of these facts, I am offering a few alternatives that really are Irish. I have been poring over Darina Allen's book, Irish Traditional Cooking and Malachi McCormick's, Irish Country cooking.  Straight bacon and cabbage is just not my favorite, but if you want a good authentic recipe here's a great link to the Winner of the Best Irish Food Blog 2010; Donal Skehan and his version of the classic:

http://www.donalskehan.com/beta/2010/03/good-auld-bacon-and-cabbage/

I also would encourage you to refer to my posts on Iris's Wheaten Bread or Irish Lasagna .

As usual my obsession with baking got the better of me, so my contribution to your St. Patrick's Day, is a Brown Soda Bread recipe. I just couldn't bring myself to use all white flour or all purpose flour so I made the wholegrain or brown soda bread. I should add though, that the brown soda bread is equally authentic. I also learned from Darina Allen, that traditionally the bread would have been cooked in a pot oven, called a bastible, beside an open fire.

I realise, after researching the food of Ireland a little more, that my love of simple, unpretentious food is in my genes. I hadn't thought of it this way before, but Irish food relies on good quality, fresh ingredients. Historically, however, there was not a huge variety of ingredients available. Sometimes too, basics were scarce; even flour at times was scarce. Hence the love of the versatile potato; making it into breads, soups and everything in between.

Anyway, this bread is a prime example of simplicity. 4 ingredients and 10 minutes are all that is needed to get a tasty wholesome bread in the oven. Be warned, do not over handle this dough; it needs a light hand and as soon as it pulls together, get it in the oven. Overworking it will surely give you a tough bread.

Brown Soda Bread

adapted from Darina Allen's book Irish Traditional Cooking

random note: notice our snow is finally almost gone!!! It's been over 2 months since we've seen grass here. This week, the girls and I have been searching the garden, for evidence of the Spring fairy, in vain yet.

The recipe yields 2 loaves as seen.

Ingredients

4 cups wholewheat flour
4 cups all purpose flour
3 heaping teaspoons salt
2 heaping teaspoons baking soda
3- 3 1/4 cups sour milk

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F
2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper
3. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
4. Make a well in the center and add most of the buttermilk.
5. With clean hands, mix the dough together, starting from the center.
6. Add more milk as needed to achieve a dough that is soft but not sticky.
7. On a floured board or using cleaned, then floured hands, form the dough into 2 flattened discs about 2" thick. Don't be too concerned if it's not completely mixed together; if you overhandle it the result will be tough bread. Just blob it together and plop on the cookie sheet.
8. Place the dough on the cookie sheet with a little space between them for growing
9. Take a large knife and cut a cross almost through to the bottom of the dough
10. Place in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes then reduce the heat to 400°F for a further 25 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
11. Enjoy this bread warm with butter and jam; ours was gobbled up at snacktime today by 2 hungry monsters and their parents.



A couple of notes:

• This is a very flexible recipe; traditional wholewheat flour in Ireland is coarser than ours in the US so feel free to add a bit more fiber; perhaps wheat germ, bran, oat bran, or ground flax seed.
• You could also make these into scones by simply patting the discs to 1" and cutting out wedges. Bake for less time.

Enjoy!





Iris's Wheaten Bread



I seem to be on an Irish theme. Musing on my mum's fridge yesterday and reading "kiss my spatula's" latest post on dippy eggs and toast prompted a nostalgic train of thought for the food of my homeland.

I have strong childhood memories of every Saturday lunchtime; BBC radio 2, "Stupot" was the soundtrack to wheaten bread, soda farls, butter, cheese, jam and soup. Our local bakery in Portstewart, Northern Ireland was The Griddle and usually the breads were from there, but still warm....ahhh. I'm sure my family will call me out on a romantic version of our Saturday mornings; there was probably a fair amount of family discord too.

So what is wheaten bread? Basically very rustic wholewheat bread leavened with baking soda rather than endless yeast risings. It can be in the oven in 15 minutes. That's my type of bread!

When I was 12, my Mum made a new friend, Iris McMaster, who made great wheaten bread. She was nice enough to share the recipe and that simple recipe became a firm family favorite. By this time we had moved to Belfast and our beloved griddle breads were 70 miles away.

Even in my early twenties, I continued the tradition on a Saturday morning, making bread for my cousin and anyone else who popped in. It's a go to bread for taking to a friends house for lunch; wrap it up in a dishtowel while still warm, and deliver with pride and maybe some raspberry jam.

The recipe is quick, simple and very therapeutic to make; i.e. you get your hands in. The smell of wheaten bread baking, is like bottled up Saturday feeling for me.

Some notes about the recipe:

Wholewheat flour; get the coarsest flour you can buy for reasonable money. Our supermarket does sell Irish wheatmeal flour but it's $10 a bag!!! So I buy regular wholewheat flour and when I can get to the natural food store I stock up on the coarser version.

The original recipe called for more sugar but, as a rule, in any baked recipe, I cut it down.

I have included the British measurements but also converted to US measurements. Please note a British pint has more volume than a US one.

Wheaten bread freezes very nicely. I always triple wrap in plastic wrap to prevent freezer burn.

Wheaten Bread

Ingredients

5 1/2 cups (1 1/2 lb) course wholegrain flour

2 1/2 cups (12 oz) unbleached all purpose flour

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) (2oz) cold unsalted butter

1/4 cup sugar (2oz) sugar

2 teaspoons salt

4 teaspoons baking soda

3 1/3 cups (1 1/2 British pints) buttermilk

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F or 185°C.
2. Butter and lightly flour two 9x5" loaf tins.
3. Measure the flours into a very large bowl , whisk together to incorporate.
4. Then cut the cold butter into small pieces and add to the flour.
5. Get your hands in a rub the butter into the flour, until there are no big lumps left. This is the therapeutic part!
6. Add the sugar, salt, baking soda and stir in to incorporate.
7. Finally stir in the buttermilk until just incorporated. Don't worry if there are still some lumps in the dough (see picture) that's normal and overmixing needs to be avoided as it will create a tough bread.
8. Divide the dough in 2 and press lightly into the corners of the loaf tins.
9. Put both tins in the middle of the oven for 50-60 minutes. It will be ready when a tester comes out clean and it has a golden top.





Wheaten bread is totally delicious, cut into slices while still warm, spread with butter and your favorite jam. Raspberry jam is a traditional and especially good combination but whatever you fancy! It'll toast up nicely for the next few days if you dont eat it all on the first day.

Enjoy!