Showing posts with label savoury breads. Show all posts
Showing posts with label savoury breads. Show all posts
I think Pizza is one of my all time favourite food groups, so when I saw a recipe for Pizza Muffins on the Donna Hay site a while back I put it on my "to bake" list! They really appealed to me, however I did not want twelve muffins, so I have small batched it!
The muffin now makes only six delicious, flavour-filled, cheesy muffins. I also adapted the recipe a tiny bit because . . . how could I not? I just have to fiddle with things. I can't help myself.
I will put my hand up at the start and let you know, yes . . . I AM one of those miscreants that thinks ham and pineapple are good on pizza! I do not apologise for that fact. We are all different!
Her recipe had pineapple, ham and a bit of tomato paste in it, but that didn't shout pizza to me, so I added some Italian Garlic Seasoning and grated Parmesan cheese, along with the regular cheese. (Now we're talking!)
What is pizza without those two things??? You need some Italian herbs and some garlic on a pizza and Parmesan cheese . . . it is like a Pizza's best friend!
I didn't get really high crowns like I usually do on my muffins. The cheese on top probably hampered their growth. If you look at her recipe and photo, you will see that hers don't have high crowns either. In fact she baked hers in little paper loaf cases.
I did not bake mine in paper cases. I buttered my medium sized muffin tins really well instead. I have had too many things like pineapple and cheese stick to paper cases and I did not want that to happen.
It was a good call as they did not stick and I ended up with lovely crusty sides and bottoms, which contrasted well with those lovely light insides.
Adding the Italian Seasoning was another good call as I think they would have been rather bland without it. In fact if I make them again I will up it to 3/4 tsp rather than 1/2.
Make sure you cut your ham into a tiny dice. I did it 1/4-inch which is very easily done. Just cut the ham into strips, stack them and then cut crosswise into the dice.
I think you could up the ante as well by adding a few other pizza ingredients, such as chopped olives or/and red onions, or peppers. You could use crumbled crisp bacon instead of ham if you wanted to.
Leave out the ham and pineapple and use chopped pepperoni and peppers! Onions . . . peppers!
I think you could really make these over the top delicious by adding a few extras!
We enjoyed these warm with a nice salad for lunch! (Italian dressing of course.) They would also go very well with soup!
Pizza Muffins (small batch)
Yield: 6 muffins
prep time: 9 Mcook time: 30 Mtotal time: 39 M
These are light and delicious and filled with lovely flavours. Ham, pineapple, plenty of cheese, some herbs and a bit of tomato. Scrumptious! They make a lovely light lunch!
Ingredients:
- 225g self rising flour (1 1/2 cups)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic Italian seasoning
- 75g chopped ham (about 3 ounces)
- 75g crushed pineapple, well drained (1/3 cup)
- 1 TBS tomato paste
- 1 large free range egg
- 125ml milk (1/2 cup)
- 80ml vegetable oil (1/3 cup)
- 90g coarsely grated strong cheddar cheese, divided (3/4 cup)
- 1 TBS grated parmesan cheese
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 6-cup nonstick muffin tin really well. Set aside.
- Stir the flour, baking powder, Italian seasoning and 60g (1/2 cup) of the cheese ogether in a bowl. Stir in the ham, mixing all together well.
- Whisk together the oil, tomato paste, egg, milk, and pineapple to combine. Add all at once to the dry ingredients and mix together until just combined. Divide between the six prepared muffin cups.
- Mix together the parmesan cheese and the remaining cheddar. Sprinkle over top of the batter in the tin.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of one comes out clean.
notes:
You can easily make your own self rising flour. For every cup of pain/allpurpose flour add 1/2 tsp of baking powder and 1/4 tsp of salt.
What kind pizza toppings are your favourite? I love pizza with everything on it . . . Italian sausage, mushrooms, peppers, onions, pineapple, ham and plenty of cheese!
As anyone who has been reading this blog for a while knows, the Toddster
is really not very fond of pasta at all. I do make it from time to
time, but more often than not I make something completely different for
him, or he has the sauce, but on a potato instead. I adore pasta myself and cannot imagine anyone not loving it, but then again, I would never eat snails or frogs legs, but there are a lot of people who adore them. I guess we all have our own likes and dislikes, and its okay!
Today I cooked a simple spicy tomato cream sauce to have with some cappellini. I chose this for a number of reasons . . . one . . . I quite
simply adore simple tomato sauces, using tinned tomatoes. (I always
use a really good Italian brand myself, Ciro brand . . . especially when it's a sauce
that isn't going to be cooked for a long time period.) You want to use a tinned tomatoe that has a really nice flavour, and Cirio are the best tasting in my opinion. (You probably get tired of hearing me say that I know!)
Two, this is a really quick, QUICK sauce to make. It's done in
approximately the same time as it takes to cook your pasta, 10 minutes
tops.
*Cappellini with a Spicy Tomato-Cream Sauce*
Serves 4Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to the boil over high heat. While you are waiting for it to boil, heat the oil in a large deep saute pan. Add the garlic, pepper flakes and some salt. Cook, stirring, just until the garlic becomes very fragrant. Tip in the tomatoes and their juices. Bring to the boil, then reduce and simmer until fairly thickened, about 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the cream and heat through. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Keep warm. Add your cappellini to the boiling water, stirring to separae the strands, Cook according to the package directions. Drain well, reserving about a cup of the cooking water. Toss the drained pasta in the hot sauce, along with some of the cooking water and the parsley to combine. Top with some cheese and serve immediately, passing more cheese at the table.
Note - if you are watching the calories, you can use an equivalent amount of undiluted low fat evaporated milk in place of the cream. You can also cut the amount of olive oil in half with no problem.
I am one of those people who always has to have garlic bread with my pasta. I am not sure why that is, only that it is. I like to make my own. The ready made ones you buy in the shops just taste really foul to me. Yes, I AM a garlic bread snob.
Its such a simple thing really, making your own, and it tastes a bazillion times better! Mix together the butter, herbs,
seasoning and half the cheese and spread it on the cut edges of a loaf
you have cut in half horizontally. Then sprinkle on the remaining
cheese, cut almost all the way into 2 inch thick slices, wrap in foil
and bake. So yummy!
Its perfect for anytime really . . . with your pasta dinners,
or even as an appetiser while you and your family or guests wait for the
main course to be done. Oh, its even great with salads! And, simple
really. Such a simple thing to do.
*Herbed Garlic Cheese Bread*
Serves 8
125g of butter at room temperature (1/2 cup)
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
90g freshly grated Parmesan cheese (1/2 cup)
1 TBS finely chopped fresh basil
1/2 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme
1/4 tsp fresh oregano leaves
fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 large french loaf or sourdough loafPreheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Have ready an oven tray and two very large sheets of aluminiun foil.
Cream together the butter, garlic, 1/2 of the cheese and all the herbs, salt and pepper. Cut your loaf of bread with a serrated knife in half horizontally through the middle. Spread half of the butter mixture onto each half loaf. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Using the same knife make cuts two inches apart down through each half loaf about 3/4of the way down, leaving it attached at the bottom.
Cover with the aluminium foil, leaving a gap at the top so that the cheese mixture doesn't touch the foil. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, open up the foil and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes. Serve immediately.
Note - You can use dry herbs if you wish, just use roughly half of the amounts listed for each.
Pasta with a great sauce and crisp hot bread . . . this is heaven on earth to me. I dare say I am not alone in that! Bon Appetit!
Have you ever bought ready made garlic cheese bread at the shops? I have and it is gross. Sorry if I have offended anyone. I seriously doubt they even use real butter in it. It smells garlicky, yes, but also hugely artificial! I much prefer my own homemade Herbed Garlic Cheese Bread.
There is nothing artificial here. It is nothing but pure ingredients. Butter. Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese . . . not the already grated. Grating your own is far superior.
Fresh garlic cloves . . . peeled and minced. I add three for a large loaf, but if you want more you could certainly add more. I think three is the perfect mount however.
When I make it at this time of year I take advantage of the fresh herbs growing in the garden. But of course if you cannot get the fresh herbs you can use dried, just cut the amounts in half.
You can use any kind of loaf with this really, but I like a nice crusty French loaf. Not a baguette, but a full sized loaf. You can also use a sour dough loaf. This is an organic French loaf.
Its such a simple thing really. Mix together the butter, herbs, seasoning and half the cheese and spread it on the cut edges of a loaf you have cut in half horizontally. Then sprinkle on the remaining cheese, cut almost all the way into 2 inch thick slices, wrap in foil and bake. So yummy!
Perfect for all of your summer BBQ dinners, or with your pasta dinners, or even as an appetiser while you and your family or guests wait for the main course to be done. Oh, its even great with salads! And, simple really. Such a simple thing to do.
With just enough butter, just enough garlic, just enough herbs and just enough cheese. You can't go wrong.
This is so good I don't know why you are still sitting there reading
this. You need to get to the store now and pick up that fresh loaf of
bread so you can make this for supper tonight! Bon Appetit!
Herbed Garlic Cheese Bread
Yield: 8
prep time: 5 Mcook time: 15 Mtotal time: 20 M
This is the perfect bread to go with pasta or your BBQ dishes. It also makes a great appetizer while everyone is waiting for dinner. This also makes great use of all the fresh herbs in the garden at the moment.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup (120g) of butter at room temperature
- 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
- 1/2 cup (90g) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 TBS finely chopped fresh basil
- 1/2 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme
- 1/4 tsp fresh oregano leaves
- fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1 large french loaf or sourdough loaf
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Have ready an oven tray and two very large sheets of aluminium foil.
- Cream together the butter, garlic, 1/2 of the cheese and all the herbs, salt and pepper. Cut your loaf of bread with a serrated knife in half horizontally through the middle. Spread half of the butter mixture onto each half loaf. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Using the same knife make cuts two inches apart down through each half loaf about 3/4of the way down, leaving it attached at the bottom.
- Cover with the aluminium foil, leaving a gap at the top so that the cheese mixture doesn't touch the foil. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, open up the foil and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes. Serve immediately.
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I was recently asked if I would like to participate in a Challenge put forth by the People from The Laughing Cow to create some scrumptious recipes using their Extra Light low fat cheese spread triangles and leftovers! You know me, I do love a good challenge and this recipe here today is the first which I have come up with for them.
I've never made it any secret that I hate to waste anything . . . cooked veg, cooked rice or pasta, cereal, stale bread. I often use my stale bread to make bread crumbs (which I freeze) or bread pudding . . . but if I am feeling especially indulgent, I use my stale bread to make this delicious Cheesy Garlic Bread.
I have to confess that when I first moved over here to the UK, the idea of cheese and onion anything really grossed me out. It was just not a flavour combination I was used to . . . kind of like the way peanut butter and jam grosses out a lot of Brits!
I am a huge fan of quick breads . . . muffins, loaves . . . scones, biscuits. Scones and biscuits are really quite similar. The basic ingredients are essentially the same . . . flour, butter or shortening, milk or cream, leavening, and a bit of salt and possibly sugar.
The method of preparation, too, is pretty similar . . . you sift the dry ingredients, cut in the fat, and add the liquid. As with biscuits, the scone dough is rolled and cut into shapes.
I guess the main difference is in texture. Generally speaking, Scones are crumbly and biscuits are flaky!
I think another difference lies in the type of fat which is used, and in how you incorporate it. Traditionally in biscuits the fat is cut in with a pastry blender and in scones it is rubbed in with the fingertips.
In a scone, more often than not you will use butter and in
a biscuit . . . vegetable fat of some sort, but that is not always the
case . . . and too, scones tend to be more on the sweet side than the
savoury.
These flaky savoury breads I am showing you here today are called biscuits . . . but they use butter instead of vegetable oil and the fat is rubbed into the flour mixture, instead of cut into it with a pastry blender . . .
So in those respects they are more like scones . . . but
they are not sweet in the least. These are also a bit sturdier and flakier than a
scone . . .
Which is not to say that they are heavy, because they are not heavy in the least.
These are delightfully light and filled with lovely layers .
. . flaky buttery layers . . . with pockets oozing with rich soft goats cheese . . .
and lovely little flecks of oniony chives. These go wonderfully with soups and stews . . . with sliced meats and cheeses. Heck they would even be fabulous with bacon and eggs for breakfast.
We enjoyed them today with hot mugs of soup. They went down a real treat. I had halved the recipe because I did not have enough goats cheese to do a full recipe.
I forgot to pick some up when I did my shopping yesterday . . . but happily they turned out just beautifully, despite halving the recipe. Flaky. Rich. Savoury. Moreish.
*Flaky Goat Cheese and Chive Biscuits*
Makes 16 2-inch square biscuits 
Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7.
Sift the flour, baking powder and soda into a bowl. Whisk in the salt, pepper and parmesan cheese. Drop in the butter. Work it into the flour mixture using your fingertips or a pastry blender, until you have the butter about half incorporated and half pea sized bits remaining.
Stir in the chives and crumble in half of the goats cheese. Add the
buttermilk a bit at a time, stirring it in with a fork, until the dough
just begins to clump together and there are no dry floury bits
remaining. You may need all of the buttermilk, or less, or more,
depending on your flour and the day. Gently knead in the bowl a few
times to form a ball.
Mentally divide the dough in quarters lengthwise.
Crumble 2/3 of the remaining goats cheese into the centre two quarters.
Fold the outer two quarters over to meet in the centre from the short
edges. Turn the dough so that the short side is facing you.
Sprinkle
the remaining goats cheese down one half of this and fold the other half
over to enclose, like a book. Pat out gently to flatten slightly and
then roll it up into a loose spiral beginning at the narrow end. Pat
the dough out into an 8 inch square that is about 3/4 inch thick.
Trim
the edges with a sharp knife and then using a straight up and down cut
with a sharp knife, cut into 16 2-inch squares. Place them onto a
baking sheet which is lined with baking paper, leaving several inches in
between each.
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until they are well risen and golden brown. Allow to cool for five to ten minutes prior to indulging. Best on the day they are baked, but these will keep at room temperature for several days. Reheat in the oven for a few minutes to crisp up.
Note - You can successfully cut the recipe in half and it works fine. Also you can freeze the biscuits prior to baking for use at another time. Freeze solid on the baking sheet and then pack into zip lock bags to bake off when you like. Partially thaw prior to baking.
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