Editor's
note: There's a few times when I've been selecting my personal
highlights that I've been taken aback by how good the photos look
(not biased of course!) but this one definitely falls into that
category. DIY bread is obviously still big following the lockdown
boon, but this post was originally from 2015 so a little ahead of
that curve. Why not give it a go - what's not to love about cheese bread!
The alternative
lunch
As with most of my posts, nothing is set in stone - if I trigger an
idea of your own or inspire you to tweak, then my work here is done.
The following menu could be taken as a vegetarian alternative or,
give you choices that you may like to include as part of your own
lunch.
Bread
and Butter or
Cheese
& Pecan Loaf with Butter
The
Pie
Roasties
Maple
glazed beetroot
Stir
fried sprouts
Judy's
Jars
I
promised in the post The Method in my Madness –
The Creaking Table that
the Cheese & Pecan Loaf was on its way, here it is – have a
glance at the photos – scrummy.
Who doesn't like bread and butter – if you wanted to you could
serve the bread and butter with the winter coleslaw – add cheesey,
nutty and crunchy to the scrummy – you could even kid yourself it's
healthy – NOT!
The Pie ticks the vegetarian box if you need to cater, alternatively
you could serve it as part of your turkey roast – just add a sprout
or six!
The
roasties can be made ahead and frozen. I've always used Nigella's
roast potato recipe
and on the basis if it ain't broke I have no intention of fixing it.
Maple glazed beetroot – sweet and colourful.
Stir
fried sprouts – sprouts are like Marmite
you either love 'em or hate 'em. This suggestion would firmly squash
the idea that contrary to popular belief they do not need to be
cooking on the hob in October to serve on Christmas Day!
Judy's Jars is my bit of fun – created for my friend's birthday in
December, it's a sharing pud – there's nothing quite like a fight
to get to the last crumb!
Cheese & Pecan loaf
60g
Parmesan cheese, grated
350g
plain flour
1
tbsp baking powder
pinch
cayenne pepper
125g
mature cheddar cheese, cut
into
small cubes
60g
chopped pecan nuts (or walnuts
if
preferred)
4
spring onions, trimmed and chopped
250ml
full fat milk
1
large egg
170ml
tub of sour cream
salt
and black pepper
900g
(2lb) loaf tin, well buttered and
lined
Pre-heat your
oven 180c/160fan/Gas 4
Sprinkle half the
grated Parmesan cheese into the loaf tin to coat the base and sides.
Mix the flour,
baking powder, cayenne pepper, 1 tsp salt and lots of black pepper
into a large bowl. Mix in the cheddar cubes, nuts and spring onions.
In a separate
bowl whisk the milk, egg and cream together then fold into the dry
ingredients.
Spoon in the loaf
tin, smooth the top and sprinkle with the remaining grated Parmesan
cheese.
Bake for 50/55
minutes until golden brown – skewer test i.e. insert skewer into
loaf, on removal should be clean. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes,
turn out and transfer to a rack to cool.
Serve warm with
lots of butter.
I shouldn't be blowing
my own trumpet but having a savoury tooth rather than a sweet one,
this is my kinda food.
You can freeze this –
defrost thoroughly before you want to use it – slice thickly, wrap
in foil and pop into a warm oven for ten minutes before serving.
It's easy but I would
suggest that you do your mise en place – in other words, weigh out
all the ingredients, ahead, it's just a bit time consuming so if all
the boring stuff is done you don't even notice.