These delicious pies are so easy to make and are lovely to eat hot or cold. They work well with seasonal side vegetables or a salad on warmer days. Why not pop them in the picnic basket and bring them cold to the park.
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Scottish Cheddar Cheese Loaf
This delicious traditional Scottish Cheddar Cheese Loaf is lovely fresh out of the oven with a wee spreading of butter on the top. Its cheesy, hearty and delicious dunked into a freshly made soup in the early Spring or Winter months.
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Rhubarb Cream Cake
This delicious butter free light sponge is lovely with the flully cream and sticky rhubarb drizzle. Rhubarb is definitely one of my favourite things about late Spring. I love a good Rhubarb pie but quickly get bored of making pie to use it all up. This little sponge cake was inspired by a Nordic sponge recipe and I think it works really well with the cream and rhubarb.
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Walnut & Date Loaf
I love a slice of this traditional walnut cake in the afternoon with a hot cup of tea, it’s the perfect pick me up before shcool run! It’s a traditional recipe and I love the combination of the crunchy walnuts and sweet pieces of dates in the loaf. There’s not too much icing on the top but you can layer it thicker if you like. I like a thin layer as I feel it adds just enough sweetness to the cake.
You can also vary the toppings on the top of the cake, I’ve added some crunchy chopped walnuts but you could also add date pieces or leave it just as plain simple icing.
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The Best Crispy Duck & Seasonal Slaw
This is just the best combination for a delicious weekend lunch or as a light evening meal with a few baby potatoes. The crispy duck goes really well with my seasonal slaw of celeriac, brussel sprouts and apple
It is cooked simply in the cast iron pan in butter and seasoned lightly with salt and pepper, it really doesn’t require much else to taste delicious. The skin is crisped slowly in the pan and finished off in the oven with a short period of rest afterwards before slicing.
The crunchy slaw is drizzled in a dressing made of mustard, raw honey (for that additional health boost), olive oil and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
You could add a drizzle of sauce and perhaps a red currant or other tart fruity sauce would be delicious here and it would make it slightly more photogenic also but I ask that you try the simplicity of this dish first and I’m sure you will enjoy it!
I really hope you enjoy this crispy duck recipe, it certainly is a new favourite for me!
Love
Seasonal Slaw Recipe
Celeriac (approx 200g)
Brussel sprouts (approx 200g)
Sweet Apples x 2 med
1/4 cup of olive oil
1tsp of mustard
1tsp of honey (preferably raw)
A squeeze of a fresh lemon
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp of chopped walnuts
You can add more veg and apples to increase the quantity.
Slice the celeriac up in chunky pieces, peel the first layers off the sprouts and cut the apple into chunky pieces also.
Run the celeriac, sprouts and apple through the food processor to shred.
Combine the olive oil, mustard, honey, lemon and salt and pepper in a glass and whisk to combine. Adjust the ingredients in the dressing to suit your own tastes if you prefer.
Drizzle over the slaw and mix through, add in the chopped walnuts for extra crunch.
Duck Recipe
Duck breasts with skin
25g of salted butter
Salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 160oc and melt the butter in the cast iron pan on a medium heat.
Season the duck breasts skin side down generously on each side and place into the heated pan, bring the heat up a little gradually and cook for a few minutes each side.
Place the breasts into an oven proof dish and cook for a further 10 mins.
Leave to rest for 5 minutes and slice and serve immediately alongside the slaw.
This dish is best eaten in the colder months and with locally grown organic ingredients if you can source them. It’s great to support smaller businesses and I would highly recommend a visit to your local farmers market or farm shop if you have one.
Luxury Smoked Salmon Christmas Wreath
This delicious smoked salmon salad platter served with an onion cream cheese spread would make the perfect centerpiece of a nibble spread for guests, a delicious Christmas day starter or even a late Christmas Day brunch.
It looks very impressive on the table but it is soooo simple to make and very quick to put together. The combination of ingredients and flavours really work well together and are delicious served on slices of warm crusty bread.
I have used high quality thinly sliced Scottish (of course!) smoked salmon for this dish. The quality is important if you want the flavours just right.
Sprinkled throughout the wreath are bite sized chunks of crunchy cucumbers, ripe avocado chunks, chopped cherry tomatoes, red onion and garnished with spring onions and dill.
I served the wreath up with lemon slices for squeezing on the top and my creamy onion flavoured cream cheese spread. It is absolutely delicious eaten with crusty bread spread with the cream cheese and topped with pieces of salmon and salad.
The ingredient quantities are variable so I’ve based it on what I used to serve my family a small starter portion. So this would feed roughly 4-5 as a nibble or starter. Simply increase if you are serving more.
Ingredients
Salmon Wreath
Smoked salmon slices – about a 400g pack
Half cucumber – quartered length ways then sliced
Half an avocado – scooped whole, sliced then cut into similar sized pieces as the cucmber.
Half a red onion – sliced thinly, then cut into four again
Cherry tomatoes (about 200g) – quartered
2 Spring Onions – Slice thinly
2 tbsp of Dill – chop finely
2 lemons
Cream cheese
1 small tub of cream cheese
Half a red onion, grated or finely chopped
Dill
A squeeze of lemon
Salt and pepper
Crusty bread slices
Split the smoked salmon slices into smaller pieces and display around the plate in a circular fashion. Add the cucumber, avocado, red onion, and cherry tomatoes spread out around the wreath to create a good balance of colour. Sprinkle over the chopped dill and spring onion and season lightly with salt and pepper. Remember it will be quite salty already due to the smoked salmon. Quarter the lemons and display in the middle around the bowl of cream cheese (recipe below).
Empty the cream cheese into a large bowl and add in the grated onion, chopped dill, a squeeze of lemon and season with salt and pepper. Mix well and transfer to a small bowl. Position this bowl in the center of the wreath and arrange the lemon pieces around it.
We spread some slices of the crusty bread with the cream cheese and topped off with pieces from the wreath.
Enjoy!
Hazelnut & Chocolate Stollen
This version of the traditional Christmas Stollen is absolutely delicious!
If you make just one thing this Christmas let it be this ‘Chocolate & Hazelnut Stollen’ bake filled with the colourful sweetness of cranberries, apricots, chocolate chips and the delicious blend of Christmas spices.
We enjoyed a slice of this warm with some delicious warmed spice apple juice. It’s so quick to pop on this delicious warming drink while you wait for the dough to rise and it makes the perfect accompaniment with a slice of Stollen by the fire. I have included the recipe below for you.
Spiced Apple Juice Recipe
4 liters of apple juice
1 sliced apple
1 handful of dried cranberries
2 cinnamon sticks or 4tsp of cinnamon
2 tsp of ground cloves
2 tsp of allspice
Pour all of the juice into a huge pot, I love my huge cast iron pot for this with the lid. Add all the spices, apples and cranberries and adjust to your tastes. Simmer for an hr or so and leave on a low heat to serve all evening.
This lasted us a few nights but you could also half the recipe. Its also important to use good quality pressed apple juice instead of concentrate which tends to be too sweet.
Stollen Recipe
100g of dried cranberries
30g of chopped hazelnuts
50g of dried chopped apricots
200ml of warm apple juice (you can use the drink above too, it works really well just make sure its not too hot)
1tbsp of dried yeast
250g of strong white flour (an additional 50g when fruit is added)
2tsp of cinnamon
2tsp of allspice
1/2tsp of ground cloves
80g of chocolate chips
10g of coconut oil
2tbsp of icing sugar
100g of chocolate chips (for melting)
Soak the dried cranberries, hazelnuts and dried apricots in 100ml of hot water and set aside (you can increase the quantities of fruit if you prefer it sweeter).
Add the warm apple juice to a small jug and sprinkle in the dried yeast. Stir gently and set aside to bubble and activate for 15-20mins.
Add the flour, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and coconut oil and mix together. I use the dough hook on my kitchen aid for creating the dough but you can, as described in this recipe, knead by hand.
Once the yeast has been left to activate add it into the flour and spices in the bowl. Mix together to create a smooth dough, adjusting the flour or adding a little water if necessary. You should have a relatively non sticky dough which can be handled without feeling too sticky in your hands. If its too sticky add a little extra flour.
Remove the dough from the bowl for kneading. Add a little vegetable oil to your hands to reduce sticking whilst kneading. Knead for 10 minutes until completely smooth and pliable.
Place in a bowl which has been lightly oiled and cover with a clean dish towel and leave to rise somewhere warm for one hour.
Remove from the bowl again. Drain the soaked dried fruit, nuts and chocolate chips and add to the dough. You might need some additional flour at this point so that the dough doesn’t become sticky due to the extra moisture. Knead for a further 10mins.
Leave to rise again for another hour in the same warm place.
Shape into a rounded loaf shape and bake at 180oc for 30-40minutes or until lightly brown and when tapped on the bottom it should sound hollow.
Leave to cool on a wire cooling rack for around half an hour.
Add the icing sugar into a small bowl with a little water to create a thick but runny paste. You can either paste this onto the whole top of the loaf and finish with a dusting of icing sugar or you can drizzle it as I have in the image above.
Melt the chocolate and drizzle across the loaf. Sprinkle with some additional chopped hazelnuts and slice to serve.
Enjoy!
Spicy Bean & Vegetable Curry
This is my fave spicy curry recipe and it’s so quick and easy to make. I love the blend of freshly grated tomatoes, spices and chillies to make the sauce and the fluffy basmati base soaking up all of the delicious flavours. I have made this recipe spicy as I like hot food but you can adjust it to your tastes by adjusting the chilli quantity.
I love to serve my curry up with some fermented foods, pickles, sauces etc. These are great for dipping any additional elements like poppadoms and naan bread in. In this recipe I have used the fermented ‘Tumeric and Black Pepper Kimchi’. It’s the perfect addition to this dish for taste and of course for the numerous health benefits that fermented foods may have.
I hope you enjoy this recipe!
Ingredients
4 tbsp of Coconut Oil
1tsp of mustard seeds
1 tsp of cumin seeds
a pinch of asafetida
6 medium tomatoes grated (or blend in a small blender)
1/2 tsp of tumeric powder
1 tsp of ground coriander
1 tsp of ground cumin
3 fresh sliced hot green chillies (adjust for more or less heat!)
2 finely chopped cloves of garlic
1 tsp of grated fresh ginger
1 tsp of sugar
1 tsp of salt
2 tsp of coconut oil
A selection of sliced fresh vegetables
A tin of beans of choice, kidney beans work really well!
Heat the coconut oil on a medium heat in a large flat pan, I use my large flat cast iron casserole pan. Once the oil has melted add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and asafetida. When the mustard seeds start popping add in the fresh tomatoes. Stir, then add in the tumeric powder, ground coriander, ground cumin, chillies, garlic, ginger, sugar and salt. Leave simmering on a low heat.
Heat up the coconut oil in another pan and add in the sliced vegetables, beans and cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes. Season and then add into the simmering curry sauce. Cook gently for 20 minutes and serve with freshly cooked basmati rice. I use my pressure cooker settings for fluffy white basmati rice, a rice cooker works well too.
Serve up with pickles, sauces, breads and poppadom. Enjoy!
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Love Angie x
Christmas Tree Wholemeal Spelt Rolls
These fluffy rolls are perfect served alongside the ‘Creamy mushroom & chestnut pate’. Serve them freshly baked, warm out of the oven and pour the drizzle over just as your about to eat them. Delicious!
Recipe – Creamy Mushroom & Chestnut Pate
Ingredients
2tbsp of dried yeast
750ml warm almond milk
50g of coconut oil
950g of wholemeal spelt flour
2tsp of salt
1/2 finely chopped red onion
2 finely chopped garlic
1/2 cup of olive oil
Finely chopped rosemary (or other chopped herbs)
Mix the yeast, warm almond milk and coconut oil together in a large bowl and leave for 15mins. Sift the flour and salt into the bowl. Stir together until a dough forms, adding a little extra flour or milk to create a non sticky dough. I love to use the dough hook on my kitchen aid to form the dough and for the kneading but hands work just as well.
Remove and knead the dough for 10 minutes on a floured surface. Return the dough to the bowl and cover with a clean tea towel. Leave to rise for one hour in a warm place.
Tip the dough back out onto the floured work surface and knead it again. Split the dough in half and keep splitting until you have around 26 small pieces.
Place some of them out onto a greased baking tray in the shape of your choice. I decided on a Christmas tree shape. Leave to rise again for 20minutes.
Bake at 200oc for 20-25mins. Meanwhile fry the onion and garlic in the olive oil on a gentle heat until soft. Set aside for drizzling.
Remove rolls and add the drizzle to serve. Best enjoyed immediately. Enjoy!
Chocolate Cinnamon Spiced Pancakes
I made these delicious chocolate pancakes with the delicious Pacari (details below) hot chocolate and cinnamon blend which was kindly gifted to me earlier this year by them to experiment with in recipes. Its delicious and in my opinion is a very good quality cacao for baking and hot chocolate.
I topped off these pancakes with chopped pears, seeds and nuts but you could use a variety of toppings of your choice.
They are dairy and egg free and yet still delicious! I love making a batter or cake type recipe without eggs as it means I can lick all the spoons and thats the best bit. Right? Yum yum!
The recipe is super easy and great for a lazy Sunday brunch or breakfast with the kids! They loved it of course and enjoyed it with a drizzle of date syrup. It would also make a delicious Christmas breakfast!
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups of spelt flour
3tbsp of cacao powder (I used Pacari’s Cinnamon blend)
2tsp of baking powder
1/2tsp of salt
1 cup of almond milk
1tbsp of melted coconut oil
3 tbsp of agave or maple syrup
1tsp of vanilla
A small handful of chocolate chips (optional)
Fruit, nuts and seeds for the topping
Drizzle – agave, maple syrup etc.
Whisk all the ingredients together adding in more flour or milk to create a thick batter. Melt a tiny amount of coconut oil on a pancake pan and spoon on a tbsp or two to make the desired size of pancake. Sprinkle on a few chocolate chips if using.
Flip once tiny bubbles appear and cook for another minute or so on the other side. Drizzle with maple syrup or date syrup and top with chopped fruit, nuts and seeds of choice. Enjoy!
Check out Pacari’s top quality chocolate products at the link below. They are also fairly traded which is important to me. 🙂
Pacari website – https://home.pacarichocolates.uk/