Home Made Cocoa Bread

Home made bread is such a lovely treat, every time I make some I always think to myself that I should make it more often. But, then modern life gets in the way. So, I still only rarely bake bread. When I do though, I don't like to make plain standard breads. Cocoa is one of my favourite additions to bread. No, it's not chocolate bread! It would only be a sweet chocolate bread if you also added lots more sugar to it. The cocoa adds a deep richness and ever so slight bitterness to it, which is so divine.

I love these kinds of breads in winter, served with soup or tagine or casserole. But they're also wonderful in summer because they're lovely to snack on and to use for summery open sandwiches. When it's freshly baked I love just eating it in slices with just vegan margarine, nothing else needed!

Nuts can be a nice addition to this bread, and can be added (about 1/2 cup) during the second kneading.

Cocoa Bread

Ingredients

2 tsp yeast

1/4 cup warm water

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup soy milk

3 tbsp vegan friendly margarine

2 1/2 cups plain flour

To Make

1. Combine the yeast and warm water set aside, this should become frothy and smell very yeasty. If it doesn't froth up on top, check to see that your yeast is in date.

2. Mix the cocoa, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Warm the milk in a saucepan and then remove from the heat and add the margarine. Combine this with the cocoa, sugar and salt in the bowl. Cool slightly and then add the yeast mixture. 

3. Add enough flour to come together into a dough. I'd suggest adding the two cups and then adding the 1/2 cup gradually as needed until you reach the right consistency. The dough should not stick to the edges of the bowl or your fingers, but should be sticky enough to stay together in one ball without crumbling. If it is too sticky, add a little more flour. 

4. Roll into a ball. Knead on a floured benchtop for 5-8 minutes, until smooth and elastic. 

5. Dust the mixing bowl with flour and place the dough back in. Cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap and leave in a warm spot to double in size (probably about an hour). 

6. Punch down the dough and knead briefly again. Place on a greased (or lined with greaseproof paper) baking dish or baking tray and shape into a nice loaf shape. Cover and allow to rise again until double (or almost) in bulk). 

7. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C while you're waiting for it to rise again. Use a pair of scissors or a sharp knife to cut some slits in the top of your loaf and then bake for approximately 1 hour. 

Makes 1 loaf. 

Whiskey Soaked Fig & Apricot Banana Bread

I love it when I forget about my bananas and stumble upon them a week later deliciously brown and bursting with extra banana-y flavour. It means one thing - banana bread. It's great because it really is compulsory, otherwise the bananas will go to waste, so I have no choice but to bake a loaf. Banana bread is also wonderful for experimenting with. This time I had a bottle of whiskey that was taking up space in my booze cupboard but only had a couple of tablespoons left in it, so I decided I had better use that up too (to make more space for other things!). 

If you're a banana bread lover, make sure you check out my super special Chai Banana Bread.

Whiskey Soaked Fig & Apricot Banana Bread

Ingredients

1/4 cup chopped dried apricots

1/4 cup chopped dried figs

3 tbsp whiskey (you can also use brandy or rum)

1 banana, mashed well (should make about 1/2 cup, a bit more or a bit less is fine)

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup canola oil (to make a healthier loaf you can substitute 1/3 cup apple sauce and 1 tbsp canola oil)

2/3 cup soy milk

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 1/4 cups wholemeal flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarb soda

1/4 cup almonds, halved

To Make

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (if your oven is fan forced then reduce to 170).

2. Place the chopped apricots and figs in a bowl with the whiskey and let soak for about 20 minutes.

3. Combine the banana, sugar, oil, soy milk and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine.

4. Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarb into the batter and mix well. You'll have lots of little wholemeal husks left in your strainer after sifting, but you can just throw those in too.

5. Stir in the soaked fruit and the almonds. If there is any whiskey left in the bottom of the bowl just throw that in too. 

6. Line a 22cm/9inch long loaf tin and line with greaseproof baking paper. Pour in the batter and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Makes 1 loaf.

I've entered this dish in the Vegan Virtual Linky Potluck.

Georgian Lobiani (Kidney Bean Bread)

Since in my last post I was chatting away about Georgia and Eurovision, let's chat about it some more. Since now Eurovision 2014 has been broadcast live around the world from the beautiful city of Copenhagen. Sadly, Georgia's entry this year was a little bit too 'unusual' to do very well, and didn't even make it through to the finals. They've never had an entry as their first every entry (Sopho! I loved her!), so we don't need to talk about their entry. But I will mention this year's winner, Conchitta Wurst, because I'm so happy for her right now. Here she is:

I think she is absolutely beautiful, what a stunner! She took Eurovision by storm with her Bond-style ballad "Rise Like a Phoenix". Her inclusion was somewhat controversial, as it was heavily opposed by conservatives Russia, Armerna and Belarus. But she took every piece of criticism and vitriol with elegance and good grace and behaved so much better than all those who abused her. Wonderfully, so many other countries in Europe rallied around to support her, giving her a clear win on the night. I wouldn't say that it was necessarily the best song of the night, but further proof that the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 is not really about the songs, but about the politics and it was wonderful to see most of Europe rally around and show their support for this exquisite 'gender neutral' drag queen. 

Congratulations Conchitta on your amazing win and I'm looking forward to seeing you again in Vienna in 2015. 

Enough about Eurovision until next year, when I'm sure you'll be hearing from me again about it :) 

Continuing in the Georgian theme, here is another delicious dish - also featuring kidney beans! It's a pan fried flatbread filled with kidney beans, but really has the potential to be filled with whatever you like. My partner keeps asking me to make him one filled with "pizza" (i.e. tomato paste, pizza toppings and gooey cheese). It really does have a lot of potential.

Georgian Lobiani (Kidney Bean Bread)

Ingredients

1 cup kidney beans, soaked for 48 hours

3 bay leaves

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tbsp vegan margarine

500g plain flour

14g dried yeast

1/4 tsp salt

200ml warm water

To Make

1. Drain the soaked beans, place in a saucepan and cover with plenty of water and the bay leaves. Boil for 45-60 minutes, or until cooked through. When cooked remove the bay leaves and then drain and transfer to a bowl. While still hot add the crushed garlic and the margarine. Mash up until it has the consistency of mashed potatoes. I left my beans a little chunky but you can make them as smooth as you like.

2. Mix the yeast with the warm water and set aside for 10 minutes, until frothy. Combine 400g flour, salt and yeast mixture in a bowl. Mix by hand until you form a smooth dough, you may need to add more flour if it is too sticky (it shouldn't be sticking to your hands as you knead) or more water if it is too dry (not able to come together in a smooth ball). Place in an oiled mixing bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Leave in a warm place for 1 hour to rise. 

3. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead in the remaining 100g flour. Knead until you have a firm dough. Divide into 2 equal parts and form each into a ball. Flatten each ball out with your fingers (or a rolling pin) to make a 1cm thick circular disk. 

4. Place half of the bean mixture in the middle of each disk. Wrap the edges of the dough around the bean mix and pinch the edges together to seal it in (be careful not to trap any air inside as you do this). Gently flatten out the ball of dough, spreading the bean mixture inside as you do so. You'll end up with two flat disks 2-3cm thick.

5. Gently score the top of each one with a knife. Heat a non stick pan on a medium heat and cook each lobiani for 5-7 minutes on each side, they should be just slightly golden but still pale. Remove from the pan and brush immediately with a little vegan margarine. Serve immediately. Allowing them to cool down and then reheating them can cause them to go very hard and crunchy (which isn't always a bad thing, but not what you're going for!).

Makes 2.

This month I'm featuring recipes from Georgia.

Check out my other Georgian recipe posts:

Lobio (Kidney Bean Salad)

Nigvzis Torti (Walnut Raisin Torte)

Oyster Mushroom & Rice Pastries

I entered this dish into the Vegan Virtual Linky Potluck.

Kale Pesto & Sun-dried Tomato Toasts

Things have been a bit quiet around here you may have noticed. I hope you haven't minded the lack of recipe posts, but I've had some big things happening being the scenes. Firstly, you may have noticed that the blog design is in the process of changing around a bit. I felt it was due an update, but it is currently a work in progress and will get a few more tweaks - what do you think? You can be honest, is it too blocky and black?

Secondly I've been squirrelling away recipes here and there for my upcoming cookbook, which will be released later this year. Thirdly, I may have been caught up in organising a rather large event in which I'll get to wear a spectacular dress.

But I'll get back on track posting recipe soon, and in the meantime have this lovely recipe. It's a simple and easy finger food recipe which is never the less bursting with flavour and will have people going back for another one straight away. It's a very easy to prepare recipe, you can make the pesto the night before and even toast the bread in advance too. So that all you have to do when you want to serve them is spread some pesto on and place a sundried tomato on top - too easy!

I reccommed using a home made pesto on these, but if you're really not keen to make your own then you can also use a good quality store bought pesto. However, it won't have the same fresh taste or the bright green colour. I've used my home made kale and macadamia pesto, but you can use any pesto you like. For a bit more of a kick, try my rocket and chilli pesto, or if you're a traditionalist you can just stick with good old basil and pine nuts. Or for a different take on basil pesto - try my broad bean pesto.

Enough chat, though! Here is the recipe:

Kale Pesto & Sun-dried Tomato Toasts

Ingredients
1 jar kale & macadamia pesto
1 baguette (French stick)
1 jar sun dried tomato slices

To Make
1. Make the pesto first, you can do this up to a week in advance.
2. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees celcius and have it on the 'grill' setting (meaning the oven is hottest at the top).
3. Slice the baguette as thin as you can without it starting to break up (about 1 cm thick is usually about right). Arrange your slices on a tray and place in the oven. Keep watch over them, as they won't take very long to cook. Once they are slightly golden on one side, remove the tray and flip all the pieces over. Return to the oven for another couple of minutes, or until that side is a nice golden brown too. Remove and cool. You may have to do this in batches.
4. Once the toasts cool, they should have hardened up nice and crispy. No more than 20 minutes before you want to serve it, you can assemble them. Do so by spreading a generous layer of kale pesto on each of the toasts and topping with a slice of sun dried tomato. Serve and watch them disappear in minutes!

I've entered this dish in the Vegan Virtual Linky Potluck.

Za'atar Cornbread in a Jar (Homemade Edible Christmas Gifts)

You might notice a slightly *cornbready* theme to my Edible Xmas posts this year, as I've already posted my Chilli Cornbread in a jar. Well, I got onto a good thing and I ran with it. This cornbread is made with Za'atar - a middle eastern herb and spice mixture. Ingredients can vary, but it's commonly made using thyme, marjoram, oregano, sesame seeds, sumac and sometimes other spices. It has a strong taste, and I advise you to only give this gift to somebody that you already know loves za'atar!

Here is what you'll need:

1 x empty 500ml jar with a lid
1 cup plain wholemeal flour
1/4 cup baking powder
2 tbsp za'atar (add more if they absolutely love it, but no more than 4 tbsp)
1 cup polenta

You'll also want:
A funnel to get everything into the jar in neat layers
Cardboard tags or Xmas tags
Ribbons for decorating and tying the tag on.

Assembly...
Using a funnel, layer the ingredients into the jar. Start with the flour, then the baking powder, then the za'taar and then the polenta. If you find that your jar is slightly bigger and not completely full, just add a bit more polenta to fill it up, it should work out fine.

Now: Here is what your label should say:

Za'taar Cornbread
To Make:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
2. Empty contents of jar into a large bowl.
3. Add 1 cup soy milk, 1/3 cup canola oil and 1/3 cup water. Mix.
4. Grease a loaf tin or small/medium baking dish. Pour in batter.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Eat!

Want more Edible Gift Ideas?

Bean Soup in a Jar!

Homemade jams

Super Gingery Gingerbread People (Personalised) 

Spiced Shortbread

Orange and Pistachio biscuits 

Croatian Cracked Pepper Spice Biscuits

Afghan pistachio biscuits

Basil and Pineapple Infused Vodka

Strawberry and Lime Infused Vodka

Raspberry Infused Vodka

Cranberry, Apple and Cinnamon Infused Vodka
Chilli Cornbread in a Jar

Chilli Cornbread in a Jar (Edible Christmas Gifts)

December has arrived yet again and it's time to get seriously organised about Xmas! A bit of planning now can save you plenty of stress later, so let's talk about edible Xmas gifts. I make edible Xmas gifts every year. They're a win/win, because they work out cheaper for me and the person getting it doesn't risk getting something they don't actually want or need. They also work well if you're put in a position where you have to buy something for someone you don't actually know very well (teachers, neighbours, work colleagues, in laws, girlfriends/boyfriends that family members are bringing to Xmas, the cousins that you only ever see at Xmas). An edible gift means you don't risk cluttering up their lives/houses with something they don't want/need. It also means you don't risk wasting your money on something that they might just re-gift or throw out.

In the past I've done plenty of cupcakes and biscuits for people, which is lovely. But sometimes it's good to go a little bit healthier. Maybe your mum is trying to lose some weight, maybe your grandmother isn't in the best of health, maybe your cousin is diabetic or maybe you know that they all eat way too much junk anyway and they don't need more chocolate and biscuits. Or maybe, you just want to do something a bit different.

People who love chilli are great to buy for. You can always hand over a bottle of fancy chilli sauce or some home made chilli jam or chilli vodka and you know they'll be thrilled. If you have a chilli lover in your family or friends then this chilli cornbread is a great and unique gift! The jar contains all the dry ingredients for a hot chilli cornbread, with a tag attached explaining a simple recipe for cooking it up. They don't have to be a cooking enthusiast to make it, it's as easy as A, B, Chilli!

Here is what you'll need:

1 x empty 500ml jar with a lid
1 cup plain wholemeal flour
1/4 cup baking powder
2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup polenta
1-3 tsp chilli flakes (depending on how hot they like it!)

You'll also want:
A funnel to get everything into the jar in neat layers
Cardboard tags or Xmas tags
Ribbons for decorating and tying the tag on.

Assembly...
Using a funnel, layer the ingredients into the jar. Start with the flour, then the baking powder, then the cayenne pepper and then the polenta. Add the flaked chilli on top so that they get a surprise when they open the jar (more chilli!). If you find that your jar is slightly bigger and not completely full, just add a bit more polenta to fill it up, it should work out fine.

Now: Here is what your label should say:

Chilli Cornbread
To Make:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
2. Empty contents of jar into a large bowl.
3. Add 1 cup soy milk, 1/3 cup canola oil and 1/3 cup water. Mix.
4. Grease a loaf tin or small/medium baking dish. Pour in batter.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Eat!

Want more Edible Gift Ideas?

Bean Soup in a Jar!

Homemade jams

Super Gingery Gingerbread People (Personalised) 

Spiced Shortbread

Orange and Pistachio biscuits 

Croatian Cracked Pepper Spice Biscuits

Afghan pistachio biscuits

Basil and Pineapple Infused Vodka

Strawberry and Lime Infused Vodka

Raspberry Infused Vodka

Cranberry, Apple and Cinnamon Infused Vodka

Beetroot & Vegan Feta Cheese Fugazza (Focaccia)

Good afternoon all! Today is a very special day, it's the biannual Vegan Virtual Potluck! It's so much fun to see what everyone has brought to the potluck, even though it takes me a good couple of hours to sit down and go through all the blogs that participate each time. A big shout out to all the great bloggers, especially Lidia & Annie, who work really hard behind the scenes to get such a huge logistical event working! I'm happy to be a volunteer on this potluck, doing my little bit to get it all together.

A quick note before I get onto potluck business! If you're new to my blog - welcome! I hope you'll really enjoy yourself, there are more than 200 recipes to browse through. You can use the recipe index above, or the labels on the side to look for particular ingredients or ethnic cuisines. You can also follow me on Twitter, or on Pinterest or by liking my page on Facebook. Today I'm starting to share with you a special "12 Days of Easy Edible Xmas Gifts" series on my facbook page, each day will be a new & interesting idea for a vegan home made edible gift and I promise you that there will be some you've never through of before :)



Enough of that though! On with the potluck. The potluck is split into categories, and I've been trying to go in a new category every time. This is my third potluck, my first potluck I went in 'Desserts' and made this Choc Banana Ice Cream Pie (Vegan & Sugar Free!). My second potluck I thought I'd try my hand at 'Beverages' so I made a Turkish Delight Martini.  For my third time around I've signed up for 'Breads'.

In hindsight I don't know why I signed up for breads, because I've been recently eating a lot less bread and have managed to lose 3kg because of my healthy kick. So, I realised that if I was going to make a bread-y thing for this potluck I would have to invite some friends over to help me eat it! I did, and they loved it!

This recipe was inspired by the Argentinian Caramelised Onion Fugazza which I made for Argentina Month on the blog. It's a symbol of the strong Italian influence on Argentinian cuisine, because it's essentially a focaccia. I was so happy with how my Caramelised Onion Fugazza turned out that I knew I would be experimenting with in the future. For this special Virtual Vegan Potluck Version, I've used marinated beetroot and my special home made Vegan Feta Cheese.

Beetroot & Vegan Feta Cheese Focaccia

Ingredients
1 cup warm water
2 tsp yeast
2 tsp sugar
2 2/3 cup plain flour
1 tsp salt
8 tbsp olive oil, divided
2 large beetroot, peeled and chopped into wedges
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 onion, peeled and sliced
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
3-4 sundried tomatoes, cut into strips
1 cup Vegan Feta Cheese cubes (unbaked)

To Make:
1. Combine the warm water, sugar and yeast in a bowl and set aside for 5-10 minutes, until the mixture is frothy on top.
2. Combine the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Add 5 tbsp olive oil and the yeast mixture and mix to form a dough. It should be soft and pliable, but not sticking to your fingers. If it's too wet add a bit more flour, if it's too dry to hold together add a little more water.
3. Turn the dough out onto a floured benchspace and knead for 10 minutes (set your oven timer and put on some good music to sing along to).
4. Lightly oil the mixing bowl and return the ball of dough to it. Cover with cling wrap or a tea towel and leave in a warm place to rise for 45 minutes (or until doubled in size). In the meantime you can preheat your oven to 180 degrees.
7. While the dough is rising, boil the beetroot slices until just tender, and place in a bowl with the mustard and balsamic vinegar. Toss well and set aside until you need them.
6. Once risen turn the dough out and punch down into a smooth ball. Oil a round pan with 2 tbsp olive oil and place your ball of dough in the centre. Gently flatten the ball out into a disc with your fingers. You'll get to a point where you can't stretch it any further without it springing back. When you get to this stage just set is aside and let it rest for 10 minutes (while it's resting you can chop up your onions).
7. After 10 minutes the dough should have relaxed, allowing you to spread it out further. Keep doing this until the dough covers the whole pan and reaches the edges (you may have to rest it again before you can get it the full diameter).
8. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a fry pan and saute the onions until softened. Add the sugar and vinegar and cook for about 5 minutes.
9. Spread the onions over the the base and top with the beetroot slices, sundried tomatoes and the cubes of Vegan Feta Cheese. Drizzle with a bit of the oil from the jar of sundried tomatoes.
10. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the edges become golden brown. Remove from the oven, slice and serve up.

This is the virtual vegan potluck, which is so much fun so make sure you check out everyone else's posts too!

To start from the beginning and work your way through head to the very first blog in the chain by clicking right....... here. If you've already worked your way through all the recipes before me then I hope you're enjoying all the dishes. I can't wait to sit down with a cup of tea and go through them all!

What's next in breads? Time to move on to the next Potluck Offering. 

Hit this button to go to the previous post by Bite Me, I'm Vegan, or click here:

Hit this button to go to the next post by In Pursuit of More, or click here:

Nepalese Potato Roti (Aloo Roti)

I adore roti! I never knew how easy it was to make my own roti until I went to Sri Lanka and had the most delicious and fun cooking class at Unawatuna. It was so easy to make the delicious coconut roti that Karuna taught us that it's become a firm favourite at home. So, I never pass up the chance to make more roti - and different varieties always make me a little excited inside. This is Aloo or Aalu (potato) roti that I made for Nepal month is a great addition to my roti repertoire. Flavoured lightly with chilli, spices fresh coriander, it is delicious to mop up your curry or slather with some tomato achar or any other chutney or pickle.

Nepalese Potato Roti

Ingredients
3 large potatoes
1 green chilli, seeds and placenta removed
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups wholemeal flour
Oil for frying

To Make
1. Peel and chop potatoes. Boil until well cooked then drain and mash finely. Allow to cool.
2. Once the potatoes have cooled, add the chilli, garlic, coriander, cumin and salt and stir well to combine.
3. Add the flour and stir well to combine. Take small handfuls of this dough and place on a floured surface. Use your fingers to flatten into a disk about 1 cm thick. Use a small bowl to cut out the roti into evenly shaped circles (this keeps them all the same size).
4. Heat a small amount of oil in a non stick pan. Fry the roti for a few minutes on each side on a medium heat, until they become golden brown and crispy on the outside. Keep warm as you cook the remaining roti. Serve warm with tomato achar.

Makes 10 roti (may vary depending on the size of the bowl you use to cut them into circles).

This month I'm featuring lots of recipes from Nepal!

Check out my other Nepali/Nepalese recipe posts:

Tomato Achar

Semolina Halva

Vegetable Momo with Chilli Sesame Dipping Sauce

Chilli Grapefruit & Orange Salad

Saag Tarkari

Sesame Chilli Fried Potatoes

Fugazza (Argentinian Caramelised Onion Focaccia)

This month I'm cooking and sharing lots of Argentinian food, and I've learn't a lot about it so far! I was surprised how often pasta, gnocchi and focaccia came up in my research and in talking with Argentinian friends. Italian in Argentina? Apparently so! There is quite a strong Italian influence in Argentina which lead to some delicious fusion and the prominence of some classic Italian dishes (you'll be seeing a couple from me this month!). 

I love focaccia so I couldn't pass up the chance to make this one. Whilst the Italian varieties tend to be topped with olives and herbs (or sometimes sundried tomatoes), the Argentinian version is generally topped with onions and dried oregano. It's called Fugazza - and it's delicious. You can either top with raw chopped onion (it'll cook up as you bake the focaccia) or you can make it even tastier by slightly caramelising the onions first. Guess which option I picked? Caramelised onions every time.

Ingredients
1 cup warm water
2 tsp yeast
2 tsp sugar
2 2/3 cup plain flour
1 tsp salt
8 tbsp olive oil, divided
2 onions, peeled and sliced
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
3 tbsp dried oregano

To Make
1. Combine the warm water, sugar and yeast in a bowl and set aside for 5-10 minutes, until the mixture is frothy on top.
2. Combine the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Add 5 tbsp olive oil and the yeast mixture and mix to form a dough. It should be soft and pliable, but not sticking to your fingers. If it's too wet add a bit more flour, if it's too dry to hold together add a little more water.
3. Turn the dough out onto a floured benchspace and knead for 10 minutes (set your oven timer and put on some good music to sing along to).
4. Lightly oil the mixing bowl and return the ball of dough to it. Cover with cling wrap or a tea towel and leave in a warm place to rise for 45 minutes (or until doubled in size). In the meantime you can preheat your oven to 180 degrees.
5. Once risen turn the dough out and punch down into a smooth ball. Oil a round pan with 2 tbsp olive oil and place your ball of dough in the centre. Gently flatten the ball out into a disc with your fingers. You'll get to a point where you can't stretch it any further without it springing back. When you get to this stage just set is aside and let it rest for 10 minutes (while it's resting you can chop up your onions).
6. After 10 minutes the dough should have relaxed, allowing you to spread it out further. Keep doing this until the dough covers the whole pan and reaches the edges (you may have to rest it again before you can get it the full diameter).
7. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a fry pan and saute the onions until softened. Add the sugar and vinegar and cook for about 5 minutes.
8. Spread the onions over the the base and sprinkle liberally with dried oregano and a drizzle of olive oil.
9. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the edges become golden brown. Remove from the oven, slice and serve up.

This month I'm featuring lots of recipes from Argentina!

Check out my other Argentinian recipe posts:

Vegan Dulce de Leche

Dulce de Leche Tiramisu

Sweetcorn Empanadas

Alfajores (Dulce de Leche Sandwich Biscuits)

Pumpkin & Jalapeño Empanadas

Blackberry & Almond Braid

Making bread is so many things. Therapeutic, impressive, aromatic, calming. Also very, very rewarding in a delicious way. I hope you're enjoying 2013, and that you take a bit of time out to relax, read a book and bake some bread. Maybe even this bread - a sweet bread perfect for breakfast, morning tea, afternoon tea or dessert.

Blackberry & Almond Braid

Ingredients

1/4 cup soy milk, slightly warmed

2 tsp instant yeast

1/4 cup sugar

3 cups plain flour

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup (180ml) coconut milk

3/4 cup blackberry jam

1 cup almonds, roughly chopped

Extra soy milk for brushing

To Make

1. In a large mixing bowl combine the warm soy milk, yeast and sugar and whisk together. Set aside for 10 minutes until the top gets frothy.

2. Add the flour, salt and coconut milk to the yeast mixture and mix to form a dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead it until it's smooth and elastic, which should take no less than 5 minutes, and as much as 10 minutes.

3. Return to the bowl and and cover with cling wrap or a tea towel. Leave in a warm spot to rise for 90 minutes. 

4. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees. Divide dough into three equal pieces and place on a floured benchtop. Roll each piece in a long thin strip about 45 cm long and about 6 cm wide (don't get a ruler out, just make them all long and thin and about the same length!).

5. Spread 1/4 cup jam and 1/3 cup chopped almonds along each piece, leaving about 2cm around the edge.

6. Fold the edges in on all three pieces and transfer to a large baking tray lines with greaseproof paper. Pinch them together at one end and braid the strands as tightly as you can (you're probably going to benefit from an extra pair of hands for this). Twist the strands a bit as you plait, to make the jam even more marbled through the bread.

7. Brush the top with soymilk and bake for 40 minutes, or until golden brown on top and cooked through. The jam may spill out the sides a bit, don't worry.

8. Cool to room temperature and slice.

Makes 1 large loaf.

Dutch Lazybones Buns (Luilakbollen)

Good morning all! I hope you will forgive my long stretch without posting, I have gotten into a rather bad habit lately of leaving all my posts 'til the end of the month and then being sick of writing posts by the end of the month and then taking the first week or two of the next month off the blog completely. Which, of course is a vicious cycle, because it means that all my posts get left until the end of the month again. Oh dear, what a convoluted mess. I'm going to try and break that habit next month!

So, as it happens I'm posting my first April post up today. Did you all enjoy March's Samoan food? I hope so! Unless of course you hate coconut in which case it probably wasn't your month! This month we're travelling pretty far away from Samoa, back into Europe. This month we're having.... drumroll.....

The Netherlands Month!

This month Dutch food will be happening big time at Gormandize! I hope you're ready for a really delicious month (silly sentence really, as you're obviously not hoping for a really disgusting food month).

Although a few Dutch dishes have made it big internationally (like Speculaas!), overall their cuisine is relatively unknown on the world stage and doesn't tend to get a lot of hype from foodies. Infact, the Netherlands seems to be mostly famous for drugs and it's red light district. Oh, as well as windmills and clogs. I visited the Netherlands with my family when I was about 10 years old and, needless to say, didn't experience any of it's (in)famous drug culture. I did, however, learn what a red light district was and have a ball at the windmills and clog shops.

Enough gibber-jabbering now though, it's time to talk about food! Dutch food is probably best known for it's spiced biscuits, cakes and breads and so that is exactly where we're starting. These are called Lazybones Buns, and the cute name isn't the only reason I picked them to try first out of all the Dutch recipes I googled. Having, just had Easter, I've been having a lot of delicious Hot Cross Buns. To me, Easter is all about Hot Cross Buns, and then suddenly (literally overnight), they're not available any more :( So, I sometimes have some withdrawal cravings.

These Lazybones Buns remind me quite a bit of hot cross buns (minus the cross on top of course), so they were perfect for my withdrawal. They're a bit like a cross between a hot cross bun and a fruit scone, either way they made a pretty sensational breakfast or afternoon tea snack. 

There is a lovely tradition behind these buns, and as I'm not Dutch I'm going to refer you to another source to explain it:

"Luilak these days is a very localized custom - Amsterdam and surroundings - on the Saturday morning before Pentecost. Children and teens rise very early to play pranks on those considered to be ‘lazybones,’ by ringing their doorbell and then run away. Before ringing the bell they tie the doorknob to another fixed object, and make all kinds of noises to awake people. In earlier times they would chant and parade noisily through the streets, bang on pots and pans, use rattles and sticks. The person in the family who slept in the longest that Saturday morning, by tradition was expected to treat with these buns" 

~Extract from www.godutch.com

Ok, we're almost there! I know I've been banging on a bit in this post, but I promise you there is a recipe coming soon! One more thing that I should mention is this: these buns are traditionally made with raisins and currants as the fruit. When I set out to make them I was sure there was a box of currants in my cupboard - but turns out I was wrong! So instead I've made mine with dried cranberries and raisins, and it was delicious so I recommend it :)

Luilakbollen Recipe

Adapted from the Hairy Bikers' Recipe 

Ingredients

50g vegan butter or margarine

1/2 cup non dairy milk (I used rice milk, but any will do fine)

2 tsp dried yeast

300g plain white flour

100g wholemeal flour

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground ginger

Zest of 1 lemon

75g raisins

50g dried cranberries (or currants)

To Make

1. Place the butter small saucepan and heat until the butter is melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the milk and then the dried yeast. Set aside for 10 minutes, a slight foam should form on the top (if it doesn't, check the expiry date on your yeast!).

2. In a large bowl combine all the remaining ingredients. Make a well in the centre and pour in the yeast.

3. Mix well until it forms a ball and then turn it out onto a floured surface. Knead for 5 minutes (set your oven timer otherwise you'll invariably do it for too short a time!).

4. Sprinkle some flour (or brush some oil) over the bowl and then return the ball of dough to the bowl and cover with a tea towel or some cling wrap. Leave in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours to rise. 

5. Turn it out onto your bench again and knead briefly, then divide into eight equal portions and roll them into balls. Place on a large baking tray lined with baking paper.

6. Cover and leave in the warm spot again for a further 45 minutes (while this is happening, heat up your oven to 180 degrees).

7. Bake the buns for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Remove and allow to cool slightly and then heat warm with a generous smear of vegan margarine or butter. 

Makes 8 buns.

This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food from The Netherlands.

Check out my other Dutch recipe posts:

Naked Babies in the Grass

Speculaas (Spice Biscuits)

Hollandse Stroopkoek (Syrup & Beer Cake)

Gevulde Speculaas

Fresh Coconut Bread Rolls

A slight confession - this isn't really a Samoan recipe. I'm not sure if they eat savoury coconut bread in Samoa. So why am I posting it for Samoan food month? Because - I found quite a lot of recipes for sweet coconut bread, but I really felt like making savoury bread instead so I just left out the sugar so that I could serve it with all my delicious savoury Samoan treats. It was perfect for mopping up the creamy coconut sauces of the other savoury dishes ("what creamy coconut sauces!?" you are thinking - don't worry I'll be posting up those recipes very soon!).

If you make this bread and serve it up to guests - they will have a hard time believing that you made it yourself! It's perfectly fluffy and it a sensational taste and texture thanks to the freshly grated coconut. If you buy a fresh coconut, you'll need a coconut grater to get the flesh out of the coconut. You can also use pre grated fresh coconut, which is available at some Asian markets. If you don't have either, you can use dessicated coconut instead. Just add an extra 2 tsp water to the dough so that it's not too dry.

Ingredients
1/2 cup finely grated fresh coconut
2 tbsp sugar
3 1/2 tsp dried yeast
1/2 cup warm water
3 1/2 cups plain flour, plus more for kneading
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
1 cup coconut milk or cream
3 tbsp Nuttelex or other vegan margarine, melted

To Make
1. Combine the coconut, sugar, yeast and warm water into a small bowl and whisk together. Set aside for 15 minutes until frothy.
2. Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and add the yeast mixture, coconut milk and melted margarine. Using your hands or a big wooden spoon, mix together well.
3. Turn dough out onto a well floured surface and knead, dusting with additional flour as needed. Knead until soft and elastic, for 5 to 6 minutes. Form into a ball and place it back into the bowl. Cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm spot (what warm spot?? See this post!) to let rise for 1 1/2 hours.
4. After rising, the dough should be at least doubt in size. Turn it our again onto your floured surface. Divide it into 8 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball.
5. Place pieces on a tray lined with baking paper about 3-4 inches apart. Set back in your warm spot, uncovered this time, for another 45 minutes to rise again. While they're rising you can preheat your oven to 180 degrees.
6. Bake the bread rolls until golden brown on top, it should take 20-25 minutes. Serve warm or allow to cool to room temperature. Don't put in the fridge, once they have cooled down just store them in an airtight container until you're ready to use them.

Makes 8 bread rolls.

This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food from Samoa.

Check out my other recipe posts:

Paifala (Pineapple Turnovers)

Creamy Coconut Rice (Alaisa Fa'apopo)

Koko Rice

Sweet Potato in Creamy Coconut Sauce

Sapasui (Chop Suey)