POACHED EGGS, SMOKED SALMON WITH OAT SPINACH PANCAKES


I came across this recipe whilst reading the fabulous Gluten Free Rosie blog. I have been cooking quite a few Ottolenghi recipes recently and as soon soon as I saw Rosie's recipe had been inspired by Ottolenghi I thought I had to try it!

I met Rosie at another supperclub and have already had the pleasure to visit her at her very own supperclub once already. But it's time I went again, especially after trying out one of her recipes from her fantastic blog! It's given me the taste for more of her food. 
Now, I need to state that I am not a coeliac but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy recipes that have been created for coeliacs, especially when Rosie's recipes are just so damn good! So in my recipe I used normal porridge oats, rather than the recommended gluten-free oats. Anyway here is Rosie's recipe:
INGREDIENTS (Serves 4 people)
Pancake dry ingredients
  • 150g certified gluten-free oats or normal oats if you're not a Coeliac
  • 1 tsp gluten-free baking powder
  • 1 large handful of spinach leaves (finely chopped)
  • Pinch of salt and pepper
Pancake wet ingredients
  • 250ml milk
  • 1 egg (whisked)
  • 2 tbsp melted butter
Sumac sour cream sauce ingredients
  • 50g sour cream
  • 75g  Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
  • 1/2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 small garlic clove, crushed
  • 1 tbsp tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 tbsp sumac (a tangy, lemony spice which you can buy in all large Turkish, Arabic and Iranian supermarkets)
  • 1 pinch of salt and black pepper
Piling on top ingredients
  • 4 tsp smoked paprika
  • 4 slices of smoked salmon
  • 4 eggs
    1 tbsp White wine vinegar
  • 4 tsp fresh coriander

METHOD
Pour your oats into a food processor and wizz till you have a fine flour. You'll be putting this through a sieve at a later stage to give you an idea of how fine you should get them.
(I could've made mine finer!)



Sift and whisk the flour and baking powder in a large bowl. Then mix in the finely chopped spinach leaves. Make a well in the centre of the flour mix and slowly add the wet ingredients, whisking well until you have a smooth batter. Leave the batter to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. This allows the baking powder to form bubbles in the batter, leading to light and fluffy pancakes. 





Next, make your sumac cream sauce. Place the yogurt, sour cream, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, sumac (you can get this at most supermarkets now, you'll find it in the herb & spices isle) and seasoning into a small bowl. Stir well and set aside.  

**Please note the cute little metal dishes. Aren't they fantastic! 
They make me feel like I'm Blue Peter "Here's one I prepared earlier". 
One of Ben's xmas stocking gifts off his mum ~ Joan, they're fab and getting used lots! x



Prep your coriander leaves, some wedge of lemon and have the paprika at hand. Using smoked paprika really makes a big difference, so if you find it use it. I've just run out :(
Next, heat a non-stick frying pan. Take ladle full of the batter and pour into the center of the pan, spreading it slightly. Keep the pan on a medium/low heat, no need too rush. Once bubbles start appearing on the surface, carefully turn them over and cook for another few minutes. Once ready transfer them onto a plate with tin foil on top to keep them warm.
Now Rosie does her eggs before doing the pancakes, however I find getting the perfect poached egg quite an intense process (I has gone horribly wrong in the past..) so need everything else done first!
So next make your runny yolk poached egg! I poached mine for 2-3 minutes with a tbsp of white wine vinegar.
Once the eggs are ready place your pancake on a plate followed by a 'swirl' of the sumac sour cream. Next place your egg, topped with the smoked salmon, coriander and paprika.
These were a real hit as was the garlic! Fortunately it was just the two of us but next time I think I shall make an extra sure I find a ubber small clove of garlic ;)


If you have any batter leftover, just cling it and pop it in the fridge. 
You don't half, look amazing when you produce this for brekkie, on a Monday morning before work! 

Now I'm off to try and bag me some tickets for the next GFRWish me luck! 

BURNS NIGHT // DULWICH WOODHOUSE


This Saturday I was invited to go and celebrate Burns night with one of my Half-Scottish friends, Rach. She promised me kilts, burns poetry and haggis. Heading over to Sydenham, I met her and some friends at the Dulwich Woodhouse for the Scottish themed evening.

A few glasses of prosecco kicked off the night, as did some very excitable stories of events that had happened that day. There were stories of horrific storms, scary forests and a hero who saved Kay and Rach from getting stuck on a fence & prevented them from being struck by lightening!? What a hero!


After a catch up we headed over to our table, just in time for the bag-pipes.
He was fantastic and as promised was wearing the full Scottish attire. However there was no stabbing of the haggis due to being sold out for the evening, there was no haggis left to be stabbed!?



Now in the midst of superb Scottish atmosphere the starters arrived. 
We went for the full Burns' night menu for the evening, it only seemed right. 
Kay and I went for the Whiskey cured salmon with beetroot and potato cake. Not the most traditional but Scottish all the same and very tasty.


Rach and Paul went for the more traditional Cullen Skink. Which is a creamy smoked haddock soup with potatoes and onions, that originates from Cullen in Moray. It looked delicious but incredibly rich.


None of us could not resist the Traditional Haggis with neeps and tatties! The Woodhouse served up the Haggis with clapshot and a delicious whiskey sauce. I found out that clapshot is a traditional combination of mashed swede, turnips and potatoes (which originates from Orkney)


This was unbelievably tasty, yet incredibly filling. It may not have the visual elegance of an evening meal however the flavours were fantastic. Who knew I liked haggis so much!?


The meal was finished with another Whiskey infused course! Cranachan, is a mix of fresh raspberries, whiskey, whipped cream, honey and whiskey-soaked oatmeal.


Paul went for the sticky date pudding with toffee and salted caramel ice cream.


The meal was finished off with a couple of Whiskey Macs, which is Whiskey and Green Ginger Wine, but due a mix-up we ended up with whiskey and ginger beer. 
This was a bit of a shame, however it still seemed to hit the spot. 

The evening was completed with a recital of a 'Here's a Bottle', a Robert Burns poem from Rachael in her best Scottish accent. Then we headed off into the night to sooth our whiskey heads.




ORANGE POPPY SEED BUNDT CAKE


I made this Bundt last year and forgot to blog about it. So as I've been meaning to do a recipe post for some time I thought I'd tell you about it now.

As I've mentioned on previous posts I am part of the Borough Belles and am in charge of making sure there is something to eat at the meetings, whether it be Jamaican Patties or Oreo Brownies! I'm in charge of drumming up interest and excitement in the other Belles to bake for the odd meeting however sometimes people are unable to make it at the last minute, so it always good for me to have an emergency cake in the freezer to prevent lack of cake!

This cake is perfect for such an occasion. It keeps really well in the freezer and if you get it out the night before, it leaves plenty of time to whip up the icing just before serving.

Funny how my emergency freezer cake is also my emergency blog post too!?


ORANGE POPPY SEED BUNDT CAKE
Ingredients:
  • Melted butter, to grease
  • 125ml (1/2 cup) fresh orange juice
  • 130g (1/2 cup) Greek-style natural yoghurt
  • 60g (1/4 cup) poppy seeds
  • 250g butter, at room temperature, chopped
  • 270g (1 1/4 cups) caster sugar
  • 2 tbs finely grated orange rind
  • 4 eggs
  • 340g (2 1/4 cups) plain flour
  • 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 orange
For the Icing:
  • 150g icing sugar
  • Juice & Zest of 1 Orange

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Grease and flour your Bundt tin.

Combine the orange juice, yoghurt and poppy seeds in a small bowl.
Use an electric beater to beat the butter, caster sugar and orange rind in a large bowl until pale and creamy. 

Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition until just combined.
Sift the flour and baking powder over the egg mixture. 

Add the yoghurt mixture and use a large metal spoon to fold until just combined. 

Spoon mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the surface. 
Bake in oven for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. 
Leave to cool for 5 minutes before turning out. 
To make the icing simply beat all the ingredients together until smooth. Then drizzle over the top. Using a proper zester will allow you to get those longer zest stripes that look great on top. Leave for 20minutes to set before serving.

This cake freezes very well (un-iced) and can keep for up to 3-4 days in an air tight container.