Pancake recipe with brandy twist

It is Pancake Day on February 16th so I thought I should share my favourite recipe for pancakes with you at this time.

Ingredients

125g plain flour
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 egg + additional egg yolk
2 tbsp of brandy
225ml milk (full or semi-skinned)
Knob of melted butter
More butter for frying

1 lemon, quartered for juicing
caster sugar for serving.

Method

Start by sifting the flour into a bowl.
In a separate bowl whisk the egg, egg yolk and caster sugar into the milk and then add the brandy and stir.
Slowly add the flour to the milk, whisking as you do, but don’t beat it too much or it will need to rest afterwards for a short while.
Add the melted butter and stir in, making sure the butter is not too hot when you do this.

Use butter to fry the batter in a pan, keeping the mixture thin and cook the pancakes, with the iconic flip, until they begin to turn crispy.

Serve with lemon and sugar.

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Fruit and nut oat cookies

Oat based biscuits and cookies are my favourite, so much so that I try and fight the urge to make them as I can't help but eat them all within hours regardless of the damage done to my waistline. However, if you can control yourself then please try this recipe as they are fantastic.

The base of these cookies, everything but the fruit and nuts, should be the base for many alternative versions, such as ginger or cherry or chocolate, or a combination of all three.

Makes roughly 10 cookies - enough to keep a family happy for a day or two.

Ingredients:

150g softened butter
40g caster sugar
60g muscovado sugar
90g self raising flour
125g porridge oats
100g of raisins, sultanas and chopped glace cherries (or your combination of choice)
50g chopped almonds and macadamia nuts (or your nuts of choice)

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees and line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper.
   
2. In a bowl beat the soft butter and the two sugars together until the mixture is fluffy.
   
3. Mix the flour and oats together and then stir in to the butter mixture. Stir well.
   
4. At this point you can add your choice of ingredients, but in this case it is a mixture of fruits and nuts. Again stir well.
   
5. Divide into ten equal portions and roughly form into balls. Place each ball on the baking tray (you may need two trays) and pace in the even. They will resemble cookies after cooking, trust me.
   
6. The cookies will take roughly 15 minutes and you can tell as the edges begin to darken.
   
7. Leave on the baking tray for at least five minutes to firm up before moving them to a wire rack to cool.
   

I'd love to hear your alternative cookie versions.

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Peshwari Naan Bread Recipe

Regardless of what kind of curry I am cooking, I have to accompany it with a sweet, peshwari naan, full of fruit and coconut.

These are quite unlike those you may receive from your local indian curry house and are quite solid, so make them smaller than is normal so not to daunt people. If you do make too much they are fantastic on their own the next day.

Makes 5

Ingredients: 

250g plain flour
125ml of semi-skimmed milk
2 tbsp of sunflower oil
2 heaped tsp caster sugar
1 level tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
50g desiccated coconut
50g sultanas
25g caster sugar
1 tbsp olive oil

Method

1. Whisk the milk and sunflower oil together and leave in a jug
   
2. Mix the flour with the tsp measurements of sugar, salt and baking powder.
   
3. Make a dip in the middle of the flower and pour in the liquid.
   
4. Knead vigorously for at least 5 minutes. Adding further flour/milk if required to form a dough like consistency.
   
5. Wrap in cling film and place in a warm place (airing cupboard) for 30 minutes at least.
   
6. While you are waiting you can measure out the remaining sugar, coconut and sultanas and mix together.
   
7. Retrieve the dough and divide into five equally sized pieces. Roll into balls and proceed to make one at a time, while leaving the others covered with cling film so they do not dry out.
   
8. Push the dough ball down with your fist, as firmly as you can. Now add a handful of the sweet mixture and place it in the middle of the squashed dough ball.
   
9. Fold the dough over and push down the edges to seal. Now use a rolling pin to flatten out the bread, so that it takes the shape of a tear drop. Don't make the naan too thin.
   
10. Brush lightly with olive oil and place on a preheated grill pan and put in a preheated grill for roughly 90 seconds, turn over and cook for a further minute.
    

Serve straight away with your favourite curry dish.

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Easy folded gammon and cheese omelette with oregano.

Omelettes are fantastic for their easy creation, quick turnaround time and versatility. There are countless of variations available, so I thought I would add my own to the mix.


This omelette recipe is enough to serve two as a snack.


Ingredients:


Omelette:
4 eggs
2 tbsp on semi-skinned milk
1 level tsp of dried oregano 
1/2 tsp of cracked black pepper
salt to taste


Filling:
50g of grated cheddar cheese
100g of roughly chopped cooked unsmoked gammon 


Method:

1. Add all of the omelette ingredients and beat for 30 seconds, or until the eggs are well combined. 
2. Now melt a small knob of butter on a medium-sized frying pan and once hot ladle half of the omelette mixture into the pan and quickly move the pan around so the mixture covers the pan evenly.
3. After two minutes flip the omelette and on one-half of the cooked side place half of the chopped gammon and grated cheese. 
4. Now fold the omelette over to make a semi-circle and carefully turn it over once and after another 30 seconds remove from the heat.

Serve with salad.

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