Wednesday, February 3, 2010

A few easy little recipes (including pancakes)



I have a few recipes that I use all the time and you can whip them up quickly. They are VERY child friendly and are a handy stand by
Neither are anything special, but some days when your brain has not got the ability to solve the 'What's for dinner' problem, they come in really handy.
First one is pancakes as I know pancake Tuesday is looming.

PANCAKES

If you have a liquidiser, this is even simpler.

Into a liquidiser jug, put in
600ml milk
2 eggs
240g plain flour
1 Tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

You can add 25g melted butter if you want, it is tasty, but when i am in a hurry it is just one more thing to do (or one more thing to wash up!)

Whizz up, occasionally scraping the sides of the jug with a spatula (while the liquidiser is off mind you!)
You are looking for a batter that is not too thick, certainly thinner than custard, that is smooth and when sitting for a few minutes, little bubbles rise to the top.
Really the most complicated part of that recipe is getting the liquidiser out of the press and weighing the flour.

If you are whisking manually, pop all the ingredients into a large bowl and using a balloon whisk, work those arm muscles until the mixture has no more lumps. Takes about 5 minutes.

Heat up a non stick pan, wipe with a small amount of butter if you wish, or if the pan is losing its non-stickiness. Pour on enough batter to cover half the pan then swirl it around til you cover the bottom of the pan. 
It sometimes takes a couple of failed pancakes at the beginning before you get the temperature right. My first one is always a write-off.

You know the pancake is ready to flip if it has dried up and bubbles start to form,
flip and cook for the same amount of time on the other side.
Each side needs only 40 secs to 1 min and a half, depending on the thickness of the pancake and the heat of the pan. What I am saying here is DON'T WALK AWAY!

If you want to make savoury pancakes, leave out the caster sugar and vanilla and put in a pinch of salt instead.
They are nice filled with chunky tomato salsa (heated up) and mushrooms cooked in butter and thyme. Or you could layer them with tomato sauce and cheese sauce and cook them like a lasagna. YUMMMM!

The kids love these for breakfast when we have visitors. I usually cook up all the batter and keep them warm on a plate in the oven at 120 c. Otherwise, you'll be at the cooker like a short order chef, watching everyone else eat.

Ok , Next

PIZZA 
(see Daniel above kneading away!)

The recipe for the dough is the same as the rolly uppy pizza, but in case you did not read that, here it is again:

In a large bowl mix
1kg strong white flour  (plain flour is not the same, it tastes like cake!)
1 Tbsp salt

Make a well in the centre and add
600ml warm water
1 Tbsp sugar
3 sachets of dried instant yeast. 

Mix with your hand until it comes together, you nay need another little bit of water. The dough should pick up all bits of flour and crumbs from the bowl.
Turn onto a floured worktop and knead away to your hearts  content! It'll take about 5 minutes to get an elastic silky dough.  You can break it in a few pieces and divide it amongst all the whinging, hungry kids at this point and let them work off their frustration!
Wipe out the bowl, oil it a little and put the dough back in. Cover the bowl with cling film and put in a warm draught free place. I used to use the tumble drier while it was still warm,  but I think that is what broke my last one! Now I use the hot press. 

It takes about 30 minutes to double in volume. In the meantime, get the kids to set out all the possible toppings. I give points for the most adventurous. 

Take it out and punch it to deflate all the air. Knead again. Divide the dough into as many pieces as you want. If you like thin crust, this will make about 8 x 12 inch pizzas. 
I usually use half the dough for bread (chuck it in a floured loaf tim and bake for 15 - 20 mins at 200c) and the other half does 4 decent sized pizzas.

Roll out the pizzas into as close to rounds as you can get, although they are usually pretty free form in our house. I put them on oiled squares of tin foil and when they are finished, and put them straight onto the shelf of the oven.

You can make your own sauce if you want, I don't. The kids like the Sacla sundried tomato pesto, or the Sainsbury's sundried tomato paste. Whatever you like. I find I can sell anything if you call it 'Pizza sauce' 

Let the kids top the pizzas, that's the most fun!

Nice toppings are

Cherry tomatoes
Sundried tomatoes
Mushrooms
Asparagus
Red onion
Ham
Cooked chicken torn up
Olives
Spinach leaves
Basil
Pineapple
Cheese of any kind

The list is never ending

When they are topped, pop into the oven at its hottest, about 230 - 250 c for 4 - 5 mins depending on the dough.

They are big, but thin, and my kids will usually eat one to themselves. 

Next standby.....

QUICHE LORRAINE

Now I am sure all purists will not like me using the term Lorraine for this one, but it is as close to the real thing as I can get with 10 mins labour!
This is one of the least labour intensive dinners you'll make, Trust me!
The kids call this 'Bacon pie' and I am happy to keep them happy!

Preheat the oven to 200 c

Ingredients you will need.

Tub of little bacon bits or lardons.  100 - 200 g 
Packet of sliced cheese, about 6 slices.
200ml cream
3 rggs
Packet of ready-rolled shortcrust pastry
Salt and Pepper

Grease a 23cm quiche tin (don't worry too much about the size, you can adjust the filling to suit whatever you've got)

Line the tin with the ready rolled pastry.
In a pan, fry up the bacon. Don't use oil, they are very greasy. They take about 3 minutes tossing the pan til they are cooked. Drain well on kitchen paper and put into the pastry case.
Next put in the cheese slices, torn into little pieces, in one layer.

In a bowl, whisk the eggs and cream, season with salt and pepper and pour onto the bacon and cheese. It should half fill the pastry case, so if you need more just whisk another egg with a little cream or milk and add to it.

Bake for about 30 mins. 
The top should be golden brown and it should be mousse like in the middle. I like it set in the middle, but you can have it wobbly if you want. 

Apart from the pan frying of the bacon, the kids can do everything in this recipe. No pastry making involved!


Hope these quick little basics are to your fancy! They are always a hit in our house. And they are perfect for mid week meals.