7 minute read
BREW AND BAKE
EAT UP YER GREENS
THE GOURMET BOYS
EAT UP YER GREENS ! IN THIS ISSUE WE THOUGHT WE’D LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOU SOME EASY VEGGIE RECIPES WHICH WE HAVE LOVED MAKING AT HOME. DEEP FRIED OLIVES
DEEP FRIED OLIVES
We first encountered these little
beauties in a wonderfully quirky London restaurant called Spuntino several years ago and had always wanted to recreate them at home. How hard could it be, we pondered? Well, as it turned out, not very!
How’s this for minimal ingredients? Green olives in brine from a tin or jar (stuffed with anchovies or garlic if you’re feeling adventurous!), beaten egg, flour, breadcrumbs, and oil for deep frying.
How to make these perfect predinner snacks...
Dry the olives in a paper towel, and in three separate dishes put a beaten egg, the seasoned flour, and the breadcrumbs. Coat the olives in flour, dip in the egg and cover in breadcrumbs - then repeat for an extra crispy coating. Deep fry until golden. Enjoy with your favourite cocktail - we love a dirty martini with these, just to stick with the olive theme! Jones. We had just bought some celeriac, and although this overlooked ingredient isn’t the prettiest vegetable in the rack, we felt inspired to recreate this wonderfully rich and filling dish.
For the stew you’ll need : Olive oil, two red onions, garlic to taste, some carrots, celeriac, red wine, stock, bay leaves, rosemary, harissa, white beans (we used cannellini) rainbow chard, marmite and tomato puree.
For the dumplings you need : 100g of the celeriac, 100g butter, 50g cheddar, 200g self-raising flour, thyme leaves and an egg yolk.
What a list of ingredients!! Is it worth all the faff?
Well, it’s really straightforward. While the oven is heating to 180 degrees, fry chopped onions and garlic, sliced carrots and cubed celeriac (keep about 100g of the celeriac for the dumplings). Add half a bottle of red wine (we’ve got your attention now),
CELERIAC AND RED WINE STEW
WITH CHEDDAR DUMPLINGS
We had an interesting conversation with the lovely Rachel from Napoleon Coffee at the Ormeau Baths (if you haven’t tried this fantastic little eatery give it a go the next time you’re passing). She recommended an amazing vegetarian cook book by Anna
half a litre of vegetable stock, the herbs, seasoning and a tablespoon of harissa. Then put your feet up for an hour while it bubbles gently away.
When the stew is reduced, add the beans, rainbow chard, two teaspoons marmite, and a squirt of tomato puree.
Make the dumplings by grating the butter, cheese and the remainder of the celeriac. Add the flour, a few thyme leaves, seasoning, and a little water. This is the fun bit – get your hands in there and mix together to form a dough. Then roll the dough into about twelve balls which you nestle on top of the stew, brush with egg yolk, and cook in the oven for about 30 minutes. Done!
Serve with greens - we used rocket dressed with mustard.
CELERIAC AND RED WINE STEW WITH CHEDDAR DUMPLINGS
SWEET POTATO AND BRIE GALETTE
This French-style tart is delicious, served either warm or cold, and couldn’t be easier to make with the minimum of ingredients. Transport yourself to sunnier climes with this cheesy galette gauloise!
Les ingrédients: Olive oil, 2 onions, 500g of sweet potatoes, ready rolled short crust pastry, a whole brie, and a beaten egg.
Et maintenant, la recette! (see what we did there?) Ok, heat the oven to 180 degrees, and in a pan fry the sliced onions in the olive oil until golden and caramelised. Slice the sweet potatoes thinly and cook in a pot of boiling salted water for about 3 minutes until slightly tender, then drain.
Using a large dinner plate as a template, cut a circle from the pastry and spread the onion over the pastry leaving a 2cm border. Top the onion with thinly sliced brie and then get artistic! Channel your favourite abstract expressionist by creating a lovely overlapping pattern on top of the brie with the discs of potato.
When your work of art is completed to your satisfaction, brush with olive oil and season. Finally, fold the pastry border over the edges of the potatoes, brush with beaten egg and cook for about 35 minutes until the pastry is crisp and golden. Et voilà! Magnifique!
SALT AND CHILLI TOFU VEGETABLE STIR FRY WITH NOODLES
For heaven’s sake, don’t listen to people who say tofu is bland and tasteless – it all depends on what you do with it! And
that super-absorbent bean curd just soaks up flavour like a sponge. Pair it with crunchy vegetables, and soft noodles, and you’re on to a winner.
You need : Sesame oil, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, pak choi, carrots (ribbons) tenderstem broccoli, red cabbage (chopped), green beans, baby corn, scallions, firm tofu, salt and chilli seasoning, egg, flour, breadcrumbs, and noodles.
Now, to get all “wok-tastic”: Prepare the tofu by draining well and cutting the block into 12 to 16 chunks. Stir fry the vegetables in sesame oil for a couple of minutes until tender but still crunchy. Just before serving, add the hoisin and soy sauce and heat through. At the same time (you might get a friend to help!) toss the tofu in flour, dip in egg, and then coat in breadcrumbs seasoned with the salted chilli. Deep fry until golden. Place on top of the vegetable stir-fry and serve with freshly cooked noodles. Chopsticks are recommended, but not mandatory!
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BREW
AND BAKE
BY DANIEL MAY
LOCKDOWN HAS CONSISTED OF MILLIONS DABBLING BAKING BANANA BREAD, CAKES AND OTHER GOODIES THOUGH YOU CANNOT BEAT THE REAL THING, THIS SWEET TOOTH INSPIRED REVIEW TAKES US UP THE LISBURN ROAD TO BREW AND BAKE. SO, WHO ARE THEY AND WHAT IS THEIR STORY?
We spoke to Danielle the owner to find out more...
“Brew and Bake is all about bakes and personalities! Everything is made from scratch. We pride ourselves on our bakes which have proven extremely popular, especially our cinnamon rolls, all made in our tiny kitchen.
A customer once said, “the only thing better than the bakes is the people.” We love our community and have the most amazing customers. We have built a great cafe and team and hope to keep growing.”
I have wanted to open a cafe for over 10 years, I went travelling for 7 years and when I came back that’s when I took the plunge. I’m a self-taught baker, and through obsession and practice Brew & Bake has become what it is today.
Juggling a young family and new business is so challenging, but I love what we have built and can’t imagine doing anything else.
The next step in our journey would be to find a bigger space for a bakery! Watch this space.
REVIEW BY DANIEL
During a lockdown, we haven’t had a lot to look forward to or smile about though an easy remedy is a treat, 2 or a box in this instance.
This will be another effortless review which will speak for itself, as someone who’s knees go weak at the smell and sight of a dessert, I was in my glory when chowing down on the goodies and even typing about this now has me licking my lips.
We reached out to arrange a review, Corinne from Brew and Bake couldn’t have been more willing and accommodating, being keen to try their staple Cinnamon Rolls and intrigued about their other offerings we arranged a day/time and collected an amazing selection box without any hiccups.
All I can say is WOW, such a variety was provided, the box didn’t even make it home without me sneaking a quick nibble of a gooey brownie, I can still taste it now, omg!
The box included a signature Cinnamon Roll, a Milky Bar Roll, Caramelita, Salted Caramel Brownie and a wedge of Carrot Cake.
All items were delicious, perfectly baked with love, super decadent and mouth-wateringly Moorish. I wish I had the culinary skills to bake though I much prefer eating things like this prepared by the professionals lol
I had the assistance of 2 friends and not a crumb remained here is what Sharon said “I don’t have a sweet tooth though I loved the carrot cake, best I’ve ever eaten, I even saved a tiny piece for my mum and she loved it too. We will be back on Saturday for more. Thanks”
Thanks so much to Brew and Bake, I cannot wait to pop in again.
