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19Mar/160

Quick and easy Easter treats

Easter baking recipe by Jamie Oliver celebrity chef,  restaurateur, and media personality known for his food-focused television shows, cookbooks and more recently his global campaign for better food education.

Jamie has created loads of easy Easter recipes such as bath buns, chocolate and raspberry tart and hot cross buns, celebrate this special family occasion with some scrumptious baking.

  

I had a go at making these delicious hot cross buns which were so easy and only took 35 mins to bake

QUICK AND EASY HOT CROSS BUN RECIPE

Ingredients

  • 225 g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
  • 200 g light muscovado sugar
  • 150 g ground almonds
  • 100 g buckwheat flour (see tip)
  • 1 teaspoon ground mixed spice
  • 1½ teaspoons gluten-free baking pow
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 large orange
  • 3 large free-range eggs (at room temperature)
  • 175 g mixed dried fruit (ideally with candied orange in it)
  • 50 g dried cranberries
  • 1 eating apple (125g)
  • 100 g icing sugar , plus extra for dusitng
Method
Heat the oven to 180C/gas 4. Line two muffin trays with paper cases or squares of baking paper. In large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric beater until pale and fluffy.Combine the almonds, flour, mixed spice, baking powder and salt in
a bowl, then sift it on top of the creamed butter and sugar. Add the orange zest, 3 tablespoons of the juice and the eggs to the bowl as well. Beat everything together until you have a thick batter, then stir in the dried fruit, cranberries and apple.

Dollop the mixture into the muffin cases so they’re three-quarters full. Bake for 35 minutes, then turn down the heat to 160C/gas 3 and bake for
a further 20–25 minutes, until the muffins are well risen and golden, and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then remove to a rack to cool completely.

Gradually mix the icing sugar with 4–5 teaspoons of the orange juice to make a thick icing. Spoon into a piping bag with a round nozzle, or into a sandwich bag, snipping off one corner. Pipe crosses onto each muffin, dust with extra icing sugar and leave to set.Tips

Buckwheat, despite its name, is not related to wheat at all and is totally gluten-free. The flour has a light nuttiness. You’ll find it in most supermarkets and health food shops.

Click here for other easy recipes, reviews and more....

19Dec/150

Fabulous Gordon Ramsay cook book makes a perfect gift

Hi, and welcome to the weekend. It’s going to be a very busy one as all our Cicchetti restaurants are fully booked! Tonight I will be going to London to see all our fantastic customers and maybe even have a little Prosecco with them, as tomorrow I will be visiting Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park London with my children to see Santa.

Chefs get asked the same questions around this time of year and it normally involves how to cook a turkey. This week’s book, Christmas, by Gordon Ramsay has the answers plus this alternative lunch.

So if you don’t fancy turkey why not try pan-fried duck breast which marries very well with the orange and the cranberry sauce then the Christmas bombe. This is a must buy book for Christmas, full of fabulous recipes. We’ll have some more festive ideas for you next week. Ciao!

Best turkey recipe and more....

Gordon Ramsay, alternative, Christmas, lunch, recipe, UploadExpress, Aldo Zilli

Pan-fried duck with spiced orange and cranberry sauce

4 duck breasts, about 225g each

4 juniper berries

Pinch of caraway seeds

1 tsp allspice

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the spiced orange and cranberry sauce:

100ml ruby port

100g fresh cranberries

Finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange

½ cinnamon stick

1 star anise

300ml chicken stock

1-2 tsp cranberry or redcurrant jelly, to taste

30g butter, diced

SERVES: 4

PREPARATION: 20 MINUTES

COOKING TIME: 20 MINUTES

Lightly score the skins of the duck breasts with a sharp knife. Using a pestle and mortar, grind the juniper berries, caraway seeds, allspice, 1 tsp salt and a few grinds of pepper to a powder. Rub the spice mix all over the duck breasts and leave to stand for about 10 minutes.

Lay the duck breasts, skin side down, in a dry heavy-based large frying pan and gradually turn up the heat. Fry for 5-10 minutes, until most of the fat has rendered and the skin is golden brown.

Turn the duck breasts over and lightly brown the other side for a couple of minutes, or until they feel slightly springy when pressed. Remove from the pan and leave to rest in a warm place while you make the sauce.

For the sauce, pour off excess fat from the frying pan and place over a high heat. Pour in the port, stirring to deglaze, and let it bubble for a minute. Add the remaining ingredients, except the butter, and bring to the boil.

Let it bubble until the liquid has reduced by two-thirds and thickened to a syrupy consistency. The cranberries should be very soft; squash a few with a wooden spoon, leaving the others whole. Add any juices from the resting duck. Taste and adjust the seasoning and add a little more jelly if desired. Finally, add the butter and shake the pan to incorporate it as it melts.

Slice the duck breasts on the diagonal and fan them out on warmed serving plates. Spoon the sauce around the duck and serve with parsnip purée and creamed cabbage with thyme if you like.

15Jun/150

Hearty winter butternut soup recipe

Sweet potato & butternut squash soup with lemon & garlic toast

Delicious and easy to make for those frosty winter nights, snuggle up warm and enjoy this winter soup recipe hearty meal with warm crusty bread

Sweet potato & butternut squash soup with lemon & garlic toast

Ingredients

For the soup

  • 500g sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 1 butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and diced
  • 1 tbsp clear honey
  • 1 tbsp olive oil, plus a drizzle
  • 2 onions, roughly chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1l vegetable or chicken stock
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp grated nutmeg
  • 100ml double cream

Method

  1. Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Put the sweet potato and butternut squash on a baking tray and add the honey and a drizzle of olive oil. Roast for 40-45 mins until soft and starting to caramelise at the edges, stirring occasionally.
  2. Meanwhile, fry the onions in 1 tbsp olive oil until soft, then add the garlic, chicken stock, cinnamon and nutmeg. Bring to the boil, and simmer for 5 mins.
  3. Remove the sweet potatoes and butternut squash from the oven and add to the pan with the stock. Blend everything until smooth using a stick blender. Stir in most of the cream and bring back to a gentle simmer, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
  4. To make the lemon & garlic toasts, gently warm the olive oil and garlic in a pan over a low heat for a few mins; the garlic should be softened but not browned. Remove from the heat and mix in the butter and lemon zest until smooth. Leave to cool, then stir in the chives and thyme.
  5. Toast the ciabatta slices, and top each with a spoonful of garlic butter. Serve with the soup, drizzled with the remaining cream, and some black pepper.

Enjoyed making this easy butternut squash soup recipe? Click here for more recipes, book reviews and more....

13Dec/110

Party Food and Entertaining

The season is upon us! We have our first Travelling Souk party this week! Luckily we are spoilt for choice with our fabulous online larder.

We love the delicious sliced smoked duck breast and pear starter recipe or, for a less formal occasion goat’s cheese, duck breast and orange on a oatmeal biscuit is a winner every time.

If you are feeding the five thousand our delicious chicken liver pate will stretch forever and is loved by all.