Barbecue Dessert Idea - Chocolate Fondue

I envy those of you who live in warmer, sunnier climes who can plan a barbecue weeks ahead and know there's a good chance that when the day arrives you won't be stressing about the weather and constantly scouring the sky for rain clouds! As the weather here in Northumberland can be a tad unpredictable, in our house our barbecues are usually planned a maximum of 2 hours in advance when we're sure it'll stay warm enough and dry enough not to be worried about whether we'll be cooking in our raincoats. It's then a case of dashing down to the supermarket to get barbecue supplies when, more often than not, everyone else in the neighbourhood has had the same idea so inevitably, burger buns, charcoal and any kind of meat that can be cooked over hot coals has already been snapped up.

Because of this, we don't have barbecues very often so when we do I always like to make an occasion of it and have a nice dessert to finish off. This one is delicious - a bowl of chocolate sauce with a selection of sweet, juicy fruits to dip in it - and is so quick and easy that I don't need to spend hours in the kitchen and miss out on all the fun! Also, as it can all be served on one plate with a fork (or even a wooden skewer) for each guest to use for dipping it saves on the washing up too!

This is such an easy dessert it doesn't really need a recipe but here goes...

Chocolate Fondue Recipe

Notes: This makes enough for 3-4 people to dip with around 750g of fruit. To increase the quantity is simple - just use the same weight of chocolate to volume of cream i.e. 100g chocolate to 100ml cream, 150g chocolate to 150g cream and so on. 

If your making this only for adults, 1-2 tsp of liqueur could be added, for example Cointreau for a chocolate orange sauce, Amaretto for an almond flavour or Tia Maria for a mocha sauce.

For the fruit, raspberries, strawberries and banana are my favourite but other fruit such as mango and orange segments are also nice. Shortbread is a lovely option too. 

Ingredients:

100g chocolate (use milk, dark, white or a combination)

100ml double cream

1-2tsp liqueur (optional - see note above)

Selection of fruit or biscuits for dipping.

Method:

1. Place a bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure that the water is not touching the bottom of the bowl.

2. Break up the chocolate, place it in the bowl and warm it until it begins to melt, stirring occasionally.

3. Once the chocolate has melted gradually add the cream, stirring well to allow the mixture to form a smooth, silky sauce and to enable it to warm through. 

4. If using, add the liqueur and stir this into the sauce at the end.

5. Pour the sauce into a bowl and arrange a selection of fruit or biscuits on a large plate. Provide forks or skewers for dipping.

Chicken with Grapefruit Sauce - a throwback to the 1970s

As a child growing up in the 1970s I was exposed to all kinds of weird, wonderful and, dare I say, exciting food...Angel Delight, Dream Topping, Vesta Chow Mein, Arctic Roll and Smash instant mashed potato to name a few. I've come to the conclusion that being fed these instant foods explains why I now crave good, home cooked food that doesn't contain a whole lot of additives and E numbers. I probably overdosed on them as a child!

Despite my memories of all these dehydrated foods (just add water) I do think that the 1970s was the decade where good, interesting food began to emerge and started to capture the imagination of the masses.  Although I don't remember any of these dishes making it to our dinner table until the '80s at least, I wanted to share just a few of the foods that were really popular at the time and that, for me, define 1970s cuisine:

Duck a l'orange

Trout with Almonds

Prawn Cocktail

Beef stroganoff

Chicken Kiev

Scampi (with chips in a basket)

Coq au Vin

Baked Alaska

Black Forest Gateau

Vol au Vents

Lobster Thermidor (but only if you were particularly well-heeled)

And who could forget... cheese and pineapple on cocktail sticks stuck into a potato or an orange covered in aluminium foil!

This recipe has something about it that takes me back to the days when pairings of meat and fruit were seen as the height of sophistication. It isn't from a 1970s cookbook - I have adapted it from one that appears in one of my favourite cookbooks 'Cooking Outside the Box' by Keith Abel (of Abel & Cole fame) from 2006. The original recipe uses blood oranges to flavour the sauce but I've made it with grapefruit instead. The sauce is sharp and fruity and goes really well with pan-fried chicken - delicious! 

If you would like to try this, make sure to get the full experience by putting on some music from c1976 to listen to while you eat it!

Chicken with Grapefruit Sauce

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 tbsp butter
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 tsp flour
50ml white wine
Juice of 2 grapefruit
Salt and pepper
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tbsp olive oil

Method:
1. Make the sauce first by melting the butter in a frying pan and gently fry the onion until it is translucent. Stir in the flour and cook for a further minute then add the wine and the grapefruit juice.

2. Season with salt and pepper and allow to simmer for approximately 10 minutes until it thickens. Remove from the heat and keep warm.

3. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and fry them in the olive oil for 6-8 minutes per side, or until they are thoroughly cooked through. This will depend upon the size of the breasts. 

4. Once cooked, transfer to serving plates, carve and serve with the grapefruit sauce poured over.

Delicious with spinach, sauteed potatoes or buttered cabbage.

Chef's Salad with Tuna and Cocktail Sauce

This week has been really hectic so far with one thing or another. I've been in London for a job interview which involved an overnight stay and, just as I get back, my hubby has to go away for the rest of the week with his work. The expression 'ships that pass in the night' comes to mind but at least I've got the cat to keep me company! So the key theme for our one meal together this week was speed and simplicity.

While scouring the fridge for inspiration I found some salad leaves, some cherry tomatoes, a cucumber and a few eggs and decided that a salad would tick the box for me being something I could make really quickly and easily that wouldn't require a trip to the shops. I added a couple of tins of tuna I'd found lurking in my cupboard and decided to top off the ensemble with an easy homemade dressing of cocktail sauce. 

I have to say that I did take a bit of a risk with the dressing as I hadn't paired tuna and cocktail sauce together before so wasn't entirely sure whether it would work but found the sauce added lots of flavour without overpowering the delicate taste of the tuna - perfect! I've detailed my very, very simple recipe for the sauce below.

I've called this salad 'chef's salad' as, according to Delia Online, a chef's salad is simply a way of using up whatever ingredients are on hand at the time to create a main course salad. So, assuming there are no hard and fast rules and it's a case of throwing together whatever is available then this salad certainly fits the bill for a chef's salad.

The results were stunning so I wanted to share this simple salad idea with you.

Simple Cocktail Sauce Recipe

Note: This recipe is for the British style of cocktail sauce also known as Marie Rose sauce. It produces a thick sauce with creamy, tangy taste. Ketchup can be used in place of the tomato puree and, if using ketchup, the wine vinegar can be left out.

Ingredients:

4 tbsp mayonnaise

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tsp white wine vinegar

Method:
Mix the mayonnaise and tomato puree in a bowl until combined. Stir in the white wine vinegar.

Easy!

Tartiflette - a gratin of potatoes, onions, bacon and cheese

I got the idea to make this from a recent visit to Normandy in France. We'd stopped for lunch at a small bistro and I chose the Gratin Maison from the menu. I was well aware of what a gratin was but wasn't sure what the 'maison' bit would entail so was a bit apprehensive, especially as the menu contained some unusual specialties such as 'salade de gesiers' (gizzard salad) which, I'm sure is delicious, but wasn't really something I fancied just at that point!

When my meal arrived I was delighted that it didn't contain anything I didn't recognise and it tasted divine - a deliciously rich, creamy mixture of potatoes, onions, bacon and cheese, which I discovered later is called tartiflette. I think the bistro had added their own local cheese rather than traditional Reblochon, hence the 'maison' bit in the name.

Tartiflette comes from the Alpine region of France where hungry skiers eat it by the bucket load in winter - it's so rich and calorie-laden that I'm sure it's perfect for restoring the energy expended during a hard session on the slopes. It's very much considered a cold-weather food and I agree it isn't something to be eaten on a really hot day but it didn't feel out of place eating it on a mild afternoon in May.

This is a really easy dish to make - it's simply a case of boiling some potatoes, frying an onion with some bacon then layering it with cheese and cream in an oven-proof dish and baking it in the oven for half an hour or so. It's gorgeous served with a simple green salad and/or some French bread to mop up the creamy sauce.

I'd love to hear about other places you've eaten tartiflette so please feel free to share and leave a comment!

Tartiflette Recipe

Notes: The recipe below details how I made my tartiflette but this is very much a dish where you can add as much or as little of anything you like. More cream and cheese will give a softer dish with lots of sauce, use less and the dish will be drier and firmer.

I think the addition of Reblochon cheese gives tartiflette its distinctive French flavour and I was delighted to find it in my local supermarket but, if you'd like to make tartiflette and can't get hold of Reblochon, I'm sure Camembert would work just as well or, at a push, Brie. 

The white wine adds extra flavour but is optional.

Serves 3 as a main course with salad.

Ingredients:
1.5kg potatoes
1tbsp olive oil
1 large onion
180g smoked bacon lardons
50ml white wine (optional)
100ml double cream
200g Reblochon cheese
1 garlic clove
salt and pepper

Method:
1. Peel and slice the potatoes thickly and boil in salted water for 8-10 minutes, until tender but not too soft.

2. Meanwhile, fry the onion in the oil for a few minutes until the onion begins to soften then add the lardons. Fry until the onions are soft and golden and the lardons are cooked but take care not to burn them.

3. Add the white wine to the onions and bacon if using and allow it to sizzle for a minute or two until most of the white wine has evaporated then add the cream and stir together. Add salt and pepper if required.

4. Slice the cheese.

5. Rub the garlic clove around the inside of an oven proof dish for extra flavour then start to layer the tartiflette by placing a layer of potatoes on the bottom of the dish, followed by a layer of the onion, bacon and cream mixture and then half the cheese. Repeat finishing with the final half of the cheese on top of the dish.

6. Place in a preheated oven at 180°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4 for 20-25 minutes until the top is golden.

Bon Appetit!

Homemade salad cream - for salads, sandwiches or dips

Salad cream, in case anyone is not familiar with it, is a mayonnaise-style salad dressing that was developed for the UK market in the early 20th century by Heinz. It's not as thick as mayonnaise, is sweeter and has a stronger, sharper, flavour due to the amount of vinegar it contains. I remember it being the quintessential salad dressing of the 1970s before our craving for all things continental took over and we ditched the salad cream in favour of mayonnaise and vinaigrette. In 2000 Heinz famously announced that it was withdrawing salad cream from it's range due to falling sales but people power took over and there was a public outcry which persuaded Heinz to put the product back on the supermarket shelves. I guess salad cream just holds a special place in our hearts!

This recipe for salad cream is not aiming to compete with the Heinz variety. It has a much creamier, understated flavour that compliments the gentle flavours of salad rather than overpowers it as I think commercial salad cream does. Nor is it a mayonnaise - the finished sauce is much thinner and there is no oil or raw egg in it (the main ingredients of mayonnaise).

The recipe is inspired by one I found in Delia Smith's Complete Cookery Course. She in turn says she found it in a recipe book by Eliza Acton dating back to 1845. I have slightly altered the recipe by adding Dijon mustard and using slightly less cream. The sauce is fantastic with sandwiches (as pictured above), on salads or used as a dip. 

A quick word of warning though. If you're thinking of using it in a sandwich and are either:
a) having the vicar round for tea
b) having the parents of a son or daughter's girlfriend or boyfriend visiting for the first time, or
c) are entertaining an important business client
and thought that afternoon tea would be a great way to impress them then please DO NOT make the egg salad sandwiches that are pictured here!! I think that, in these circumstances, dainty cucumber sandwiches with the crusts cut off would be a far better option!

If, however, the thought of munching on a door-stop of a sandwich appeals and you can live with a bit of salad cream dripping down your chin then put some letttuce leaves, sliced tomatoes, egg and cucumber on a thick slice of buttered bread. Drizzle generously with homemade salad cream and top with a second slice of bread - delicious!

Homemade Salad Cream

Ingredients:

3 eggs

2 pinches cayenne pepper

1 tsp Dijon mustard

¼ tsp salt

100ml double cream

4 tsp white wine vinegar

Method:

1. Boil the eggs for approximately 9 minutes until hard. Cool them with cold water then peel them. Remove the yolks and place in a mixing bowl, discard the whites.

2. Add the cayenne pepper, Dijon mustard, salt and a teaspoon of cold water to the eggs and mash them together to a smooth paste - try to ensure there are no lumps of egg remaining.

3. Gradually mix in the cream, ensuring it is well blended and then add the wine vinegar to finish.

4. The sauce should have the consistency of thick cream.

Salad season is here! Warm smoked mackerel, new potato and asparagus salad

Salad season is now well underway in the Brass household! Stodgy cold-weather food has been left behind and we're starting to enjoy some gorgeous salads made with the lovely fresh produce available at the minute. Most of my salads are really easy and quick to prepare so, if the sun is shining outside, it means I don't need to spend all my time cooking over a hot stove indoors. And lets face it - when the sun shines in the UK we really do have to make the most of it!

I love how salad has been reinvented in recent years and is no longer only an option for dieters. Some of the most delicious salads I've had would fill up the hungriest of people and have been packed with a variety of different meats or cheeses and drenched in all kinds of rich dressings - definitely not for anyone who is calorie-counting.

This recipe is for one of my favourite salads to eat at this time of year and includes asparagus and new potatoes which are both in season - if you can get hold of them, Jersey Royals are great in this. This salad is tasty and substantial and certainly holds its own as a main course!

Warm new potato, asparagus and smoked mackerel salad

Notes: I've used half-fat creme fraiche to make the dressing but full fat would be fine. In the past I've made it with natural yoghurt instead of creme fraiche, which cuts down on the calories further and still results in a delicious dressing.

1tsp of Dijon mustard could be substituted for the horseradish sauce if preferred. 

Serves 2

Ingredients:

350g new potatoes
Bunch of asparagus (approx 250g)
100g half-fat creme fraiche
1tsp horseradish sauce
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper
3 smoked mackerel fillets, skinned and flaked - bones removed
60g rocket (arugula)


Method:
1. Wash the potatoes and prepare the asparagus by bending each spear until the thick, woody end of the stem snaps off - throw this away.

2. Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for approximately 15-20 minutes until tender. While they are cooking bring a separate pan of salted water to the boil and cook the asparagus for 5 minutes until tender.

3. While the potatoes and asparagus are cooking, mix together the creme fraiche, horseradish sauce and lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste.

4. When the potatoes and asparagus are cooked, drain them, halve the potatoes and add them all to a large salad bowl along with the flaked mackerel and the rocket. Pour the dressing over and stir until the salad ingredients are well coated in the dressing.

Inspired by BBC Good Food

Malt loaf - dark, sticky, and chewy!

For anyone who hasn't heard of it before, malt loaf is a British tea-time fruit cake cum bread that is characteristically dense, sweet, squidgy and chewy and is usually eaten cut into slices and spread with lashings of butter but is equally delicious toasted, fried in butter or served with cheese. 

As a child I used to love malt loaf and would eat quite a lot of it because my dad worked in a bakery and would regularly bring dark, brick-like lumps of the stuff home with him. As I remember, when he did it would disappear very quickly! 

Like many of our classic fruit cakes, malt loaf doesn't seem to be as popular as it once was -  I think Soreen are the only UK brand that still produce it on a commercial basis - but it's delicious to have with a cup of tea and so easy to make at home that it's worth giving it a go. 

Malt loaf gets its chewy texture and malty flavour from malt extract, of which it contains quite a bit. Malt extract is made from grains and is a product of the brewing process. I don't really know too much about brewing but the grains are seemingly treated by 'malting' and 'mashing' them until the syrupy, sweet substance that is malt extract is created. 

Malt extract is packed full of natural sugars and vitamins and can be found in larger supermarkets or health food shops. In early 20th century Britain it was given to children as a medicine as it was thought that a spoonful of malt extract every day would fortify children and ward off illness. These days it's most likely to be used in the home for home brewing or baking but I do still like to think that a slice of sticky malt loaf is doing me good in some way. 

Malt Loaf

Notes: 
Some malt loaf recipes contain yeast - this one doesn't as I think it gives a better, more dense texture. 

Malt loaf improves with time so, if you can resist it, once it's baked and cooled, wrap the loaf tightly in foil and leave it for 2-5 days to mature - it will become more sticky and squidgy over time. Or even better make two - one to eat straightaway and the other to eat after it's matured.

Makes two 450g (1lb) loaves.

Ingredients:

150ml hot tea

150g malt extract

50g caster sugar

30g black treacle

250g dried mixed fruit

2 large eggs, beaten

250g plain flour

1tsp baking powder

½tsp bicarbonate of soda

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C/130°F/Gas Mark 2 and grease two 450g (1lb) loaf tins with butter.

2. Put the tea, malt extract, sugar, treacle and mixed fruit into a mixing bowl and mix together.

3. Stir the beaten eggs into the mixture.

4. Add the flour and mix well until well blended then stir in the baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.

5. Pour or spoon the mixture into the loaf tins and bake for 45-50 minutes until the loaves are risen and golden. 

6. Remove from the tins and allow to cool on a wire rack before slicing and serving, or wrapping and storing as outlined above.

Inspired by BBC Good Food.

Sesame Soba Noodles

My daughter will be going back to Uni at the weekend and won't be home again until the summer. I will miss her but the house will be so much quieter - especially at lunchtimes! 

When I'm busy I'm happy to grab a quick lunch on the hoof but for my daughter, lunch has to be interesting and varied and is something to take a bit of time over. Personally I think she's got too much time on her hands but she maintains that lunch is just as important as any other meal of the day and I have to say that you can't argue with that can you? I do think that we overlook, and, dare I say, skip lunch too often, usually because of the demands of our busy lives. 

A couple of months ago, I posted about lunch for 1 week using flour tortillas but thought I'd post another favourite lunchtime recipe - Sesame Soba Noodles. It's a favourite due to the fact that it's eaten cold so can be prepared the evening before, stored in the fridge in a plastic container overnight and then popped in my bag to be eaten wherever and whenever the next day. If you do this though, don't forget to pack a fork or some chopsticks as well - this is NOT finger food! 

This recipe produces a light meat-free lunch full of Asian flavours but the recipe is really flexible (see notes below). Soba noodles are made using buckwheat flour but the brand I used also contained wheat flour so if you're on a gluten-free diet check the packet first.

Sesame Soba Noodles

Notes: I use soba noodles in this recipe for no other reason than they have a slippery texture that means they don't stick together as much as other noodles if left to chill in the fridge overnight. Other types of noodles would be just as nice but may need a bit more dressing, especially the thicker ones.

The ingredients are variable - I've included the ingredients that I used the day I took the photographs but small sticks of carrot, thinly sliced mange-tout or small sticks of leek are lovely too. For a more substantial lunch, chicken or prawns could be added - just use your imagination.

Serves 2-3 depending upon your appetite

Ingredients:

150g soba noodles

½ red chilli - deseeded

2cm piece of ginger

1tbsp coriander leaves

6 spring onions

1 stick celery

1tbsp sesame oil

1tbsp white rice vinegar

1tbsp soy sauce
1tsp sesame seeds

Method:
1.Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and add the noodles. Cook for 2 minutes (or according to the instructions) then drain and leave to cool.

2. Finely chop the chilli, ginger and coriander leaves, slice the spring onions and cut the celery into matchsticks. Mix into the noodles.

3. Combine the sesame oil, vinegar and soy sauce together and pour over the noodles. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Amaretti Biscuits - guilt free and moreish

I can't decide what it is that I love the most about amaretti biscuits (cookies). It could be the way they melt in my mouth or it might be the fact that they are gluten free, have no added fat and are packed with the goodness of almonds or maybe it's that they are just so easy to make and I can whip up a batch in no time at all. Whatever it is I cannot resist them!

These little almond biscuits are Italian in origin, have an intense almond flavour and are crisp and dry so they can be dipped into coffee or (even better) sweet wine. They are traditionally flavoured with amaretto which is an almond liqueur and are usually sold in delis and specialist food stores. The most famous brand in the UK is Lazzaroni, who started manufacturing their Amaretti di Saronno biscuits back in the 19th century. 

Since I discovered just how bloomin' easy it is to make these dainty little biscuits I've stopped buying them and whenever I fancy a sweet (but fairly guilt-free) treat, I reach for the ground almonds, sugar, eggs and almond extract knowing that in 45 minutes I'll be tucking into them.

Don't keep them all to yourself though! Share the love and tie some homemade amaretti biscuits up neatly in a clear cellophane bag and give them to someone special as a fabulous foodie pressie.  

Amaretti Biscuits

Notes: While amaretti biscuits are traditionally made with an alcoholic amaretto liqueur, I like to keep mine as guilt-free as possible so I use almond extract in place of amaretto which results in a milder flavour. If you would like to use amaretto, replace the almond extract with 2tbsp of amaretto.

These biscuits have a crisp exterior and a chewy centre when they are eaten soon after they have been baked. They will become crisper after a day or so. For a softer biscuit, reduce the cooking time to 20 minutes.

I use my food processor for this recipe which makes the mixing process really quick but if you don't have a food processor, a bowl, a wooden spoon and a bit of elbow grease will do just as well.

Makes 30 biscuits.

Ingredients:
275g ground almonds
275g caster sugar

½tsp vanilla extract

1tsp almond extract

3 egg whites

extra sugar for sprinkling

Method:

1. Put the almonds and sugar into a food processor with a chopper blade and blend for a few seconds until well mixed.

 2. Add the vanilla and almond extract and blend again to combine.

3. Add the egg whites one at a time and blend until the dough is smooth.

4. Cover a baking tray with parchment / greaseproof paper and place teaspoons of the mixture onto the tray. Sprinkle with the extra sugar.

5. Place in a preheated oven 150°C / 300°F / Gas Mark 2 for 25-30 minutes until risen and golden. Remove immediately from the parchment paper and place on a wire rack to cool.

6. Store in an airtight container.

Inspired by Simply Recipes

Summery Vanilla and Lemon Rice Pudding with Blackcurrant Jam Sauce - comfort food at its best

Love it or hate it? Rice pudding is like Marmite in that it elicits very strong feelings in us Brits - there are those of us who absolutely adore it and those who can't stand the sight of it but there are very few of us who fall in between. I have a theory that this emotional response is somehow related to the old days of school dinners when bowls of luke-warm gloopy mush were served up with a dollop of (usually cold) jam by terrifying dinner ladies who would stand over you and make you eat every last disgusting grain of the stuff.  

Although the thought of those days still makes me shudder I have to say that I now fall into the love it camp but that's only because I've found out that rice pudding can be a yummy, creamy and comforting dessert that seems light years away from the revolting, grey and lumpy mass I was served as a child. 

This version is made as you would expect with milk, cream and sugar but has vanilla and lemon added which gives the rice a lovely summery, cheesecake-like flavour. I like to top it off with a simple sauce made from blackcurrant jam.

It can be eaten warm or cold but does firm up quite a bit if allowed to cool so more milk / cream may be needed when serving.

Summery Vanilla and Lemon Rice Pudding

Notes: This recipe is for a stove-top version of rice pudding but if you'd prefer to bake it, after stage 1 pour the mixture into an ovenproof dish and place it in a preheated cool oven at 140°C/ 275°F/ Gas Mark 1 for 30 minutes, take it out and stir it then put it back in for another hour. 

I've included the instructions for the blackcurrant sauce at the end of the rice pudding recipe - this really can be made with any kind of jam / preserve you choose.

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

500ml milk

150ml double cream

Zest of 1 lemon

1 vanilla pod

15g caster sugar

150g short-grain pudding rice

Method:

1. Put the milk, cream and lemon zest into a saucepan. Split the vanilla pod lengthwise and add this to the pan. Heat gently to a simmer then add the caster sugar and rice.

2. Simmer for approximately 25 minutes, stirring regularly to ensure the rice does not stick to the bottom of the pan. Try to squeeze most of the seeds from the vanilla pod into the rice as it cooks. When it is ready, the rice should be thick with a creamy consistency.

3. Remove the vanilla pod and serve either on its own or with the blackcurrant jam sauce below. If serving cold, spoon the rice into a bowl, cover with cling film and allow the rice to cool before chilling in the fridge.

Blackcurrant Jam Sauce

Ingredients:

1tbsp blackcurrant jam

1tsp lemon juice

2tsp water

Method:

Put the jam, lemon juice and water in a small saucepan and heat until the jam has melted and the lemon juice and water have combined with the jam to make a fairly thin sauce. Drizzle over the rice pudding before serving.

Pesto Swirl Bread

I came across the idea for swirl bread while flicking through my recipe books yesterday. It was raining outside and I didn't really want to go out in it so thought a nice spot of bread-making would be a great way to pass the time on a wet afternoon. 

While searching for inspiration among the images of loafs, buns, baps and flatbreads, a tantalising photograph of a cinnamon loaf that had a swirl of chocolate and pecan nuts oozing through it caught my eye. It looked amazing and I was even tempted to go shopping (and get soaked) to buy chocolate and pecans so I could make it. Fortunately, my conscience got the better of me and I decided against it - after the amount of chocolate I'd consumed over Easter it probably wasn't such a good idea!

After searching for an alternative I decided on pesto. Okay, I know this might not sound quite as scrumptious as sweet and sticky chocolate and pecan but I love to spread pesto on bread or toast and slap it into sandwiches so I guessed it would be a tasty (and healthier) option. Also, I had a few tablespoons of wild garlic pesto left over from a batch I'd make earlier this week so didn't need to go out in the pouring rain to buy ingredients.

The whole thing was really easy to make and I was pleased with the finished result. The bread was very light and had a nice (but not overpowering) garlicky flavour from the pesto. It looked great too with a bright green swirl running right through the bread - a bit like a bread swiss roll! 

I think the possibilities for swirl bread must be almost endless - cheese, sun-dried tomato paste, cinnamon and sugar, peanut butter, Nutella or tapenade would all make great fillings and different flavours could be added to the dough too. I'd would love to hear of other ideas you might have.

Pesto Swirl Bread

 Notes: I used my bread machine to make the dough but I've put the methods for making the dough both by machine and by hand below.

Ingredients:
Basic white bread:
475g strong white flour
1tsp caster sugar
1½ tsp salt
1½ tsp fast action dried yeast
2tbsp oil
250ml warm (not hot) water

Filling:
3 tbsp pesto

Topping:
1tbsp grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Method:

If using a bread machine:

1. Add the water, oil, sugar and salt to the tin of the bread machine.

2. Spoon in the flour and sprinkle the yeast on top. 

3. Set the machine to the 'dough' programme and start the machine.

4. When the dough is ready, continue from stage 3 below.

If making the dough by hand:

1. Put the flour into a bowl and stir in the sugar, salt and yeast. Gradually mix in enough of the warm water until it forms a soft dough.

2. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead well for 5 minutes - the dough should be smooth and stretchy. Put the dough back into the bowl, cover with a clean tea towel or oiled cling film and leave in a warm place for approx 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in size. 

3. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough until it is a fairly thin round that measures approximately 27cm in diameter.

4. Spread the dough generously with pesto and then gradually roll up the dough from one edge, when it is rolled up turn the dough so that the seam is on the underside and tuck the edges underneath. Place on an oiled baking tray, cover with a clean tea towel or oiled cling film and leave to rise for a further 30 minutes.

5. If using the parmesan cheese, sprinkle this on top of the loaf before poping the tray into a preheated oven at 200°C/ 400°F/ Gas Mark 6 for 30 minutes until the loaf are well risen and golden. Carefully transfer the loaf to a wire rack to cool.