Carrot & Fennel Seed Mash

I had a surplus of carrots in the fridge and decided to turn them into a carrot mash to have in place of mashed potatoes with dinner. I’ve recently been experimenting with the more aromatic spices in my savoury cooking such as fennel, cardamom and cumin and so decided to add some crushed fennel seeds to my carrot mash.

Fennel has an aromatic, slightly aniseed flavour to it and I could imagine it working well with the sweet carrots. To add more flavour and a touch of luxury to my carrot mash, I poached the carrots in fennel infused milk rather than boiling them in water and then used this lightly spiced milk mixture to puree with the carrots.

I decided to make a thick mash, so only used about half the milk mixture when pureeing the cooked carrots. I ate some of it warm with dinner and put the rest in the fridge for later. I intended to reheat it, but on a whim I used it as a spread in a wrap with some falafel and it was delicious! I then ate the rest of it as you would houmous so it works brilliantly hot or cold. I think I almost preferred it cold as the fennel flavour seemed to have developed overnight.

The flavour of the fennel remained quite delicate, while the carrots were sweet with an almost creamy texture in the mouth, despite their slightly rough appearance (they won’t fluff up like mashed potatoes). The subtle aniseed flavour paired brilliantly with the sweet carrot and transformed a standard side dish into something special. The carrots natural orange brightness added colour to anything I served it with.

A quick a delicious way to use up those often overlooked carrots. If you don’t fancy fennel seeds, try coriander or cumin instead. Sorry for the poor photos, it was dark and I was hungry J

Carrot & Fennel Seed Mash

Ingredients

5 large carrots

200-250ml milk

2 tsp fennel seeds

Salt & pepper

Method

Peel and roughly chop the carrots. Lightly crush the fennel seeds to break them slightly. Add the carrots and fennel to a pan with enough milk to nearly cover them.

Bring the mixture to a simmer and then leave to cook for 15-20 minutes until the carrot is completely softened. As there is less liquid, stir occasionally to ensure an even cooking.

Add the softened carrot to a small blender along with half the milk (leave the fennel seeds in). Blitz to form a puree, adding more milk until you have the thickness you desire be it a thick mash/houmous consistency or a thinner style puree.

Season to taste.

Serve warm in place of mashed potatoes or cold as a dip or sandwich filling, as you would houmous.

Tea & Cake with Friends at Steel City Cakes, Sheffield

Yesterday my two best friends from ‘back home’ aka Bedford, came to visit me. I haven’t seen either of them since Christmas and that was only for a couple of hours so it was lovely to catch up with them again and learn all the latest gossip. We had a very enjoyable day shopping in the city centre complete with a delicious lunch at Fusion Organic Café – my favourite lunchtime spot.

I then treated the girls to afternoon tea at Steel City Cakes. I had been once before and was impressed at the variety of cakes on offer. As well as 'normal cakes' they also always have a selection of gluten free, dairy free, vegan or an assortment of all combined! It really is a shop where almost anyone can have their cake and eat it.

I would normally be a little wary of places offering homemade gluten free cakes alongside 'normal' cakes, but on my previous visit I had a chat with the owner who said her daughter is also gluten free and she is the one who bakes their gluten free cakes – result! There is nothing nicer than a gluten free cake baked by someone who truly knows and understands the sheer enjoyment of being able to eat a nice piece of cake along with the rest of their friends/family.

Steel City Cakes is located on Abbeydale Road and its not the easiest place to get to if travelling by car as there is limited parking along the streets outside, but don’t let that put you off. Once inside we were greeted by a vast assortment of layer cakes, most of which where 3 layers tall – now that’s my kind of cake! As well as cakes there were also cheesecakes, brownies, cupcakes and a few tarts on offer.

I decided to treat the girls to the tea and cake combination deal which allows you to have any cake and drink of your choice for £4. My friends chose lemon cheesecake and a white chocolate & fresh raspberry triple layer cake as their cakes. I enquired what was gluten free that day and was offered a choice of chocolate & toffee, coffee & walnut or chocolate & fresh raspberry cakes, as well as chocolate brownie or an apricot and custard tart. Wow what a choice! I went for the chocolate & fresh raspberry cake as I love that combination.

Some of the other 'normal' cake combinations sounded amazing and different from your standard, chocolate and vanilla only cake places. There was a spiced courgette cake, a pistachio one, coffee & walnut, salted caramel and peanut butter & chocolate. Yum.

When the cakes arrived we were amazed at the portions – they were huge! Normally these types of tea and cake offers mean you get a thin sliver of cake, not here these were substantial slices of cake and cheesecake that could almost have fed two people. So make sure you come hungry.

For drinks J and I went for fruit tea which was served in traditional china cups complete with saucers and floral design, which was a lovely touch. My other friend went for hot chocolate with complementary whipped cream on top.

We all tucked in somehow managed to polish off the lot. All the cakes were fresh and light and I loved the addition of the fresh raspberries with my chocolate cake. That little bit of fresh tartness really cut through the sweet buttercream. My cake was actually vegan and gluten free, I’ve no idea who they made it so rich and chocolaty without dairy, eggs or gluten. I was very impressed. My other friend described the lemon cheesecake as one of the nicest she’s had and I must admit it did look divine (please make some GF versions too!).

We all left full, happy and in a bit of a sugar coma. The shop is a bit out of the way but don’t let that put you off. I’ve been twice now and both times the cakes have been delicious and the variety excellent. This is clearly a shop run by cake lovers for cake lovers and well worth a visit.

Note: This review is my own. I went of my own accord and have received no incentive for writing this review.

Lemon & Poppy Seed Pancakes with Hot Stewed Plums

It’s pancake day, or to give it its proper name, Shrove Tuesday this coming Tuesday. This is the day before Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, when people are meant to use up their eggs, milk and sugar before refraining from them for Lent. Giving up the foods is not something many people adhere to nowadays, but the act of making and eating pancakes is a much loved and followed tradition, certainly in my house.

Growing up we always had the thin crepe style pancakes, served with freshly squeezed lemon juice and a sprinkling of caster sugar. I still love these, but decided to experiment with a thicker style pancake this year. I wanted to stick with the lemon theme, so added lemon zest to the batter rather than squeezing it over at the end. To accompany the lemon I decided to add some poppy seeds. Lemon and poppy seed is a classic combination and I liked the slightly crunch and appearance they added to the pancakes.

The pancakes were thicker than crepes, but not quite as thick or fluffy as the American style pancakes. I ate these for lunch so rather than dousing them in syrup I served them with some hot stewed plums, which kept them less sweet and more suitable for lunch.

I loved the deep glossy red colour the plums turned after stewing. Their freshness and natural juice added a lovely fruity syrupy flavour. I added a little yellow cornmeal to the batter to help give them a bit of texture and also lend a subtle yellow colour to the pancakes. Cornmeal can something makes things a bit dry, but the fruity juices from the plums soaked into the pancakes and helped keep them soft and moist.

The lemon flavour really came through and worked wonderfully with the fruity plums. The poppy seeds added a slight crunch but they were more for appearance than flavour. Overall a very tasty lunch and a nice change to the usual crepe style lemon and sugar pancakes, although I’m not saying I won’t enjoy a few of those on Tuesday too!

Pancakes, how do you enjoy yours?

Lemon & Poppy Seed Pancakes with Hot Stewed Plums

Ingredients

100g gluten free plain flour

25g yellow fine ground cornmeal

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

½ tsp baking powder

3 tsp poppy seeds

4 tsp caster sugar

Zest of 1 lemon

1 egg

70-80ml milk

Oil for frying

Plums

6 ripe plums

1 tbsp caster sugar (optional)

1 tbsp water

½ tsp vanilla extract

Method

Half the plums and remove the stones. Slice into segments and place into a pan along with the water.

Heat gently, stirring occasionally until the plums are softened and have released their red glossy juices. Taste and add a little sugar if they are too tart for your liking.

Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Set aside while you make the pancakes.

Heat the oven to 50C and place 2 plates into the oven to warm.

Add all the pancake ingredients expect the egg, milk and oil into a bowl and mix together. Make a well in the centre and crack in the egg. Mix gently until the mixture starts to form a batter. Add the milk gradually until you have a smooth, thick, pourable batter.

Brush a pan with a little oil and heat until hot. Add 1 tablespoon of the pancake batter, letting the mix spread and find its own shape.

Leave to cook for 15-20 seconds before flipping over and leaving to cook for a further 15 seconds until lightly golden.

Remove the pancake from the pan and transfer to the plates in the oven to keep warm.

Repeat with the remaining batter. You should get 8-10 small pancakes from the mix.

Divide the pancakes between the two plates. Top with the warm stewed plums and serve.

Serve with a scoop of ice cream or Greek yoghurt if desired.

Makes 8-10 small pancakes, serves 2

Roast Hazelnut, Choc Chip & Sour Cherry Oat Cookies

Yesterday my parents came for a visit. We planned to go out for lunch but I wanted to bake us a little treat to have with afternoon tea when we got back to my flat. I settled on cookies. I haven’t baked a batch of cookies in ages, cake being my usual go-to treat but the cookies made a lovely change.

I’ve said it before but I’m a person who loves different textures in their foods. These cookies are no exception making use of wholesome oats (gluten free ones naturally), gooey dark chocolate chips, nuggets of roasted hazelnuts and chewy tart dried cherries. A delicious combination.

The cookies are quite thick and substantial, meaning they have a wonderfully crisp edge yet stay soft and slightly doughy in the middle, mmmm. The oats add a wholesome bite and flavour while the nuts add crunch and an intense nutty flavour when bitten into, even more so as I pre-roasted them. The chocolate chips stayed soft and melty, while giving an intense dark chocolate flavour which paired brilliantly against the sweet/tart chewy cherries. Every bite was slightly different and it made the cookies very moreish.

I used to make this type of cookie quite often but for some reason I haven’t made them in the past 2-3years! Now I’ve rediscovered them I’ll definitely be baking more soon.

You can of course add whatever add-ins you like. Cinnamon & raisins are classic, but crystallised ginger & lemon or cherry & flaked almonds also work brilliantly.

Roast Hazelnut, Chocolate & Sour Cherry Oat Cookies

Ingredients
150g butter
100g light soft brown sugar
70g caster sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
50g roasted hazelnuts, halved

50g dark chocolate chips

40g dried sour cherries

170g gluten free porridge oats
20g tapioca starch

135g rice flour
¾ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp bicarbonate soda

Method

Roast your hazelnuts in a 180C oven for 5-6 minutes until lightly toasted and golden brown, then set aside to cool (optional)
In a large bowl, cream the butter together with both the sugars until light and fluffy.
Add the egg and vanilla and beat until well combined. Stir in the hazelnuts, chocolate chips and sour cherries.
Add the oats, tapioca starch, rice flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder into the bowl and mix together using a spatula until all incorporated.
Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out balls of dough onto a baking tray. You can pack them close together for now.

Place the cookie balls into the fridge for chill for 20 minutes. Meanwhile preheat oven to 190C and line another baking tray with greaseproof paper.

Remove the cookie balls from the fridge and arrange half on them onto the new baking tray. Leave 2-3 inches between each one. Gently press the tops of the cookie dough balls down, to form thick flat round discs.
Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes until golden brown at the edges and still slightly pale in the middle.
Cool on sheet for 1 minute before transferring to a rack with the help of a palette knife. Repeat with any leftover cookie balls.
Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. They also freeze well.
Makes 15-16 cookies

Celebrating 7 Years of Apple & Spice with Apple & Hazelnut Upside Down Double Layer Cake

Today my blog turns 7. I can’t quite believe it. Each year I like to celebrate the occasion by making an apple themed bake. This year I was inspired by a cake combination of apple and hazelnuts.

My apple themed bakes from previous years are:

1st year – Spiced Apple Cake

2nd year – Individual Apple & Oat Crumbles

3rd year – Overnight Spiced Apple Stack

4th year – Fruity Tea Loaf

5^th year – Roasted Apple & Custard Pots

6^th year – Apple, Caramel & Almond Tart withPeanut Praline

My apple and hazelnut cake consists of light layers of nutty cake made by replacing some of the flour with ground hazelnuts. This was baked in tins that had chunks of sautéed spiced apple placed in the base first. When the cakes are turned out the apple bases become the topping for each cake layer. This creates layers of hazelnut cake topped with apple which when stacked means one apple topping acts like a fruity filling along with some creamy ricotta, and the other cake creates an appley topping as decoration. A double layer upside down cake.

I chose to shell, roast, de-skin and grind my own hazelnuts as we had lots of hazelnuts in their shells leftover from Christmas. I’ve never roasted and ground my own hazelnuts before and the intense nutty aroma this process produced was intoxicating. I’d really recommend roasting and grinding your own if you can, the flavour was far superior to the pre-ground variety, so nutty and fresh tasting.

The apple for the base/topping was made with tangy Cox apples that I first softened slightly in a mix of butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. This created little chunks of sweet and spicy appley goodness that were delicious when baked into the hazelnut cake.

I debated using slices of apple rather than chunks, to create a more decorative topping when the cakes were turned out, but decided this would make the cake harder to cut neatly. I think I made the right decision in the end and I liked the chunks of apple, I think they added more flavour and texture than a thin slice would have done.

To fill my cake layers I used fresh ricotta that I lightly beat with a little maple syrup to sweeten it. This worked really well and kept the cake feeling light and delicate, as ricotta is no where near as rich as double cream. As it was lightly beaten it became smoother and creamier and many of my tasters didn’t realise it wasn’t cream until I told them. You couldn’t really taste the maple syrup, it just sweetened the ricotta slightly while still letting the hazelnuts and apple shine through.

My family loved the cake and it was devoured within a day. The combination of roasted hazelnuts, succulent apple and milky creamy ricotta was a delicious combination and kept the layers moist. It was the kind of cake you could eat for afternoon tea or as a dessert. (Sorry for the quality of the photos it was a very dark day).

Thank you to everyone who reads this blog or who writes blogs of their own. You are a great source of inspiration and new ideas. I’m sure most bloggers would agree with me that there are occasions were finding time to bake and blog can feel like a chore, but most of the time I delight in freedom of food creativity it allows me to explore.

Apple & Hazelnut Upside Down Double Layer Cake

Hazelnut Cake

60g hazelnuts, skin on

120g caster sugar

120g butter

80g gluten free plain flour

2 eggs

1 tsp baking powder

Sautéed Apples

4 x Cox apples (350g peeled, chopped weight)

15g butter

3 tsp light soft brown sugar

½ tsp cinnamon

Filling

150g ricotta

1½ tbsp maple syrup

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Place the hazelnuts on a baking tray and roast in the oven for 8-9 minutes until the skins are tinged and they smell very nutty.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Then rub the hazelnuts in a clean tea towel or sheets of kitchen paper to remove the skins. If sufficiently roasted, they should just flake off easily.

Grind the hazelnuts in a coffee grinder or small food processor and set aside.

To make the apple, peel, core and dice the apples into 1-2cm pieces.

Heat the butter in a frying pan and add the apples. Allow to cook for 8-10 minutes until just starting to soften. Sprinkle over the sugar and cinnamon and cook for a further 1 minute until the sugar has dissolved to form a light caramel with the juices from the apple. Set aside.

Line the base of 2 x 6inch cake tins with greaseproof paper. If not still on, heat the oven to 180C. Divide the sautéed apple between the bases of each cake tin.

To make the cake, make sure your butter is soft and then beat it together with the sugar until it is pale and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating in well. Scatter the flour, baking powder and hazelnuts over the top of the cake and mix until combined.

Divide the cake batter into the tins, spreading it carefully over the top of the apple chunks. It’s easiest to do this by blobbing on small spoonfuls and spread it out gently. It may look like there isn’t enough sponge mix, but it puffs up in the oven.

Bake the cakes for 20-25 minutes until risen and gently springy to the touch.

Leave to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before running a knife around the edge and turning out. Leave the cakes to cool upside down, with the apple facing up.

To assemble, use a spatula to beat the ricotta with the maple syrup until it becomes smoother and creamy. (It will still look slightly granular, this is fine)

Place one cake layer on a serving plate, apple side up. Spread over the ricotta and top with the second cake layer, also apple side up.

Allow to chill in the fridge for 30 minutes before dusting lightly with icing sugar and serving.

Store any leftovers in the fridge and due to the moistness from the apple and ricotta, its best to eat within 2 days.

Makes 1 x 6inch cake.

Indulgent Love-By-Chocolate Chocolate Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache

I’m not normally the type of person who craves chocolate, and when I do eat chocolate it’s got to be dark. Cake, rice pudding or cereal are usually my comfort foods of choice. However, there are exceptions to the rule. These past few weeks have been really busy at work and what with it being the run up to Valentines Day I keep seeing blog posts full of indulgent looking chocolate based desserts with the result that by the time Friday rolled round I was more than ready for some full on chocolate indulgence. The richer and darker the better.

After a quick internet search I happened upon a cake recipe by a chef called Ed Kasky that had literally hundreds of rave reviews. It looked so deep, dark and chocolaty that I knew I had found my chocolate treat. The recipe made a colossal 10inch double layer cake, which even in my chocolate craved state was too much for me. I decided to make a daintier 6inch cake instead. The recipe called for 3 eggs and I pondered dividing everything by a third and using only 1 egg, but this seemed stingy and so instead went for using 1½ eggs. I know this isn’t ideal but you can simply add the remaining half egg to more eggs to bulk up an omlette or make some fried rice etc. 

Making the batter I could tell the cake was going to be a good one. Oil, buttermilk and hot coffee are used in place of butter, and both melted chocolate and a large amount of cocoa powder are used for chocolate flavour. This produced one very rich chocolaty cake batter that was of pouring consistency. The cake is also baked at a very low temperature, meaning it almost sets in the oven rather than bakes, creating a completely soft cake without a top crust, I could tell it was going to be a lovely moist cake. 

Using 1½ egg recipe produced a large amount of batter and I ended up filling 2 x 6inch tins and a spare ceramic dish with the batter. Despite using 3 dishes, the batter still rose in the oven and overflowed the sides of the tins, falling onto the oven base. Well darn, I should have stuck with my original thought of only using 1 egg. I think I made enough batter to fill 2 x 8inch tins. 

Despite a bit of baking mishap, after trimming off the overflowed bits and neatening the edges, the cake was spectacular! It was light, airy and wonderfully moist. It was a little soft and fragile at first, but firmed up a bit on cooling. Due to the large amount of batter it produced 2 very tall layers which were decadently filled and topped with a glossy dark chocolate ganache for extra indulgence.

The cake was fantastically light and almost moussy when I first ate it. The middle layer of ganache melding with the soft moist cake layers to make one delectable mouthful. The cake was sweet with a rich, slightly sticky gooey chocolate cake flavour. You don’t taste the added coffee in the cake, it just seems to deepen the chocolate flavour and make it seem even more grown up and indulgent. Oh, this was the chocolate cake of all chocolate cakes!

The smooth, creamy dark ganache worked perfectly with the cake, it really felt special and treat-worthy. In a nod to Valentines Day I decorated it simply with a sprinkle of red sugar hearts. Perfect for sharing with a loved one. I can’t wait to make it again and use 2 x 8inch tins instead. I’ll give my recipe below using 1½ eggs, but I’ll say to bake it in 8inch tins, as 6inch are far too small.

If you’re going to give in to a chocolate craving, then you might as well dive in head first and bake this wickedly indulgent sensational chocolate cake! It really is death by chocolate, but as it’s nearly Valentines, I’ve taken a bit of poetic license and called it Love-By-Chocolate instead J

Here a link to the original recipe, that I halved and adapted to make it gluten free (below).

Indulgent Love-By-Chocolate Chocolate Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache

Chocolate Cake

40g dark chocolate

170ml hot brewed coffee

275g caster sugar

*120g rice flour

*20g cornflour

*10g tapioca starch

¾ tsp xanthan gum

50g cocoa powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1½ eggs

85ml vegetable oil

165ml buttermilk

½ tsp vanilla extract

*(Alternatively use 150g of your favourite gluten free plain flour)

Dark Chocolate Ganache

300g dark chocolate 60-70% cocoa

180ml double cream

40g butter

Method - Cake
Preheat the oven to 150C and grease and line the base of 2 x 8inch tins.

Finely chop the 40g chocolate and add to a small bowl with hot coffee. Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Set aside.

In a jug, measure out the oil, buttermilk and vanilla, set aside.

Into a large bowl sift together sugar, gluten free flours, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, salt and xanthan gum.

In another large bowl beat the eggs with an electric mixer until thickened slightly and pale creamy coloured, around 3 minutes.

Combine the coffee mixture to the buttermilk mixture in the jug and then slowly add the liquids into the whisked egg mixture, whisking slowly all the time. Don’t worry if there is some solidified chocolate bits left behind, just add these in too.

Add the flour mixture a third at a time, beating gently between each third until just combined.

Divide the batter between the tins and bake in middle of oven until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, around 50mins – 1hr 5mins.

Place the cake, still in the tins on a cooling rack and leave to cool completely in the tins. Do not remove when still warm or else they will collapse.

Once cool, run a knife around the edge and carefully turn out. Place on cake on a serving plate, spread with half the ganache and top with the remaining cake layer. Spread the remaining ganache over the top of the cake and decorate as desired.

Allow to set for 30 minutes before serving.

Store any leftover cake in the fridge, wrapped in clingfilm.

Dark Chocolate Ganache
Break the chocolate into pieces and set aside.

Heat the cream in a saucepan until just beginning to simmer, but don’t let it boil.

Remove the pan from the heat, add the chocolate, stir once and leave for 3 minutes to allow the chocolate to melt. Then stir gently until the cream and chocolate are combined into a glossy mass.

Cut the butter into small pieces and stir into the chocolate.

Allow to cool until of a spreadable consistency but still soft and glossy, around 10 minutes. Use the ganache to fill and decorate the cake layers.

Fragata Olives Giveaway Winner!

There were 8 entries to the giveaway and the random, computer generated winning number of the Fragata olives competition was….comment number 1

Congratulations Kate D!

Kate said:

“My favourite olives are either stuffed with Feta or marinated in herbs..... eaten by the sea in the harbour on a warm summers day, straight from the olive stall with a cocktail stick!”

Sounds a delightful way to enjoy some olives Kate. I’ll be contacting you shortly for your delivery address. Let’s hope we get some sunshine soon so we can all enjoy some al fresco olive eating!

Thank you to everyone who entered and to Fragata for letting me run the giveaway.

Green Olive, Garlic & Rosemary Pancakes and a Giveaway

I was recently gifted a lovely selection of olives from Fragata. Some black, some green and some stuffed with garlic. There was also a jar of hot peppers which I am longing to try out with some houmous and falafels. Fragata specialise in Spanish olives and other mediterranean products. 

I love olives, in sandwiches, on pizza, or munched on their own, but rather than just eating them in their natural form, I wanted to try something a little different. After a short ponder between scones, muffins or pancakes, I settled on pancakes. Having pancakes for a lunch is a weekend treat of mine that I hadn’t yet done this year, so pancakes it was to be. I usually make sweet pancakes, so the idea of savoury salty olive pancakes intrigued me.

The green olives stuffed with garlic sounded particularly good and I decided to pair it with fresh rosemary as olive, garlic and rosemary sounded a great flavour combination. I made the batter for the pancakes using brown rice and chickpea flour, the latter having a very savoury taste and slightly dense texture. This seemed fitting for savoury pancakes and I thought its earthy flavour would be lifted by the salty tang from the olives.

To accompany my pancakes I wanted something light and fresh and went with a fresh milky ricotta cheese that I flavoured with fresh rosemary and lemon zest. This worked really well, its light fresh flavour adding a delicious contrast to the savoury salty pancakes. 

I loved the flavour the green olives gave to the pancakes. Unless you look closely you can’t really tell they are there, as they hide camouflaged in the batter, but when you bite into one, a sharp salty tang and that wonderful fresh olive flavour fills your mouth in a most satisfying way. The garlic wasn’t too pungent (as I feared it might be) and gave a subtle hint of flavour. The ricotta then neutralises the saltiness from the olive, getting you ready for the next bite. Simply delicious. 

Giveaway

The lovely people at Fragata are also offering one of you the change to win a sample of some of their products. All you have to do is leave a comment telling me what your favourite olive is and how you like to eat them. Competition open to UK residents only. Only one entry per person. Competition closes at midnight on Saturday 8^th February. The winner will be chosen at random. Please leave a way for me to contact you should you win. Good luck!

Green Olive, Garlic & Rosemary Pancakes and a Giveaway

Ingredients

50g chickpea/gram/besan flour

30g brown rice flour

1 tsp baking powder

115ml milk

10 garlic stuffed green olives

10 leaves fresh rosemary

¼ tsp dried oregano

Freshly ground pepper

1 tbsp oil

To Serve

100g ricotta

Zest of ¼ lemon

7 leaves fresh rosemary

6 cherry tomatoes

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C. Cut the tomatoes in half and place cut side up on a foil lined baking tray. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Then turn off the oven and place two serving plates into the oven to warm. Also put in another place topped with a sheet of kitchen roll to hold the pancakes and keep them warm as you make them.

Spoon the ricotta into a small bowl and add the lemon zest. Finely chop the rosemary, add to the ricotta and mix together well. Store in the fridge until required.

To make the pancakes, weigh the flours and baking powder into a bowl and mix together. Chop the rosemary and add to the flour along with the oregano and a few twists of black pepper. Don’t add salt as the olives are salty enough.

Slowly add the milk, whisking well to remove any small lumps of flour. You should end up with quite a thick batter.

Chop the olives into rounds so you have a ring of olive filled with a small piece of garlic in each slice. Fold the olives into the batter.

Heat the oil in a large pan. Drop level tablespoonfuls of the batter into the pan, trying to get a few bits of olive in each one. (It’s best to do this in small batches) Cook for 1 minute before flipping over and cooking on the other side until lightly golden brown. Remove the pancakes from the pan and transfer them to the plate lined with kitchen roll that’s keeping warm in the oven. Repeat with the leftover batter. You should get around 6 pancakes from the mix.

To serve, divide the pancakes between the two serving plates. Place a couple of spoonfuls of the herby ricotta onto each plate, you can quenelle them by shaping it between two spoons if you want to be fancy. Scatter around some of the roasted tomatoes and finish with a little fresh sprinkling of lemon zest and rosemary if desired.

Eat and enjoy. Makes 6 pancakes

Serves 2 as a light lunch, or mini ones could be used as canapés. 

Note: Fragata did not pay me for reviewing their products and I was under no obligation to give them a positive review. These thoughts and comments are my own.