Bill Cooks for Kids (and adults!)

Weekends, particularly wet weekends, are the perfect excuse to stay indoors, slow down and take a little more time with your cooking.

During the week breakfast for most of us is a rushed bowl of cereal or a quick slice of toast so weekends definitely call for something more lovingly prepared!

In the words of Bill Granger, ‘breakfast is my favourite meal of the day, partly because it’s the only meal you can justify eating in bed.’

So with that in mind, why not tuck into Bill’s recipe for fresh baked beans this weekend?

They’re delicious, in or out of bed!

Fresh Baked Beans

Serves 6

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
100 g (3B⁄c oz) pancetta, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 anchovies, chopped
1 teaspoon finely chopped thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
400 g (14 oz) tin chopped tomatoes
2 x 400 g (14 oz) tins cannellini beans, rinsed

Preheat the oven to 160°C (315°F/Gas 2–3).

Heat the olive oil in a large flameproof casserole dish over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, for 5–6 minutes, or until the onion is soft. Add the pancetta
and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until slightly crisp. Add the garlic, anchovies, thyme and oregano and cook, stirring, for another minute.

Add the tomatoes and 125 ml (4 fl oz/½ cup) water.  Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the beans, put a lid on the casserole
dish and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve.

Recipe Sneak Peek - Springtime baking

Although it hasn’t felt like it the past few weeks, we are in fact, in the middle of Spring.

With the longer, (supposedly) warmer days come a whole variety of new, seasonal fruits and vegetables.

Apricots and all sorts of berries come into their prime in Spring, along with the old classic, and one of our favourites, rhubarb.

While the bitterness of rhubarb can put many people off, there are plenty of ways to dress it up for the perfect pudding.

Take a peek at our recipe for farmhouse rhubarb pie from The Farmers’ Market Family Cookbook.

Farmhouse rhubarb pie

serves 6

For the pie:
185 g (61⁄2 1⁄2 oz/ 11⁄2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
2 tablespoons icing (confectioners’) sugar
125 g (41⁄2 oz) cold unsalted butter, chopped
1 egg yolk, mixed with
1 tablespoon iced water

Filling
220 g (73⁄4 oz/ 1 cup) sugar, plus extra, for sprinkling
750 g (1 lb 10 oz/ 6 cups) chopped rhubarb
2 large apples, peeled, cored and chopped
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
3 pieces of preserved ginger, sliced
ground cinnamon, for sprinkling
icing (confectioners’) sugar, for dusting (optional)

Sift the flour, icing sugar and a pinch of sea salt into a large bowl. Using your fingertips, lightly rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre. Add the egg yolk mixture to the well and mix using a flat-bladed knife until a rough dough forms. Gently gather the dough together, transfer to a lightly floured surface, then press into a round disc. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or until firm.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F/Gas 5). Grease a 20 cm (8 inch) pie plate. Roll the pastry out to a 35 cm (14 inch) circle and ease it into the pie plate, allowing the excess to hang over the edge. Refrigerate the pastry-lined dish while preparing the filling.

In a saucepan, heat the sugar and 125 ml (4 fl oz/1⁄2 cup) water for 4–5 minutes, or until syrupy. Add the rhubarb, apple, lemon zest and ginger. Cover and gently simmer for 5 minutes, or until the rhubarb is cooked but still holds its shape.

Drain off the liquid and allow the rhubarb to cool. Spoon into the pastry shell and sprinkle with the cinnamon and a little extra sugar. Fold the overhanging pastry over the filling and bake for 40 minutes, or until golden. Dust with icing sugar before serving, if desired. 

Behind the Scenes – Olivia Newton-John’s LivWise tour

There has been an air of excitement in the Murdoch Books office this week with the arrival of superstar Olivia Newton-John, in London to promote her new book, LivWise.

She’s had a packed media schedule with appearances on The One Show, This Morning and Loose Women, along with more radio and print interviews than we can count.

But it was at yesterday’s packed book signing at Waterstones Piccadilly that it hit home just how incredibly popular she is!

With the rain pouring down outside, hundreds of fans waited hours to get a glimpse of Olivia and get their copy signed.  Now that’s dedication!

Check out some of the pics…

Olivia's book, LivWise, is available now.

One a penny, two a penny…

It has to be said that if you have a sweet tooth, Easter is the holiday for you.

Supermarkets seem to be selling hot cross buns earlier and earlier each year but if you’re after something made with a little more TLC (TLC makes it taste better!), why not try your own at home?

This delicious recipe from Bread Revolution authors Duncan Glendinning and Patrick Ryan makes it oh so easy!

Hot Cross Buns

Makes 10 buns

500 g (1 lb 2 oz / 3 cups) strong white bread flour
5 g (1 tsp) fine sea salt
50 g (1 oz / cup) golden caster (superfine) sugar
75 g (2 oz) unsalted butter, softened
15 g ( 3 tsp) fresh yeast or 10 g (2 tsp) dried or fast-action yeast
90 ml (3 fl oz) water
150 ml (5 fl oz / a scant cup) milk
1 egg
175 g (6 oz) mincemeat (you can make your own or buy it from the supermarket)

For the paste:
100 g (3 oz / cup)
plain (all-purpose) white flour
30 g (1 oz) golden caster (superfine) sugar
80 ml (2 fl oz / cup) milk

Mix together the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl. Dice the butter and rub it in with your fingertips. Make a well in the flour mixture.

Crumble the yeast into the water so that it dissolves and pour the yeasted water, milk and egg into the well. Bring the dough together with your hands or with a spatula. This is quite a soft dough and may
feel a little wet and sticky, but don’t panic, just be persistent.

Turn the dough out on to a clean kitchen surface and knead for 10 minutes. When the dough has reached the windowpane stage (when you can stretch it in your fingers and see through it when held to the light), gently knead in the mincemeat so the fruit is evenly distributed without getting all broken up. Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth and leave to prove for about 80–90 minutes or until doubled in size.

After proving, cut the dough into 10 equal pieces, form into rolls and place on a non-stick baking tray or a tray lined with baking parchment, leaving enough room in between each so that the buns
can prove and grow without touching. Leave to prove again for 60–80 minutes or until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F/Gas 5), then make up the paste for the crosses. Mix the flour, sugar and milk in a bowl – the paste needs to be the consistency of thick custard. Brush the buns with beaten egg yolk, spoon the paste into a piping bag with a 3 mm (¼ in) nozzle and pipe a cross on each one. Bake the buns for 16–18 minutes, until rich gold in colour. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Perfect with some butter and a cup of tea!

HAPPY EASTER FROM MURDOCH BOOKS! 

Supercharged Food: Out and About with author Lee Holmes

After a rather indulgent weekend, a visit from Lee Holmes, author of
Supercharged Food, was exactly what we needed to kick start a healthy week!

Lee visited Wholefoods in Kensington to sign copies of her book and to check out the beautiful display they have for Supercharged Food.

   

 

We’re now well and truly inspired to ‘supercharged’ our diets.  What this space for some ‘Tried and Tested’ posts of Lee’s recipes!