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Jamie Oliver Smoothie Pancakes with Berries, Banana, Yoghurt and Nuts

Posted on October 10, 2015 by The quirk and the cool

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Super food, super easy and super good! Jamie’s latest book Everyday Super Food is a bit of a revelation, crammed full of beautiful, colourful, easy recipes that are really healthy.

The research, the nutritional information, and the carefully planned and written recipes make this book a must-read and a must-cook. I’m big on flavour, and what I’ve cooked so far is bursting with it …I can’t  wait to cook more!

If you love cooking, love really tasty food, and would like to feel that you are doing your bit to eat healthily, then get Everday Super Food. It’s common sense, not faddish, and do-able!

I made Smoothie Pancakes with Berries, Banana, Yoghurt and Nuts today. I went for blueberries, next time I’ll try raspberries. I didn’t realize till I was making the recipe that there was no sugar – the blueberries are sweet enough – even for the sweet tooth of this quirky writer! The drizzle of honey on the pancakes themselves when serving adds that little extra sweetness which is nice. Here is Jamie’s recipe very slightly tweaked.

Ingredients

320g blueberries or raspberries

1 ripe banana

170ml semi-skimmed milk

1 large free-range egg

250g wholemeal self raising flour

To serve

4 tbs natural yoghurt

Sprinkle of ground cinnamon

30g mixed unsalted nuts, chopped

Drizzle of honey

Method

Blitz half the berries, peeled banana, milk, egg and flour in a food processor or blender to make a smooth pancake batter. Fold in the remaining berries. Place a large non-stick frying pan on a medium high heat. When hot, put some batter into the frying pan to make large pancakes or small ones. I went for smallish. Cook for a couple of minutes on each side, or until crisp and browned. Jamie suggests flipping them for an additional 30 seconds each side to ensure they are super crispy. This seemed to work for me.

You can serve whole, or slice the pancakes in half so you can see the fruit. Serve with a spoonful or two of yoghurt, a sprinkling of cinnamon, some chopped nuts and a drizzle of honey over the whole lot. Delish.

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Posted in Breakfast, Healthy, Pancakes, Crumpets and Waffles, Sweet Food and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Jamie Oliver’s Happy Cow Burgers and Old School Coleslaw

Posted on September 7, 2014 by The quirk and the cool

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These are veggie burgers  – and if you minus the feta, they are vegan too! Aptly named “Happy Cow Burgers” as there is no “cow” in the recipe.

The recipe is from Jamie Oliver’s 15 Minute Meals, and I have listed the recipe pretty much as Jamie wrote it with a couple of my own tweaks.

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Ingredients

Burgers

1 bunch fresh coriander

1 x 400g tin of mixed beans

200g frozen broad beans

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1 lemon (zest for the burger mix, juice for the coleslaw)

1 heaped tbs plain flour, plus extra for dusting

Olive oil

2 large ripe tomatoes

Cos or any long lettuce leaves

4 gherkins

75g feta cheese

4 burger rolls or 2 long bread rolls

Tomato chutney, to serve

Coleslaw

1/2 small white or red cabbage

1/2 red onion

4 heaped tbs fat-free natural yoghurt

1 heaped tsp wholegrain mustard

1 tsp brown sugar

Method

Put the coriander stalks into the processor (reserving the leaves), then drain the mixed beans and add, along with the broad beans, a pinch of salt and pepper, the cayenne, cumin, ground coriander, grated lemon zest and flour. Whiz until fine and combined, scraping down the sides of the processor if needed.

Tip the mixture on to a generously flour-dusted board, divide into 4 pieces, then roll each ball into a ball and flatten into a patty about 2.5cm thick, dusting your hands and the burgers with flour as you go. Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into the frying pan, followed by the burgers, pressing them down with a spatula and flipping them when golden. Slice the tomatoes and gherkins and place on a serving board with lettuce and crumbled feta. Heat the rolls in the oven, if you want them warm. If the buns are a really soft and fresh, serve as is.

Swap to the grater in the processor, then grate the cabbage and peeled red onion, and tip into a bowl. Chop the coriander leaves and add, with the yoghurt, mustard, and the juice of the zested lemon and brown sugar, then toss well and season to taste. Remove the rolls from of the oven if heating them, and cut them in half.

Serve burger patties with tomato chutney, coleslaw, feta, tomatoes and gherkins.

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Posted in Salads, Savoury Food, Vegetarian and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Gordon Ramsay’s Halloumi, Zucchini and Herb Cakes

Posted on July 21, 2014 by The quirk and the cool

IMG_3905These interesting halloumi and vegetable cakes are delicious and a nice vegetarian option to make for a simple lunch or supper.

The recipe is based on Gordon Ramsay’s recipe from his app:

Gordon Ramsay Cook with Me: https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/gordon-ramsay-cook-with-me/id394892688?mt=8

I used 250g of halloumi rather than the 500g in the recipe for a more “vegetable” cake.

Ingredients

2 medium carrots, peeled and grated

1 zucchini (courgette), grated

250g halloumi cheese, grated

2 spring onions, finely chopped

1 tbsp chopped coriander

1 tbsp chopped mint

2 free-range eggs lightly beaten

2–4 tbsp breadcrumbs

Olive oil, for frying

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Put the grated carrots and zucchini (courgettes) in a colander and sprinkle with a large pinch of salt to draw out the moisture.

Place over a bowl to drain for 5 minutes, then tip into a clean tea towel and squeeze out all the excess water.

Put the haloumi, carrot mixture, spring onions, coriander and mint into a bowl, season and mix together. Add the beaten eggs and mix well, then stir in 2 tbsp of the breadcrumbs. The mixture should be firm enough to form into patties, if it’s not, add some more breadcrumbs. the moisture content from the vegetables can be variable.

Shape the mixture into 6-8 large cakes or smaller of you prefer. To help shape the haloumi cakes place a large spoonful of the mix onto a spoon and press against your hand and squeeze out any excess liquid. Leave in the fridge uncovered for at least half an hour to firm up.

Heat a large heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat. Add a dash of oil and fry the haloumi cakes until dark golden and crisp on either side.

Serve with some coriander to garnish and a dash of sweet chili sauce.IMG_3922

 

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Leek and Free Range Bacon Quiche

Posted on November 3, 2013 by The quirk and the cool

IMG_5806A leek and bacon quiche is more interesting than straight quiche Lorraine, the leeks adding a subtle depth of flavour.

I also made a little vegetarian quiche with just leeks and onion as well – just follow the recipe below omitting the bacon. You will need to fry the leeks and onions in butter, adding this at the start of cooking.

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The short crust pastry recipe for the pastry base is Maggie Beer’s full proof sour cream pastry – very easy to make, easy to roll out and tastes delicious.

Maggie Beer’s Sour Cream Pastry
Ingredients
200g chilled unsalted butter
250g plain flour
135g sour cream

Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C, 170 degrees C fan forced.
To make the sour cream pastry, pulse butter and flour in a food processor until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Add the sour cream and continue to pulse until the dough starts to incorporate into a ball. Using your hands, shape pastry into a ball. Wrap in plastic film and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
 Roll the pastry out to 3mm thick and place in a well greased fluted quiche tin.
Rest for 15 minutes in refrigerator. This helps reduce shrinkage when cooking. Remove from the fridge, place some pie weights on baking paper inside the tart, and bake blind in the pre-heated oven for 10-15 minutes. Remove the pie weights and baking paper.
Decrease oven temperature to 170 degrees C, 160 degrees C fan forced.

Filling
Ingredients
6 rashers of free range bacon
I large onion finely chopped
1 extra large leek or 2 medium leeks, finely chopped
A knob of butter
Salt, pepper
4 free range eggs
1/2 cup cream
3/4 cup milk
Salt, pepper and freshly grated nutmeg
Handful of grated cheddar

Method
Heat a large non-stick frying pan. Add finely chopped bacon rashers over medium heat, and fry till bacon fat is translucent. Add finely chopped onion, and cook for a couple of minutes.
Add finely chopped leek and the knob of butter.
Stir gently, cover and cook on very low heat until onions and leeks are soft. (About 10 minutes).
Meanwhile, in a bowl or large jug (the latter is very useful as you can pour the custard into the quiche tin easily), beat the eggs, cream and milk together until thoroughly combined. Add salt, pepper, fresh nutmeg and cheddar.
Spoon the leek, onion and bacon mixture into the tart.
Carefully pour the custard mixture into the tin. (I find it easiest to place the tin in the oven first before pouring).
Bake until the custard is just set but still wobbly – about 30-40 mintues depending on your oven.
Carefully remove and leave to cool slightly before serving, or alternatively leave to cool before freezing.

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Posted in Pies, Tarts and Quiches, Savoury Food and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.
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