Churro's

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안녕하세요

(Annyeonghaseyo)

こんにちは 

(Konnichiwa)

你好

(Ni Hao)

It's been a few years since I baked any of the sweet treats from the Pinch of Nom recipe books. I was looking at some things to bake back in January as we were heading to Manchester. I've never attempted to make churro's, so I decided to give them a go.

This recipe can be found in the Quick & Easy recipe book, in the Sweet Treat chapter.

Let's get baking!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tbsp brown granulated sugar

55g unsalted reduced-fat butter

125ml water

1/4 tsp salt

90g plain flour

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

1 tbsp granulated sweetener

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Pre-heat your oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas Mark 7.

In a small saucepan combine the brown granulated sweetener, reduced-fat butter, water and salt. I used a sugar alternative to demerara sugar as none of my local supermarkets had brown granulated sweetener.

Heat slowly over a medium heat until the butter has melted.

Bring to the boil and take off the heat.

Tip in the flour and beat until it forms a ball and comes away from the sides of the pan.

Add the vanilla extract and egg.

The mixture will look like it's separated at first, but carry on mixing and it will come back together and turn glossy.

Line two baking trays with greaseproof paper and pour the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a star-shaped nozzle. 

Pipe thirty churro's, approximately 10cm in length, onto the baking sheets, leaving room foe them to spread slightly.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until they are crispy and golden brown in colour.

Mix the sweetener and ground cinnamon in a small bowl and dip each churro in the mix, coating them on all sides.

Leave them on the baking sheets and keep warm in the oven, or serve.

The only difficulty I found with this recipe was the beating the mixture to bring it all together, my mixture wasn't really a pouring consistency so I'm not sure if I over beat the mixture, or didn't beat it enough. As you can see from the pictures, I think I over baked mine as some were a lot darker in colour than a nice golden brown.

I'd definitely give these another try as they were actually nice and I'd love to make the chocolate sauce to give them that something extra.

I'd definitely recommend reheating them and having them warm, they definitely taste better warm.

If you're interested in any of Pinch of Nom's recipe's then you can buy the recipe books in all major supermarkets as well as online retailers Waterstones and Amazon.

See you soon!

안녕

(Annyeong)

さようなら

(Sayonara)

再见

(ZaiJian)

Bye

Pistachio & Cranberry Pork Pie

Hello

안녕하세요

(Annyeonghaseyo)

こんにちは

(Konnichiwa)

你好

(Ni Hao)

I was looking for a recipe for some leftover pork mince that I had, when I came across this recipe that I'd thought would be perfect for Sunday lunch, it's also a good recipe for during the festive period too.

Let's get cooking!

Ingredients:

300g cranberry

3 tbsp caster sugar

juice 1/2 orange

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

4 rashers smoked streaky bacon, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

thyme

sage

500g pork mince

75g pistachio's

nutmeg

Pastry:

450g plain flour

100g lard

4 tbsp milk

1 egg, beaten

Put the cranberries in a pan with the sugar and orange juice.

Bring to a simmer, then cook until the berries start to burst and sauce thickens.

Set aside to cool.

Heat oil in a pan and fry the onion until soft.

Add the bacon and garlic, and cook until the bacon starts to brown. The stir through the thyme, sage and seasoning. I used 1 tsp each of both the thyme and sage.

Allow to cool slightly, then mix with the pork and pistachios.

Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Then set aside.

Heat your oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas Mark 6.

Tip the flour into a bowl with 2 tsp salt.

Put the lard and the milk into a small pan with 150ml of water, then heat until the lard has completely melted.

Pour the mixture into the flour and beat with a wooden spoon until a ball of dough is formed.

Knead briefly on a lightly floured surface until smooth.

Take two-thirds of the pastry and roll out between two sheets of parchment paper into a circle large enough to line the base and sides of a 20cm cake tin.

Press the pastry into the tin making sure to push it into the corners.

Pile half of the filling into the pastry and flatten into an even layer.

Spread over two-thirds of the cranberry sauce, then finish with the remaining pork and roughly smooth the top.

Roll out the remaining pastry between parchment paper and cut to a 20cm round. Place onto the pie and glaze the edge with some beaten egg.

Fold up the overhanging pastry and press down to seal.

Make a steam hole with the tip of a knife, the glaze the pie with more beaten egg.

Cook in the oven for 30 minutes, then reduce the heat to 180C/160C Fan/Gas Mark 4, and continue cooking for a further 40 minutes until the pastry is golden and a skewer inserted into the centre of the pie and left for 10 seconds feels very hot.

Cool on a wire rack.

Serve with the reserved cranberry sauce.

This recipe calls for fresher cranberries than the ones I used, but I couldn't get my hands on any. While they tasted okay in the pie, I definitely would recommend getting the right cranberries as they'll be both juicier and softer. Mine went hard and stuck to the pan while they were set aside.

I've never made pastry this way, and I have to say I find it so much easier and quicker to make it as in the recipe.

The overall flavours were delicious and I really enjoyed it, it went perfectly with mashed potatoes.

I think this is going to be one of the dishes I cook for the New Years Day dinner that I make every year and hopefully it will go down a treat.

If you would like to follow the original recipe, then head over to the BBC Good Food Pistachio & Cranberry Pork Pie recipe page.

See you soon!

안녕

(Annyeong)

さようなら

(Sayonara)

再见

(ZaiJian)

Bye

Simply Cook

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(Annyeonghaseyo)

こんにちは

(Konnichiwa)

你好

(Ni Hao)

Google Images

Cook restaurant quality meals!

Each box comes with 4 recipe kits and 4 step-by-step recipe cards.

Following the recipes, you combine the kits with 4-6 items from your fridge or cupboard.

Then in just 20 minutes  you'll be enjoying a delicious meal for 2-4 people.

First from this box, I cooked the Coronation Chicken Pie. In this kit you get the Garlic & Ginger Paste, Mango Spice Blend and Coronation Paste.

Heat the oven to 200C/Fan 180C/Gas Mark 6.

Prep the filling.

Make the sauce.

Assemble the pie.

Serve!

I liked this pie, I thought all the flavours blended really well together, and the chicken was really juicy.

I think if I cook this again, I'll add some baby potatoes to the dish, along with the veg.

Next from this box, I cooked the Malay Laksa. In this kit you get the Laksa Paste, Chicken Stock and Laksa Garnish.

Fry the chicken.

Add the coconut milk.

Add the noodles.

Serve!

I really liked this, the butternut squash was really nice with the chicken.

The flavours were really nice, I have it in another box ready to cook again.

Lastly from this box, I cooked the Spinach & Paneer Curry. In this kit you get Garlic Paste, Korma Paste and Nigella Seed Blend.

Fry the paneer.

Start the sauce.

Add the spinach.

Serve!

I really liked this curry, it was a nice change from the usual meat curries that we have.

I loved the flavours as well as the paneer, it all worked perfectly.

I'd happily cook it again.

Now let me get to the business side of the Simply Cook boxes, each box comes with 4 recipe kits which include 3 pots of sauces, herb, stock etc, as well as 4 step-by-step recipe cards, that contain the full list of ingredients you'll need, and alternatives etc.

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See you soon!

안녕

(Annyeong)

さようなら

(Sayonara)

再见

(ZaiJian)

Bye