Tag Archives: recipes. Chutney making

Food Monday ~ Bread

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At some stage last year I visited a small craft & food fair.

Being small it gave ample opportunity to chat to all the exhibitors. The food stalls had the added bonus of tasting their wares: Chutneys, jams, breads and cakes. I bought a coffee and wandered happily sipping in the sunshine and talking to every one I met.

One particular bread took my fancy… the memory of the taste stayed with me all day.

Late that night I went searching online… and found exactly what I wanted.
I bookmarked it for use at a future date.

Stuff happens… time passes… and it was the following week before I printed out my recipe.

I was short one vital ingredient and vowed to add it to my shopping list. Again weeks passed into months, but eventually, I remembered to add the required liquid to my basket: A bottle of Guinness.

Truth be told, there was another recipe I wanted to try with Guinness, so my purchase was a 500ml bottle. That covered both recipes and a few mouthfuls to quench my thirst as I worked! By now I think you know where this is going…

Guinness® Bread
Preheat oven to 220°C

75g porridge oats
250g wholemeal flour*
100g dark brown soft sugar
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
50g melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
225ml buttermilk
330 ml Guinness® beer (1 bottle)

Preheat oven to 220 degrees C (gas mark 7). Grease an 23 x 30cm baking.
Mix together the oats, flour, sugar, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. In a separate large bowl, stir together the butter, vanilla, buttermilk and Guinness®. Pour the flour mixture into the beer mixture, and gently stir until well blended. Pour mixture into the prepared baking tin, and sprinkle with additional oats if desired.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, then turn the temperature down to 200°C and bake for an additional 30 minutes. Turn the oven off, open the door, and allow to cool for 30 minutes in the oven before turning out onto a wire rack.
Serve warm with butter and honey.

*I found this to be a very wet mixture, think pouring rather than the usual stiff Wheaten bread, I added a little more wholemeal flour, in Mammy fashion:- Stuck my hand in the bag and sprinkled about half my handful to the mix. One of these days I must weigh ‘my handful’!

The quantities above gave me a 2lb loaf and a skimpy 1lb loaf. I made both Guinness recipes last Monday, the day before Elly & George arrived. Naturally, I cut into the little one as soon as it was cold. I loved it. So did Elly & George.

I have tried it with smoked salmon, hummus, marmalade and with a skim of Chocolate nut spread and topped with mashed banana. They all worked for me. I made it on a Monday and the last two slices were just as soft and delicious on Saturday – five days later. With normal wheaten bread, I would need to toast it by the third day.

I will make it again.

The other recipe will show up next Monday… in the meantime I need visit the off-licence!

Food Monday ~ Roasted tomato, apple and onion chutney

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Chutney needs time and patience and is not for the five minute cook. Stick with it and the rewards can last for weeks or months. Chutney works well with cheese, salads, and cold meats, or as I do: I use it to line my bread in a sandwich.

We made this chutney in three stages, so I have broken up the ingredients & method for each part.

Roasted tomato, apple and onion chutney

Stage 1

1 kg tomatoes.
4-5 cloves of garlic * (optional)
Fresh thyme
sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

Cut the tomatoes in half end-to-end, and place cut side up on a baking tray. Slice 4-5 cloves of garlic, if using, and sprinkle over the tomatoes. Strip several sprigs of fresh thyme, and sprinkle the leaves over the tomatoes. Season with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper and drizzle extra-virgin olive oil over all of the tomatoes.
Place in the oven at 200°F for about 50-60 minutes.

Stage 2

3 large onions, chopped
225g Sultanas
30mls dark brown sugar
30mls balsamic vinegar
extra-virgin olive oil

Heat 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil in a frying pan over a low heat and gently soften the onions for 10 minutes. Raise the heat to medium and add in the balsamic vinegar and brown sugar, stir well and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, add the sultanas and cook for five more minutes.

Stage 3

1 kg Bramley cooking (tart) apples, peeled, cored and chopped to large dice
450 ml water.
150g caster sugar

Place apples and water in a large saucepan. Bring to the boil, reduce heat, and cook 25 minutes, or until apples are tender, stirring occasionally. Add more water as necessary to keep the apples simmering. Reduce heat, add the sugar and dissolve over low heat.

Stage 4

Add the roasted tomatoes, & onion and all their juices plus all the remaining ingredients.

10mls dessertspoons salt
550ml white wine vinegar
5ml mixed spice
5ml Peppercorns
Inch of root ginger, grated **
Good dash of white wine (optional)

Stir well. Bring the mixture to the boil. Reduce heat to a strong simmer for about 3 hours, stirring occasionally, until reduced to a thick chutney. Seal chutney in sterile containers until serving.

* My sister is not a fan of garlic, so we omitted it.
**We had no root ginger, so we added ½ a teaspoon dry ginger &1 tablespoon stem Ginger syrup.

I will make it again, changing the spices with my mood on the day.