Breakfast & brunch

Maslin and banana pancakes with bacon

10.26.2014 by georgie // 2 Comments

I’m a little bit in love with maslin flour.

On a recent trip to the Lake District we made a pit stop at Booths, a Northern supermarket where you can do your average weekly shop whilst also discovering amazing local produce from small specialist suppliers. I make a beeline for this place whenever we are nearby, as I know we are sure to find some Northern food treasure.

This trip I came across maslin flour, a Medieval English blend which is a combination of wheat and rye flour from a local Cumbrian mill (Little Salkeld Watermill). It sounded interesting, so I bought a bag with our new found love of bread making in mind. However yesterday, whilst contemplating Saturday brunch (with one hungover husband), I thought I’d give our usual ‘pancake, bacon and maple syrup’ combo a revamp. Cue our new Medieval flour. The result were incredibly delicious, fluffy yet slightly nutty pancakes, that are low in gluten and light. I’m a maslin flour convert.

RYE AND BANANA PANCAKES WITH BACON

If you haven’t got maslin flour, try replacing with a 1/3 rye flour and 2/3 plain.

Makes 6 pancakes (for 2-3 people)

A little olive oil
6 rashers of smoked streaky bacon
1 ripe banana
1 large free range or organic egg, separated
120g maslin flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
A pinch of salt
A heaped teaspoon of poppy seeds
225ml semi-skimmed milk, ideally organic
Maple syrup
A grating of red chilli (optional)

Place a large non stick frying pan on a medium heat and drizzle in the olive oil. Lay out the bacon rashers and fry until golden and crisp.

Whilst the bacon is cooking make the pancake batter. Mash the banana in a large bowl with the egg yolk. Mix in the poppy seeds, salt, baking powder and maslin flour (don’t worry if the banana sticks in clumps). Whisk in the milk until smooth – the batter should be thick but pourable. In a separate clean bowl whisk the egg white until stiff peaks and then using a large metal spoon fold into the flour mixture. (I find it easiest to start with one spoon of the egg white, to loosen, then folding in the rest).

When the bacon is cooked, push to the side of the pan to keep warm and spoon ladles of the batter into the pan. Cook the pancakes in batches, until golden on one side and then flip over to cook through. Serve with the crispy bacon, a generous drizzle of maple syrup and a grating of red chilli, if you like.

Porridge with caramelised figs and orange blossom

10.17.2014 by georgie // 2 Comments

For the first time this autumn I woke up the other day and really fancied porridge. I get super excited about porridge, which might sound a bit weird for something so… normal? But we didn’t really have it growing up, we were all about a slice of cake and a glass of milk (so continental). I clearly remember one of the first times I had it – I was quite old, about 16, and it was made by my friend Emma’s mum. It was thick and creamy and there was definitely a lot of butter in it, but damn it was good. You could just taste that it was naughty and I was instantly hooked.

Since then my palate has changed a bit, and one of the best bowls of porridge I have ever eaten was at The Breslin in NYC, which I know has no cream or butter but really tastes like it should. The recipe here is based on the deliciousness from the Breslin with a topping I made inspired by the stunning figs spilling out of my fruit bowl.

CREAMY PORRIDGE WITH CARAMELISED FIGS AND ORANGE BLOSSOM

Serves 2

Because this porridge takes a while to cook, I have tried making a double batch on a Sunday evening, cooling it down and keeping it in the fridge. I then just reheated as much as we needed with a little extra milk over the next few mornings. Works a treat.

50g rolled oats (not the quick cook ones)
30g steel cut oats
350ml full fat milk
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 figs, cut into wedges
1 heaped teaspoon coconut oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
A tablespoon of unsweetened coconut shavings
A splash of orange blossom water

Pour the milk into a medium sized non-stick pan with 350ml of water. Place on a high heat and as soon as it starts to come to the boil stir in both the oats and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for around 35 minutes, stirring regularly, until the steel cut oats are cooked through/ no longer have a bite.

About 5 minutes before the porridge is ready, caramelise the figs. Melt the coconut oil in a small non-stick pan over a medium heat and add the fig wedges. After 3 – 4 minutes, when the figs start to turn golden, drizzle in the honey and add the sesame seeds and coconut shavings. Add the orange blossom water and turn the heat up a little. Swirl everything together and caramelise for a couple of minutes, turning the figs to coat in the honey, until thick and sticky.

When the porridge is ready stir in the salt and divide between 2 bowls. Leave to ‘set’ for a minute and then spoon over the figs and honey.

Sesame and banana toastie

09.23.2014 by georgie // 1 Comment

We’ve run away for a little while, island hopping around Greece, being hermits and taking it easy. It is blissful, and quite frankly I don’t want to come home. On the plus side I feel more inspired than I have in a long time and am brimming with recipes ideas from all the beautiful food we have eaten and seen. A lot of it vegetarian and almost all incredibly wholesome.

A quick one for today then, a post dedicated to my love of tahini: sesame seed paste. It is something that has always graced our cupboards and is used heavily in Greek and Middle Eastern cuisine, and has become increasingly popular back home in the UK too. They even sell it in the mini (chain) supermarket in our building now. Straight up it is quite intense (think mouth coating, unsweetened smooth peanut butter) but this vegan, natural ingredient is an all rounder – perfect in sweets and baking, savoury dishes, smoothies, salad dressings – tahini is a winner store cupboard ingredient.

So, inspired by our wonderful surroundings here is a quick brekkie we knocked up on our travels, something I will most definitely be making again.

Sesame and banana toastie

Makes enough for 1 hungry person or 2 breakfast avoiders

A large chunk of Greek sesame bread (koulouri) or 2 large slices of bread
A large ripe banana
A few tablespoons of honey
A tablespoon of tahini
Pinch of ground cinnamon (we didn’t have any to hand but if we had I’d definitely have sprinkled a bit in)
Olive oil
Generous pinch of sea salt

Place your toastie machine to warm up. Alternatively you could do this in a hot griddle pan with a weight on the toastie to squish it down.

Mash the banana with the tahini and enough honey to sweeten, about a tablespoon. Open up the koulouri bread and lightly drizzle the outside with a little olive oil. Alternatively drizzle the bread with a little oil. Pile the mashed banana into the koulouri, or spread onto one of the slices of bread and top with the other (you want the oiled sides on the outside to stop it sticking to the machine or griddle).

Grill your toastie, until golden and slightly caramelised around the edges – a little of the banana and honey may have creeped out the sides. Then transfer to a plate or board and finish with another drizzle of honey and a sprinkle of sea salt.