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Nettle Pancakes – Sweet or Savoury

Spring has arrived, and with it, has come the best season for foraging. This is a great time of year to get your hands on some earthy, fresh deep green nettle leaves. Choosing these early leaves ensures a pungent taste as well as a rich supply of vitamins. Nettles have an array of uses, from tea to soup. But for a different use for this wonderful weed, I’ve chosen to pop them is some delicious thin pancakes.

These nettle pancakes can be eaten as a sweet treat, an after dinner desert or as a savoury dish.

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Batter:

50g organic plain flour

50g organic spelt flour

50g butter, melted

500ml milk

50g nettles

2 eggs

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For the savoury filling:

1 courgette

2 small carrots

1 small onion

1 tin of butter beans

2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp cumin seeds

100g greek feta

salt and pepper to taste
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Start by foraging for the nettles, choosing the youngest and lushest looking leaves.

Be sure to wear thick gloves, to avoid the stings!

Blanche the nettles by pouring a kettle of boiling water over the nettles, drain, then chop, discarding any large stems.
Next, sift the two flours into a bowl and beat in the eggs, milk and melted butter. Add the nettles, and mix well.
Fry the pancakes on medium heat, in a little butter, for a minute on each side or until lightly golden.

Serve the nettle pancakes with jam, or fill with a savoury filling.

For the filling:

Wash and chop all the vegetables. Sweat the onion on a large pan with the spices, followed by the carrots and courgette. Add the butter beans and tomatoes. Simmer for 15 min. Add salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, fill the pancakes with the filling and crumble the feta cheese on top.

White Chocolate and Pumpkin Seed Flapjacks

Published by Anna @ Camera & Clementine

As a quick look at the weather forecast revealed the weather to be mild over the weekend, we decided to spend it in the garden, getting the veg plots sorted.

And as I knew a lot of digging was going to take place, a portion of flapjacks wouldn’t go a miss, to keep the biceps working.

With lots of chewy oaty goodness and a little added white chocolate and pumpkin seeds, these are great for re-fueling on. They are also really good taken on a walk, and enjoyed up a hill, with a flask of tea.

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300g unsalted organic butter, plus extra to grease
75g soft brown sugar
6 tbsp golden syrup
400g organic oats
50g pumpkin or other seeds
50g white chocolate chips
pinch of salt

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Preheat your oven to 160C/150C fan/ gas 2, and grease and line a square tin roughly measuring 25×25 cm.

Melt the butter, sugar, golden syrup and salt in a small pan on low heat. Pour over the oats and mix well, add the chocolate and seeds and combine.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, and press down evenly, paying attention to the corners.

Pop in the oven for 25-30 min. Once baked, take out of the oven and leave to cool slightly. Before completely set, cut into rectangles or squares. Serve with a nice cup of tea!

Potato Duaphinoise with Cabbage and Cheddar with a Side of Portobello Mushrooms

Published by Anna @ Camera & Clementine

I get most of my veg at a great little farm shop, The Ardross Farm Shop, near Elie in Fife. They mainly stock vegetables that are in season, so its a great way to stay in touch with British seasonal produce, and eat accordingly.

As its still cold (I know I keep banging on about it) they still have cabbage in supply. And I love cabbage, mainly because when all the summer crops have been eaten, cabbage matures and is ready for eating during the winter. A real trooper of a vegetable, a little hero full of vitamins that are essential when the days are still cold and grey.

Here is a tasty variation of the traditional Potato Dauphinoise, with cheese and cabbage.
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6 large waxy potatoes, such as King Edward
½ head of green cabbage
400ml double cream
400ml milk
2 cloves of garlic
100g cheddar cheese
½ tsp nutmeg
salt, pepper to taste

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Preheat your oven to 200°c/fan 180°c/gas 6, and prepare a baking dish by rubbing it with butter. Slice the potatoes very thinly and layer them into the dish, sprinkling the finely chopped cabbage and cheese in between the layers. Mix the cream, milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg in a bowl, and pour over the layered potatoes.

Bake for 60-75 min.

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Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

4 large flat mushrooms 1/2 courgette
1/2 onion
1/2 red pepper
1 garlic clove
25g cheddar cheese
a few sprigs of thyme
olive oil to drizzle
salt and pepper to season

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Chop all the ingredients ( except the mushrooms ) and mix in a bowl with the thyme, olive oil, salt and pepper. Place the mushrooms in a baking dish, and scoop the stuffing onto each of the mushrooms.

Bake at 200°c/fan 180°c/gas 6 for 30 min.

Wild Garlic Quiche.

Published by Anna @ Camera & Clementine

The foraging season has begun, at last! It is still cold here, with temperatures not going above 4 degrees, but the spring hardy leaves of the Ramson, or Wild Garlic are now to be found all along the woodland floor. As a relative to the chive, wild garlic, as its name would indicate has a lovely delicate garlic flavor and smell. It is ideal for using in the kitchen, tossed through a salad for some depth or as I’ve done, in a quiche.

Pick the young leaves of the Ramson, as they are more tender and fresher than the mature leaves. When out picking bring a basket or plastic container with a damp tea towel or paper napkin to keep the leaves fresh, whist you make your way home.

Wild Garlic is very easy to identify, but do familiarise yourself with the plant using a good foraging book. They can be mixed up with Lily of the Valley, but are easy to distinguish by crushing a leaf with your fingers, if it smells like garlic, it is garlic!

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Crust

360g of organic strong white flour

200g cold butter

6 tbsp cold water

pinch of salt

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Filling

5 large free range eggs

200g cottage cheese

100-200g wild smoked salmon

30-40 freshly picked wild garlic leaves

3 tbsp organic single cream

a sprinkling of mature cheddar

1/2 tsp nutmeg

salt & pepper to taste

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Add flour and butter to a mixing bowl, using a knife cut the butter into the flour. Then using your fingertips rub in the butter until all the large lumps are gone. Add the salt and water, then quickly kneed the dough, just until it hangs together.

Pop in the fridge for an hour to chill.

Roll out the chilled dough on a floured surface to fit a 28 cm buttered quiche tin. Blind bake the crust at 220°c/fan 200°c/gas 7, for 15 min.

Meanwhile make the filling, by beating the eggs with the salt, pepper, nutmeg and cream. Add the cottage cheese, sliced salmon and chopped ramsons and mix.

Pour the filling into the pastry case and sprinkle with a little mature cheddar on top. Bake at 220°c/fan 200°c/gas 7, for 35-40 min.

Serve with a dressing of natural yoghurt and chopped wild garlic, salt and pepper.

Homemade Lamb Stew – For Dogs!

Published by Anna @ Camera & Clementine

Ok, this isnt for you to eat..But ever since we got our German Wire-haired Pointer back in October 12, I have been thinking about making my own dog food for him. For me the link between health and the quality of the food you eat is very apparent. And the same is true for your pets health. Just because they will eat anything, doesn’t mean that it wont harm them. Food is life’s building blocks, its all our body’s have to renew and repair our cells with, so for me it is important to eat organically in order to get the most nutrients from my food. If I feed my pooch with healthy real food, oppose to the animal derivitive mush you get from the shops, I think he will sincerely benefit from it, and trips to the vet may be a thing of the past.

I am currently feeding Rufus an all dry diet of kibble from a company who I know is ethical, and uses real meat, but he is a sucker for wet food, and since he is a little on the skinny side I’m eager to get him to eat all his portions.

When I become a millionaires, I will for convenience sake feed him Lily’s Kitchen dog food, the gorgeous hand drawn packaging alone is worth the expense, but in the mean time here is a recipe if you ever need to make your own!

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Makes about 5600g of dog food, roughly enough for two weeks for a large dog if mixed with kibble, or a week if not mixed. Decrease the portion to suit your needs and size of dog.

(my dog at 30kg gets 400g homemade food a day plus 300g dry kibble.)

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3300g mixed lamb, for protein

1 liter water

250g peas, for vitamin K1, and folic acid

200g potatoes

250g carrots, rich in minerals as well as vitamin A

250g ground flax-seed, for omega 3,6,9 as well as zink, vitamin B and magnesium

250g pearl barley or soup mix, for fiber

250g lentils, for protein and iron

200g apple, for natural sweetness, antioxidant and vitamin c

100g blueberry’s, natures hero full of vitamin c, vitamin e and is an anti inflammatory

1 tbsp dried nettle, aids kidney function

1 tbsp dried mint, good source of calcium and iron

1 tbsp kelp, rich in iodine good for hair and nails

1 tbsp turmeric, anti inflammatory

1 tbsp aniseed, aids digestion

1 tbsp fennel seeds, for copper, iron, calcium and potassium

1 tbsp cinnamon, regulates blood sugar levels and is an anti fungal

1 large bunch of parsley, rich in antioxidants and aids digestion and good breath

a dash of olive oil, hemp oil or flax-seed oil, for omegas

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In a large soup pot, heat the oil and brown the meat for a few min alongside the fennel seeds. Add the chopped carrots and the rest of the spices as well as the kelp. Next add the water, diced potatoes, peas, lentils, soup-mix/pearl barley and grated apple and stir. (be sure to discard the apple core as apple pips are not good for dogs) Simmer with the lid on for 30-40 min, stirring occasionally. Finally add the parsley, blueberries and flax-seed and mix in. Take of the heat and leave to cool, before serving.

Store in the fridge, or freeze in individual containers for ease.

Champagne Truffle Easter Cake

Published by Anna @ Camera & Clementine

We have been kept very occupied with our house move, but Easter won’t go by unnoticed in this house. In Denmark, where I grew up, Easter is a big deal, rivalling Christmas, with as many traditions and edible goodies. I think many European countries are the same, however the most you can expect from a British Easter is a chocolate egg…

Never the less, I am in ‘ the Easter mood’ and have decorated eggs, gathered spring branches and made Easter dishes, like my Champagne Truffle Easter Cake. Its a simple sponge recipe that I have adapted to be a little more special with the addition of chocolate truffles with champagne. The cake is frosted with a delicious brown sugar butter cream, that tastes of caramel and decorated with ‘hand blown’ dyed eggs.

To make the egg decorations, first scold the required amount of eggs under boiling water to clean them, then carefully prick a hole in either end of the egg using a large needle. Then blow as hard as you can on one end, forcing the egg yolk and white out of the other small hole. Then either hand paint your eggs, or dip them in food die, and leave to dry. I dripped candle wax on to the eggs first, then dyed them, and scraped the wax of after the egg had dried, that way creating random patterns. The contents of the tree eggs was used in the cake, so no wastage occurred.

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Batter

200g butter, softened

200g caster sugar

3 large free range eggs

200g organic self raising flour

40g organic cocoa powder

60g dark chocolate, grated

50g champagne chocolate truffles

2 tbsp organic milk

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Frosting

200g butter, softened

100g icing sugar

200g soft brown sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

plus 3 blown eggs for decoration

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Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4. Grease 2 x 18cm round cake tins.

In a large mixing bowl, or food processor, beat together the butter and sugar, until light and creamy. Add the eggs, a little at a time, beating well after each addition. Add a little flour if the mixture starts to curdle.

Sift in the flour and cocoa powder, then add the milk and beat until smooth. Roughly chop the champagne truffles and grate the dark chocolate and add to the mixture.

Divide the batter between the 2 tins and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 20-25 minutes, until well risen. Insert a wooden skewer into the middle of the cake to ensure it is baked through. If the skewer comes out clean it is ready. If not, bake for a further few min, and repeat.

Remove from the oven, and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, make the icing. Using an electric hand mixer, beat the butter in a large bowl until fluffy. Add the icing sugar and soft brown sugar and continue to beat until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla.

Sandwich the 2 cakes together with half the icing. Spread the remaining icing on top of the cake and create peaks, using a pallet knife, as this will help prevent the decorations from rolling off!

Hot Cross Easter Buns

Published by Anna @ Camera & Clementine

Hot Cross Easter Buns

We have now moved into our new country dwelling, close to a little place called Windygates. Initially I just thought that was an amusing name, but after our first night here it became apparent that all places are usually named for a reason. Huddling up in bed, my boyfriend and I buried our heads under the covers as the wind tore though this old house like a runaway freight train. It sounded like we had been invaded by an army of Kazoo players, towering over our bed, playing every hit song from the 1940’s! And usually after a stormy night, you wake up to blue skies and singing birds, but the wind and the snow (!) has continued now for almost a week. My promise of spring seems to have been postponed…Will it ever arrive?

Well, spring might not be here after all, but Easter is. And for that occasion, I have baked a batch of homemade Hot Cross Buns. These are not like the ones you get in the supermarkets, these are heavy and rich in fruit and spices. Possibly just the thing you need when its -5 outside?

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Whenever I need to make a traditional recipe, I always go to my trusty recipe book, The Dairy Book of Home Cooking by Sonia Allison published by the Milk Marketing Board in 1978! It straight forward with no frilly language, just good solid recipes you know will work.

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450g plain flour

50g caster sugar

25g fresh yeast or 1 tbsp dried yeast

150ml lukewarm whole milk

4 tbsp warm water

1 tsp salt

1 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp cinnamon

100g juicy currents

50g mixed peel

50g butter, melted and cooled

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Glaze

50g granulated sugar

3 tbsp milk

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Cross paste

4 tbsp flour

enough water to make a sticky paste

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Sift flour into a bowl, add sugar, milk and yeast (if it is fast active) If using fresh yeast, mix the yeast with the milk until dissolved, then add to the flour.

Add the spices and fruit and mix together. Beat the egg with the melted butter and mix with the flour mixture. Add the water and salt, mix until the dough is soft and leaves the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto a floured board and knead for 5 min until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky. Cover and leave to rise until its doubled in size.

Knead lightly and divide into 12 equal pieces, shape into buns and place on a greased baking tray. Cover and leave to rise again for 30 min.

Meanwhile make the white cross paste, by combining the extra flour with enough water so the paste is thick but workable. Place into a freezer bag and set aside.

Once risen, cut a cross on top of each bun with a very sharp knife. Cut a corner from the freezer bag, and pipe out a cross shape into the slit of all the buns.

Bake in a hot oven at 220°c/fan 200°c/gas 7 for 20-25 min.

Transfer onto a wire rack and brush twice with the glaze, made by dissolving the sugar in the milk and boiling for 2 min.

Iced Café Frappé

Published by Anna @ Camera & Clementine

We have been busy packing up boxes this week, ready for our move out of our old house into a new one. I have managed to do most of the kitchen, but have left out some vital tools, like my blender, that I know I cant substitute with a fork! And as the sun was shining from a beautiful blue spring sky, I felt the need for a cool refreshing beverage, all be it a caffeinated one. So I whipped up a delicious Café Frappé and was instantly given the promise that summer must arrive soon!
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I use frozen coffee cubes instead of regular plain ice, as I hate when you get half way through your drink, and it gets all diluted with stale water! Instead of getting weaker, my recipe gets stronger!

Cheers!

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Makes two drinks

For the ice cubes: make roughly 300ml fair-trade coffee of your choice, and pour into ice trays, or one ice cube bag. (there is enough coffee cubes for 4 frappés, just freeze the rest for later, or have a double!)

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For the Frappé:

300ml fair trade coffee

2 scoops of vanilla ice cream ( I used Cornish ice cream with golden syrup!)

8 coffee cubes, crushed

2-3 brown sugar cubes

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The day before you get a Frappé craving, or 4 hours before, make up your coffee cubes.

When the coffee cubes are good and frozen, prepare your Frappé by making 300ml strong coffee. Dissolve the sugar in the coffee whilst still warm. Taste to see if it needs more sugar, but remember the ice cream is going in next. Crush 8 or so coffee cubes. I do this by putting them in a freezer bag, and smashing them up with a heavy pan! Divide the crushed ice between two glasses. Pour the cooled coffee into a large jug and add the ice cream, blend until a nice layer of foam has formed on the top. Pour into the glasses, and enjoy!

Harissa Spiced Carrot and Spinach Soup

Published by Anna @ Camera & Clementine

There is at last hopeful signs that spring is on its way up here in Scotland, with the snowdrops glistening amongst the frosty undergrowth and the shoots of the daffodils appearing. But a warming spicy soup is still a welcomed thing, as the days are still chilly, and the nights even more so. I really enjoy carrot soup, with its slight sweet notes and simple preparation. It also lends itself quite well to be spiced up with a little harissa paste for extra warmth.

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Serves 3-4

4 medium organic carrots

1 large white onion

3 handfuls of spinach

1 tsp harissa paste

1 tsp cumin seeds

500ml organic vegetable stock

a drizzle of olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

plus a little cream for the top

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Prepare the veg, by washing and peeling the carrots, chop alongside the onion. In a large pan, heat the olive oil and toast the cumin seeds for 30 sec on medium heat. Then add the onion and soften for 5 min, then add the harissa paste and carrots. Fry for a further couple of min. Next add the washed spinach and let it wilt. Add the stock, bring to a gentile boil and simmer for 25 min, stirring occasionally. Blend the soup until smooth, add salt and pepper as needed and serve with a little cream drizzled on top.

Baked Brie with Yellow Plum Compote

Published by Anna @ Camera & Clementine

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Is there a better combination, than cheese and fruit? Well, maybe baked cheese and fruit! I was in my local shop the other day and fell upon a punnet of beautiful yellow plums. I had to think for a few days about what to turn them into, until I remembered there was a big wedge of brie in the fridge, just waiting of a sweet companion. This is so easy to make, but looks and tastes impressive. Perfect if you are having fiends over for lunch.

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Serves 4

5-6 yellow plums

4 tbsp sugar

1/2 a lemon, juice and zest of

;And a 250g wedge of brie

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Wash the plums, half them and remove the stones. Place in a small saucepan along with the lemon zest. Bring to a simmer and boil for 5-7 min, until the plums are soft. Add the sugar and stir in, then add the lemon juice. Simmer gently for 5 min. Set aside to cool.

In a preheated oven set to 200 °c / 400 °f / gas 6, bake the brie in a dish for 5-7 min, until soft.

Pour the compote over the brie and serve immediately with crusty bread and a green salad.

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