Ahh Spring. I love this time of year when everything it sprouting in the gardens and we begin to enjoy asparagus, early strawberries and new potatoes.
Back home there is a dish that takes full advantage of all of the early new vegetables called Hodge Podge.
It is a wonderful melange of fresh vegetables . . . peas, carrots, beans, potatoes, etc. briefly cooked and then tossed together in a mix of cream and salt pork.
Oh, it is so good. Its a bit early for that yet . . .
But not too early to be enjoying new potatoes and fresh asparagus.
The fresh asparagus season is very brief, so I try to enjoy it as much as I can this time of year when it is at its very best!
This is a very simple recipe composed of quartered new potatoes and fresh asparagus cut into 2 inch lengths . . .
Tossed together and roasted in the oven with some good olive oil and Balsamic vinegar. Don't use cheap Balsamic . . . you won't get the same delicious flavour. Trust me on this.
You don't want to use the very best quality either as it is so expensive, but you do want to use something somewhere in the middle between the two.
A really fine, pure Balsamic vinegar has a beautiful viscosity and is glossy and dark brown in colour, with a wonderful flavour and velvety texture.
It should have a mellow tartness and not be overly acidic to the taste.
I would not hesitate to eat a good Balsamic alone by the spoonful.
A good Balsamic in the mouth gives you hints of cherry, chocolate, fig, molasses and prune . . . and does not jar the tastebuds at all.
A cheap Balsamic is none of those things. You usually pay a lot more for it than a regular vinegar and in all truth you are wasting your money on something which just isn't worth it.
It IS worth it however to pay a bit more and get something much closer to the real deal.
You can get some very delicious moderately priced Balsamics now that won't cost you the bank and that are perfectly suited to cooking with.
I would never cook with a pure Balsamic, that would be a waste of a vinegar that is better suited to drizzling on berries . . .
Having said all that, you really need to try this recipe now, while the new potatoes and asparagus are at their very best.
This is a simple dish, with anything but simple flavours.
Golden edged potatoes and crispy tender asparagus cuts . . . flavoured with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and bit of garlic . . . and some salt and pepper of course.
I can't think of anything these wouldn't go with!
Balsamic Roasted New Potatoes & Asparagus
Yield: 2
Quick, easy and very delicious. A beautiful sidedish highlighting some of the best flavours of Spring!
Ingredients:
- 1/2 KG of new potatoes (1.1 pounds)
- 250g fresh asparagus (1/2 pound)
- 1 TBS olive oil
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 2 TBS good quality Balsamic vinegar
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Line a baking tray with sides with some aluminium foil.
- Wash and trim the asparagus. Cut into 1 inch lengths. Set aside.
- Wash your potatoes and cut them into quarters. Dry. Put them into a bowl, together with the olive oil, garlic powder, Balsamic vinegar and some salt and pepper. Toss to coat them well. Pour out onto the baking tray.
- Roast in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and add the aspargus. Add a bit more oil if necessary, give everthing a good stir together and return the baking tray to the oven.
- Roast for a further 20 minutes.
- Serve hot with an extra drizzle of Balsamic vinegar if desired.
I drizzled mine with a little bit more balsamic on the plate. Oh boy but these are some good. If you really want something special, you could try a sprinkle of good Parmesan cheese. Wowza wowza!
Oh my goodness everyone. Are you a fan of Bran Muffins? I am. I adore Bran Muffins. I think of all my favourite muffins in the world, Bran top the list! You can't beat a bran muffin for breakfast, at least that is what I thought until now . . . .
Are you ready for a healthy bran loaf recipe? I sure hope so!
Meet Bran & Fruit Breakfast Bread. Bran Muffin's unsophisticated cousin.
When it comes to beauty, she is nothing spectacular to look at . . .
She looks rather plain and dumpy, maybe even a bit lumpy . . .
Bran can be that way. Plain, dumpy and lumpy. Some of the best things in life are plain. Dumpy and lumpy. Kind of like the best people.
She weigh's a ton . . . seriously . . . a ton. (Kind of like me.) Its like holding a brick in your hand. You could build a house with a bazillion of these.
Then you would live in a Bran & Fruit Breakfast Bread house as opposed I guess to a Gingerbread House.
Dense and heavy, and stogged full of dried fruit . . . chopped dried apricots and raisins.
You can switch these out to your favourite dried fruits if you wish. I think Apricot and Prune would be delightful!
Plain and sliced, nothing remarkable.
But . . . pop those slices into a toaster and toast them until the edges are all crispy and golden brown . . .
Cut thin slices of ice cold butter from the refrigerator and lay them across the top of those crisp and golden slices . . .
And then just wait and watch as they melt slowly . . . slowly . . . your tastebuds start to tingle. No kidding . . .
and WOWZA shebang! This Bran & Fruit Breakfast Bread is A-Maze-Ing!
Totally and utterly. AMAZING!!
Containing very little sugar and NO FAT NO EGGS . . .
Filled with plenty of fibre with the bran and the whole wheat flour . . .
Not to mention that dried fruit . . . you won't feel guilty at all slathering hot slices of this with butter . . . because this loaf is fat free, totally . . .
And they're only thin slices of cold butter after all . . . mere slivers . . .
This is truly love at first bite. Truly . . .
Bran & Fruit Breakfast Bread
Yield: 6 - 8
prep time: cook time: total time:
This is a simple, fat free loaf which is stogged full of dried fruit. If you are not fond of apricots and raisins, use another kind of fruit. It's absolutely delicious sliced, toasted and then spread with butter for eating!
Ingredients:
- 150g dried apricots, chopped (3/4 cup)
- 160g raisins (1 cup)
- 70g processed bran cereal (1 cup, I used All Bran)
- 95g soft light brown sugar (1/2 cup packed)
- 375ml warm milk (1 1/2 cups)
- 140g self raising flour (1 cup)
- 70 g whole wheat self raising flour (1/2 cup)
- 1 tsp mixed spice (see note below)
Instructions:
- Measure the dried fruits, bran cereal and brown sugar into a bowl. Add the warm milk and stir. Leave to set for half an hour. Most of the liquid will have been absorbed.
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a medium deep loaf tin and line with paper. Set aside.
- Whisk together the flours and mixed spice to aerate somewhat. Stir into the wet mixture to combine. You will have a wet, stiff mixture. Spread into the prepared pan, leveling off the top.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. If you think it is browning too quickly, cover lightly with some foil.
- Leave iin the tin for 10 minutes to cool, then tip out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Cut into thick slices to serve with a nice hot cuppa. It's ever so lovely toasted and buttered.
- Store in an airtight container.
notes:
Make Your Own Mixed Spice:
You can easily make your own mixed spice: Combine 1 TBS ground cinnamon, 1 tsp each of ground coriander and nutmeg, 1/2 tsp of ground ginger, 1/4 tsp each of ground cloves and all spice. Mix well and store in an airtight container out of the light for up to 6 months.
You can easily make your own mixed spice: Combine 1 TBS ground cinnamon, 1 tsp each of ground coriander and nutmeg, 1/2 tsp of ground ginger, 1/4 tsp each of ground cloves and all spice. Mix well and store in an airtight container out of the light for up to 6 months.
To make your own self raising flour, both white and whole wheat, measure it out cup by cup and add 1 1/2 tsp baking powder per cup full and 1/4 tsp of salt. It is that easy. Trust me.
This breakfast bread also keeps really well. I have never frozen it. I have never needed to. I really hope you will give it a go! Recipe adapted from one found in a little chunky book, Sweet Food, by Murdoch Books.
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