Chorizo & Red Onion Soda Bread

Soda bread is amazing - it's so easy to make and there are so many variations that you can make. I always throw a couple of loaves in the oven when I have visitors - it goes down a bomb with a full Irish! 

You can add anything to the bread to make many different flavours. The Chorizo one I made simply from what leftovers I had in the fridge.
There are so many variations you can make with the basic recipe from Healthy breads to Focaccia to Pizza bases. You can be as imaginative as you want - and I am always experimenting with different flavours- just remember to add all your bits before adding the buttermilk as once the bread-soda gets wet it starts to react.

BASIC SODA BREAD RECIPE

1lb of plain flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of Bread-soda (bicarbonate of soda / baking soda)
12 fluid ounces of Buttermilk.

Turn on the oven to it's highest setting 250˚(230˚Fan oven) - the oven must be heated to full temperature before you mix your ingredients together as the bread needs to go in straight away.

Sieve flour, salt and bread-soda together into a bowl.

 ** I added chopped Pamplona chorizo, thinly sliced and chopped Red Onion, dried Oregano, finely grated Parmesan cheese, Black Pepper and some smoked Paprika to the dry ingredients and whisked about 3 inches of tomato puree to the buttermilk (which turns pink!)**

Add the buttermilk and using you hand like a claw - mix the ingredients together to form a dough.

Place on a lightly floured board and shape into a round. Score a cross into the bread (to bless all who eat it) and prick each 'quarter' with a fork two or three times - (to let the bad faeries out) - don't knock this method - it really works to make the bread rise!!.

Place the bread in the oven on a greased and floured tray and bake for 15 minutes. Turn down the oven to 200˚(180˚Fan oven) and bake for a further 15 minutes. Remove the tray out of the oven and place the bread on the oven rack and bake for a further 15 minutes. The bread should be golden brown and give a lovely hollow sound when tapped underneath. 

Place on a rack and leave to cool for a while. . . if you can!!    
Slice when cool and slather with a large dollop of Irish butter . . . .




You can also bake this bread in a loaf tin 
- remember to score down the centre of the bread and prick it with a fork . . .


You can do anything you want . . . . . . .

IRISH FOCACCIA

Push the dough out to form a low rectangle and push in olives, tomatoes, garlic slices and oregano. Brush very lightly with olive oil and prick all over with a fork. Bake for about 25 - 30 minutes in the oven at 200˚ (180˚Fan oven)


 





HEALTHY NUT BREAD
Swop half the plain flour for wholemeal flour and add chopped walnuts and slivers of garlic for a gorgeous bread to go with salads.

Add pine nuts and rosemary for a nutty bread . . .

Add pumpkin seeds and grated butternut squash . . . . 

Roll out the dough and bake blind for about 10 minutes and then add pizza toppings and sauce and bake for another 7 - 10 minutes for a pizza with a difference . . .

You can do anything you want . . . . .

The world is your oyster . . . The bread is your masterpiece . . .

Eclairs, Profiteroles & Choux buns

It's been a while since I've had time to cook, write and photograph something so this morning I decided to bite the bullet and do something!

I was going to do these yesterday but shied away because I knew there was a little bit of hard beating to get these light and fluffy and crisp on the outside but actually once I got down to doing them they were soooooo easy. .

I will definitely be doing these more often!! I have tried a few different methods and recipes since I first posted this recipe and I have tweaked it to what I have found as the most effective recipe and method.

A word of warning though - these eclairs are very, very addictive . . . . . . .

INGREDIENTS

130g (2.5 oz) plain or strong flour (I prefer to use strong)
100g (2 oz) butter
3 medium eggs, lightly beaten
150ml (5 fl oz) water

 WHAT TO DO

Preheat the oven to 250˚C (230˚C for fan oven) Sift the flour on to a piece of paper. Put the butter in the a pan with the water. Heat it gently until the butter has melted and then bring it to the boil.

Remove the pan from the heat and tip in the flour immediately. Beat thoroughly with a WOODEN spoon. Continue to beat over a low heat until the mixture is smooth and makes a ball in the centre of the pan (be careful not to overbeat or the mix will become too fatty but as this is quite strenuous to do I think you'll be ok!!). Remove from the heat and leave to cool for a couple of minutes.

If you have a mixer on a rotating stand you can use it in this next part. Beat in the eggs a little at a time (or use the wooden spoon and beating vigorously to get in as much air as possible)  until you get a lovely firm, glossy piping mix.

If you use large eggs you may not need to use all of the egg as you do not want to 'overwet' the mixture as it will just spread out on the tray and won't rise.


Line a tray with baking paper.
For eclairs (and with a large nozzle) pipe the mixture  about 3 - 4 inches in length.  For profiteroles pipe the mix about an inch in diameter and for Choux buns pipe twice as large as the size for profiteroles.

Place in the oven for 5 minutes and reduce heat in oven to 180˚C (160˚Fan oven). Cook for another 12 / 15 minutes

Remove the eclairs/ buns/ profireroles and pierce a small hole in the side or bottom and put them back in the oven to dry out inside for another 5 minutes. (The hole lets the steam escape). Turn off the oven but leave the pastries in the oven for about 5 minutes then remove and leave to cool on a wire rack.

ICING:

Sieve some icing sugar and cocoa powder and mix with a teaspoon or two of water to mix to a very slightly drizzly, glossy texture. Spread over the top of the eclairs and set in the fridge.

Add 1 teaspoon of Irel or Camp coffee instead of cocoa to make coffee icing

Fill with cream adding Irel / Camp to the cream before you whip it gives it a lovely coffee / toffee taste

For Choux buns: fill with cream and dust lightly with icing sugar.  You can also use a traditional Creme Patissiere - which is similar to a light custard - 



 

CREME PATISSIERE

INGREDIENTS:

4 egg yolks

100g caster sugar

25g plain flour (sifted)

1 Vanilla pod or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

350 ml milk

METHOD:

Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl with the sugar until light and thick. Fold in the flour. Put a split vanilla pod in a saucepan with the milk and bring it slowly up to just below the boil. Remove the vanilla pod and pour the milk onto the egg mixture, whisking all the time.

Return the mixture to the pan and stir over a low-medium heat until it comes up to a very gentle boil. The mixture will to boil so that it will thicken. Continue to cook, whisking / stirring all the time for about 2 minutes or until it has thickened.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the vanilla extract and pour into a bowl. If the mixture goes a little lumpy while cooking, remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk firmly until smooth. Cover with cling film so that a skin does not form on the top and allow to cool.

The cream can be made and stored in the fridge in advance or even frozen.