Spinach and Gruyere Quiche

This quiche is always a winner. It can be served hot for dinner or cold at lunch time with salad, I used this recipe a few times while I was cooking in the lodge in South Africa and it always seemed to go down well with the guests. 

Having lots of spinach breaks up the egg giving it a lighter and more varied texture but make sure you drain your spinach well after wilting it otherwise the excess water makes the pastry soggy. Another thing to be aware of is not to add too much salt as the bacon does this for you! To prepare in advance you can make the pastry the day before and keep in the fridge covered with clingfilm or alternatively you can make the whole quiche cook it, leave it to cool, and it will freeze for up to 2 months. I tend to make this quiche in a china Flan dish as I like to make the filling quite deep, this also prevents any of the filling leaking through any holes that may be in the pastry. 

To serve 8 You will need... 

A round flan dish roughly 30cm diameter

For the Pastry

-225g of plain flour

-100g of butter

-1 egg yolk

-2-3 tbsps of water 

For the Filling

-350g of bacon pieces chopped 

-1 large onion chopped

-350g fresh spinach (I usually use baby spinach) or 450g of frozen leaf spinach thawed and drained

-5 eggs and 1 egg white (If using bought pastry just use 5 eggs)

-300ml double cream

-300ml milk

-175g Gruyere Cheese grated. 

You will need to...

-Preheat the oven to 180C

-Rub the butter and flour together in a bowl until you have a breadcrumb texture. Add the egg yolk and water until a dough is formed. You can do this in the food processor. 

-Wrap the pastry in clingfilm an put in the fridge to chill for at least half an hour.

-Roll out the pastry on a floured surface so it is slightly larger than the dish then flute the edges, then blind bake at 180C using baking paper and baking beans for the first 15 minutes then remove the baking beans and cook for a further 5-10 mins or until pastry is golden. 

- Fry the bacon pieces over a high heat until browned, lower the heat and add the chopped onion until softened 

- Wilt the spinach in a saucepan remove from the heat and make sure you drain properly. 

-In a bowl whisk the eggs cream milk and seasoning. 

-Scatter the bacon, onion and spinach over the pastry, sprinkle half the gruyere cheese and then pour the mixture over. 

-Finally sprinkle the other half of the gruyere on top and place in the oven at 180C for 35-40 mins or until the filling is set and golden. 

Enjoy! Z x

Great British Bake Off - Pecan Pie with Spiced Rum

As any avid baker will agree, Wednesday nights mean only one thing - The Great British Bake Off.  Now as I'm sure you are aware, tonight is the grand final of the 2015 series, and it therefore seems appropriate to have a GBBO themed blogpost to mark the occasion. If you cast your mind back to last series, you may remember finalist Richard Burr - the laidback builder-turned-baker who cooked up a storm with his trademark pencil behind his ear. Richard has gone on to prove that there is life beyond the tent, having published his debut cookbook BIY- Bake It Yourself (see what he did there?) last month. It is a cracking book, with a good mix of fairly simple but delicious recipes, as well as a few trickier showstopper bakes for the more ambitious baker - Hazelnut Chocolate Opera Cake anyone? If you follow us on Instagram, you will have seen a couple of the recipes I have tried out already, however it was this Pecan Pie with Spiced Rum which really caught my eye. Quick, simple and totally moreish - this proved a huge hit with the family, and is the ideal pudding to round off these colder autumnal evenings. It also keeps well, and seems to improve with age, which is always a bonus if it hasn't been demolished in one go!

Read on for my take on Richard's recipe…

To make the pastry you will need…

- 200g plain flour (plus a little more to dust)

- 100g cubed butter

- A pinch of salt

- 2 tbsp caster sugar

- A couple of tbsp cold water

To make the filling you will need… 

- 100g golden syrup

- 100g maple syrup

- 100g caster sugar

- 50g soft light brown sugar

- 75g butter

- 3 large eggs

- 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste

- 2 tbsp spiced rum

- 100g chopped pecans

- 100g ground almonds

- 100g pecan halves

You will need to…

-  Make the shortcrust pastry - either by combining the ingredients together in a food processor with a little water to bind, or if by-hand, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the salt and sugar, then use a palette knife to stir in enough cold water to bind the mixture. Knead your ball of pastry gently for a minute or so to combine, then wrap in clingfilm and set in the fridge to cool and firm up for half an hour. 

- Preheat the oven to 200C and find yourself a 23cm loose-bottomed tart tin.

- Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll it out on a floured work surface. It should be large and circular enough to fit the tin, and only couple of centimetres in thickness. Roll this up onto the rolling pin and then lay it out into your tin. Press the pastry into the edges of the tin, but leave a little excess overhang as the pastry will shrink in the oven. 

- Line your pastry with a disc of baking parchment and fill with baking beans - blind bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

- Take the tin out and remove the parchment and baking beans. Bake the pastry case for a further 8 or so minutes until golden brown. Take out of the oven and leave to cool. Trim off any excess pastry.

- To make the filling, melt the golden syrup, maple syrup, butter and sugars in a saucepan over a low heat. Allow to cool so as not to cook the eggs.

- Beat together the eggs, vanilla paste and rum, and stir into the cooled sugar mixture along with the chopped pecans and ground almonds. 

- Pour the pecan mixture into the tart case and carefully arrange the pecan halves on the surface in concentric circles - this can be a bit fiddly as the mixture underneath moves around a bit!

- Bake for 35-45 minutes until the pie has risen a little in the middle and is golden brown and set. If the nuts are browning too quickly cover with a little tin foil. 

- Set on a wire rack and remove from tin once completely cool.

- I think this is best served at room temperature with a generous pouring of cream or crème fraîche.

Enjoy! C x

Mince Pie Twists

With the festive season drawing to a close, my adaptation of Gizzi Erskine's Mince Pie Straws are a novel and delicious way to use up any leftover mincemeat. These flakey puff pastry twists would make great sweet canapés or a lovely festive pud when served alongside a little crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream. With the inevitable 'New Year Detox' looming, this is your final excuse to indulge in some Christmassy baking - enjoy!

On another note - a massive thanks to those of you who voted for us as we have (miraculously) been shortlisted in the Food & Drink category for a UK Blog Award for the second year running! We're not quite sure how it happened as we totally forgot to promote it, so thank you to anyone reading for your ongoing support! 

Check out our competition here: http://www.blogawardsuk.co.uk/food-drink-shortlisted-finalists/

For 24 twists you will need…

2 tbsp caster sugar

Zest of 1 lemon

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Flour - to dust

1 packet of all-butter puff pastry

200g sweet mincemeat

1 egg yolk - beaten

Icing sugar to serve

You will need to...

- Preheat your oven to 200C.

- Mix together the sugar, lemon zest and cinnamon in a small bowl.

- Roll out the puff pastry on a floured surface until it is the thickness of a £1 coin. Cut the pastry in half widthways. Spread the mincemeat over one half and place the other ontop, pressing/rolling together firmly.

- Trim the edges to create a neat rectangle, then brush the top with the egg yolk. Sprinkle over the lemony, cinammony sugar. Cut the pastry into 12 strips lengthways, then cut all across the middle to create 24 straws in total. 

- Twist each strip a couple of times and place on a lined baking tray - leaving plenty of room for expansion.

 - Bake at 200C until golden brown, puffed up and crisp - this could take anywhere between 15-30 minutes.

- Serve with a generous dusting of icing sugar. 

Enjoy! C x

Blackberry and Raspberry Galette

With an abundance of blackberries growing in the hedgerows at this time of year, this rustic autumnal pud is a quick, easy and delicious way of using them up - get picking and you'll have yourself an (almost) free pudding! A galette is somewhere between a pie and a tart, though I'd argue better than either as it is freeform so doesn't require a tin or dish, and folding over the edges ensures maximum delicious crusty pastry. This one has a few raspberries thrown in as well but it works just as well with only blackberries, or some finely chopped apples instead.

To make a galette to serve four you will need…

100g plain flour

50g butter

1 dessert spoon icing sugar

A pinch of salt

3 tbsp cold water

300g fruit (blackberries, raspberries, chopped apple or a combo)

1 dessert spoon caster sugar 

1 dessert spoon cornflour

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg for egg wash

A little extra caster sugar to sprinkle on top

You will need to...

- Make shortcrust pastry by combining ingredients in a food processor (if lazy) or by hand by rubbing cubed butter into the mixture of flour, icing sugar and salt until fine breadcrumbs form. Add enough cold water and combine until the pastry just comes together, then wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for minimum 1 hour. 

- Preheat oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with greased baking parchment. 

- Place fruit in a bowl then gently stir in the cornflour, caster sugar and vanilla until combined - try not to squish the berries too much.

- Roll out your chilled pastry on a lightly floured surface to form a rough circle. Transfer onto the prepared baking tray.

- Spoon fruit into the middle of the pastry, then fold up the edges as pictured.

- Lightly beat the egg in a small bowl, then brush over the pastry and top with a sprinkle of caster sugar.

- Bake for about half an hour or until pastry is golden and crisp.

- Serve warm with a generous helping of single cream.

 Enjoy! C x

Apple Strudel

This apple strudel serves as a welcome break from the post-Christmas detox. An easy yet impressive pudding, this strudel can be prepared in the morning ready to shove in the oven later on. One important thing to remember is to let the apple mixture cool down completely before wrapping in pastry… trust me disasters will occur if you do not do this, I speak from experience! 

To serve 6 you will need...

4 eating or cooking apples peeled cored and cut into small chunks

100g caster sugar

100g sultanas or raisins 

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

150g pecans or walnuts (optional)

75g butter

6 sheets of filo pastry

1 tbsp of demerara sugar

Icing sugar cream or ice cream to serve

You will need to...

- Preheat your oven to 180C

- Peel and core your apples, then chop them into roughly 2cm chunks. 

- Add the apples, caster sugar and cinnamon to a saucepan, cover with a lid and simmer for approximately 10 minutes or until the apples are soft but still textured. 

- Remove from heat and stir in the dried fruit and nuts. 

- Leave to cool completely before wrapping in pastry

You can prepare this filling several days in advance and store in the fridge.

- Melt a knob of butter in a small pan,

- Remove the filo pastry from the fridge, lay the first sheet on a flat surface and brush with the butter.

- Lay another sheet and repeat the process until you have used all the pastry sheets.

- Brush the final layer with butter and spoon the cooled apple mixture neatly down the middle of the pastry. 

- Leave an inch or so at the end of the pastry so it doesn't spill out of the end. 

- Wrap the pastry around the filling tucking the ends in neatly and ensuring the seal is at the bottom. 

- Lay the strudel on a baking tray, lightly score the top of the pastry diagonally at equal intervals along the length of the strudel. 

- Sprinkle demerara sugar generously on top, this caramelises, making a sweet crunchy outside.

- Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. 

- For the finishing touches sprinkle with icing sugar and serve with cream or ice cream.  

Enjoy Z x