Category: brunches & Snacks

Ingredients: (can also make a 1/2 batch if you prefer)

500g chicken livers (Usually I can find frozen in the supermarket)
250g salted butter
2 large white onions, chopped
2-4 garlic cloves
2-3 bay leaves
40-80ml brandy
white pepper and salt to taste

Melt the butter and saute the onions for about 5 minutes, until soft and translucent, but not coloured.

Add the chicken livers (coarse chop – 1/4rd) and cook on a moderate heat until the livers are cooked. (about 5 minutes?). Season with salt and pepper, add brandy and flambe – stand back – big flame!

Remove from the heat and let it cool. Remove the bay leavess.

Once cooler, blend in a food processor/blender until its smooth and spoon into ramekins or a square pan to cool and set in the fridge.

Once cool, melt some butter and pour over the pate to air-seal the pate until needed.

This is really nice with oatcakes and maybe a little sweet chutney.

8 oz Pigs liver – tubes removed and minced
8 oz Belly pork, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
salt & black pepper
1 tsp dried mixed herb
3 tbl white wine
4 rashes streaky bacon

Mix all together (except streaky bacon) -put in a small bread tin, with bacon on top. Stand in a water bath in the oven and cook for 60-90mins, until pate has shrunk away from the edge of the dish. Pour off the excess fat and allow to cool.

makes 6 crumpets 

Ingredients

• 150g  plain white flour 
• 200ml warm water – c23ºc
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp dried/instant yeast
• Veg oil to cook

• Whisk all tge ingredients together for 2-3 minutes
• Cover the bowl and let proove for 15 to 30 minutes until the surface is bubbly.
• Grease crumpet rings wih oil, ladel a 1/4 cup batter into each ring and cook for 1.5 mins until bubbles appear on the surface.
• Turn heat down and cook until some bubbles start to pop around the edges.
• Turn heat down to medium low and cook for another 3 minutes, until the surface is “set”.
• Remove from the rings and flip to cook the other side – until light brown.
• let cool on a cooling rack so that they con’t get sweaty on the base – eat straight away or toast from cold. You need a lot of butter to eat these properly!

These are a heavier cake batter waffle, good to load up with toppings, but one each is probably where to portion. this recipe makes 6x square deep waffles.

1/2 cup of butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg (large)
1 3/4 cup plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
vanilla extract

Beat the sugar and butter together until its light and whippy. Add the egg, vanilla and buttermilk and mix. It’ll look split – don’t panic.

Add the flour and baking powder, mix and use immediately. (the acidic buttermilk and baking powder will be fluffing up your mix – so the faster you cook it off, the lighter your pancakes..

This recipe came with the Belgian waffle machine, and was really good. quite a firm waffle, and naturally crisp.

Makes 20 waffles:

250g butter
200g sugar
5 eggs
500g flour
5g baking powder
400ml milk

Makes 8 waffles:

100g butter
80g sugar
2 eggs
200g flour
3g baking powder
120ml milk

3 desert spoons of batter per waffle.

Sooo- this batter works really well in a thick waffle iron. The metric tonne of baking powder makes the waffles fizz up and fill any mould. The waffles and light and airy, but not overly crisp.

2 tbl white sugar
2 eggs
3 tbl melted butter
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups flour
3 1/2 tsp baking powder

mix it all up, and let it rest for 10 minutes.

 

My mum makes these every Christmas – a big box of them that comes out for nibbles with drinks. Pretty good with a glass of red.

or beer

or G&T.

or on their own.

Makes about 40.

4ozs butter at room temperature
2ozs semolina
4ozs self raising flour
3ozs vintage cheddar cheese (grated)
½ teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of dry mustard
about 40 halved salted cashew nuts

 

cream together all ingredients except nuts
form into small balls put onto baking sheet
press down to flatten slightly –  top biscuit with nut

Bake at 350F for 15 minutes until pale golden.