Banana White Choc Muffins

 

These muffins are the Banana Butterscotch Muffins from Nigella Express, but I’ve substituted the butterscotch chips for white choc. These muffins are incredibly easy to make and so very delicious, not to mention a great way to use up some over-ripe bananas.

Orginal recipe found here.

3 very ripe bananas
125 ml vegetable oil
2 large eggs
250 grams plain flour
100 grams caster sugar
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 pinch ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
150 grams  white chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6/400°F and line a 12-bun muffin tin with muffin papers.
2. Mash the bananas and set aside for a moment.
3. Pour the oil into a jug and beat in the eggs.
4. Put the flour, sugar, cinnamon, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder into a large bowl and mix in the beaten-egg-and-oil mixture, followed by the mashed bananas.
5. Fold in the white choc chips, then place equal quantities in the prepared muffin tin – I use an ice cream scoop and a spatula – and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Weekday Cookies

These cookies are wonderfully easy to make, which makes them perfect for a bit of mid-week baking. They’re based on a recipe from an old Australian Women’s Weekly Cookbook, The Big Book of Beautiful Biscuits, originally named “Weekender Biscuits”. Another great thing about this recipe is that it can be adapted to use whatever you currently have in your pantry or store-cupboard:

No castor sugar? Use brown or raw sugar.
No wholemeal self-raising flour? Use ordinary self-raising flour.
No butter? Use margarine.
No Weet-Bix (probably on account of you not living in Australia or New Zealand)? Easily replaced with Corn Flakes.
And as for the chocolate-chips/dried fruit/nuts filling: use any combination of white/milk/dark chocolate-chips, sultanas, raisins, currants or other soft dried fruit, and chopped pecans or walnuts. Mix-and-match using whatever’s at hand.

Makes 25-30 biscuits.

Pre-heat the oven to 180°c/375°F/Gas Mark 4. Beat together 1/3 castor sugar with 125g softened butter, until light and fluffy. Crack in an egg, beat to combine.

Add 1 cup of self-raising flour (regular or wholemeal), 1/2 cup crushed Weet-Bix or Corn Flakes, and 1 cup chocolate-chips, fruit and/or nuts. In the pictures, I’ve used roughly 60/40 dark choc-chips/sultanas. Using a generous cup-full of chocolate/fruit/nuts ensure that the biscuits are chocked-full of goodies, just the way I like them 🙂

Stir until well combined.

Using a teaspoon, scoop up heaped teaspoonfuls of mixture, roll lightly and place on a tray lined with baking paper.

Place the trays in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden. Allow to cool slightly on a rack before eating. They will keep in an air-tight container for 2-3 days.

Chicken and Leek Pies

This recipe is a cross between Jamie Oliver’s Rabbit and Leek Pie from Jamie’s Great Britain and Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall’s Chicken and Leek Pasties from River Cottage Everyday, with a couple of twists of my own. The leeks make these pies lovely and sweet, and they are always a huge hit.

Make 10-12 pies (each pie serves approx 1).

Dice 2 chicken fillets into 1cm cubes (they are easiest to dice while still slightly frozen), or cut up the meat from a pre-cooked roast chicken. If using the chicken fillet, place a good lug of olive oil in a fry pan on a medium heat, then add the chicken with a good pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper. Cook for around 10 minutes, until cooked through and going golden.

While the chicken is cooking, finely chop 3 rashes of bacon, 3 medium leeks and an onion. Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the pan and place it in a clean bowl. Add a nob of butter to the fry pan (still on a medium heat!) and add the bacon, onion and leeks, along with 3 springs-worth of thyme leaves, or a good shake of dried thyme leaves. Let this cook for around 10 minutes, stirring every minute or so, until the leeks and onion soften and become silky and gorgeous. Add 150mL thickened or double cream. Stir it through, then allow the leek and cream mixture to bubble away and thicken for 5 minutes, stirring regularly. After 5 minutes, add the chicken, a heaped teaspoon of wholegrain mustard, around 2 cups of frozen peas and season with sea salt and ground black pepper. Stir to combine.

Now to make your pies (I really hope this all makes sense!!). Have 5-6 sheets of de-frosted squares ready rolled puff pastry. Cut them in half from corner to corner, creating two right-angle triangles. Place your triangles on a tray lined with baking paper, with the right angle on your right (see picture below). Place one large serving-spoonful of the chicken mix in the middle of the triangle. Pull the corner on the bottom left across to the right-angle corner, and crimp the edge. Add another half serving-spoonful to the pastry, and pull the top corner down to the right-angle corner. Crimp the edge, and pat down the top, so there are no gaps.

You can fit four pies to a tray.

Cook in a pre-heated oven at 180°C/375°F/Gas Mark 4 for around half an hour, or until the pastry is crisp, puffed and golden.

Serve immediately. Any leftover pies can be stored in the fridge for a couple of days, and, though the pastry goes a little soggy, are great re-heated for lunches.