Coconut dhal with homemade flatbreads

April 21, 2017July 28, 2020 ~ Corrie ~ 2 Comments

Have you ever microwaved a Mini Babybel? I bet you haven’t but it’s amazing. Remarkably though, I’m not a fan of a chilled Babybel which could explain my mad teenage invention in the first place. Five to seven seconds is all it takes to turn a seemingly regular mini cheese, into something wonderful and before I know it, I’m savagely ripping open the second net of cheeses like an animal.
It’s not just me that has an appreciation for this method of eating Baybel’s, my best friend Philippa also shares my dirty cheesy secret. She reminded me last weekend.
“Hey, remember microwaved mini Babybel?”
“OH MY GOD YES! Microwaved BabyBel!… Have you got any?”
“No. Forgot to buy some”
“What the hell?! Don’t tempt if you haven’t got any!” I rage, downing my fifth prosecco and heading for the fridge to stare at the empty cheese tray.
“Soz” she says, rather unapologetically. She taps her phone and puts on Sir Mixalot’s ‘Baby Got Back’. We swiftly forget all about Babybel’s and start vigorously thrusting and dancing around the kitchen.
Anyway, we can’t live off microwaved Baybels can we… Can we? No, no we can’t, we need to eat sensible dinners like this rather delightful dhal recipe. Although with all this talk of Babybel’s, I wouldn’t’ be surprised if I found you all submerging mini cheeses into your dhal. The heart wants what it wants, just remember to peel the wax off first.

Coconut dhal with homemade flatbreads
Serves 4 / Hands on time 50 mins / Total time 50 mins / V Vn Df ❄
1 tsp rapeseed oil
2 onions, finely chopped
½ tsp sea salt flakes
3 large garlic cloves or 4 small, crushed
Knob of ginger, grated
4 cardamon pods
½ tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp garam masala
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp turmeric
Pinch of chilli flakes
1 litre of vegetable stock, I use 1 Knorr stock pot
300g red lentils
Can of coconut milk
Topping
200g bag of spinach
2 corn on the cobs
Flatbreads
170g wholemeal flour + extra for dusting
½ tsp salt
½ tsp mustard seeds
Handful chopped coriander
125ml water
1 tbs sunflower oil

Dahl
1. Start the dahl by peeling and chopping your onions nice and small. Heat the oil in a large pot with a lid over a medium heat. Add the onions along with the salt and cook with the lid until soft (around 8-10 mins). If the onions start to catch, add a dash of water to prevent them from burning, this will help them steam.
2. Meanwhile in a pestle and mortar, bash the cardamon pods until the seeds spill out. Discard the shells and grind the seeds until you have a powder. Put to one side.
3. Once the onions are soft, add the crushed garlic, grated ginger and all the spices. Give it a good stir and cook for a few minutes to allow the spices to release their fragrance and flavour.
4. Add the vegetable stock, coconut milk and the lentils before giving it a good stir. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer for 25-30 mins, stirring regularly to prevent the lentils sticking to the bottom of your pot.

Homemade flatbreads
Measure 170g of wholemeal flour in a mixing bowl. Add the salt, mustard seeds and a handful of freshly chopped coriander and give it a good stir with a wooden spoon. Once incorporated, add the water and the oil. Stir again until you have a smooth dough, (it will be a little wet). Put to one side and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Once rested, dust a surface down with a bit of flour and divide your dough into four balls. Roll each individual ball into a thin disk – remembering to flour your surface between each flatbread. Heat a dry, non-stick pan on a medium to high heat and add one flatbread at a time and cook for a minute on each side until they have a bit of colour. Transfer to a plate and keep them warm in an oven at a low temperature (50°C).

Topping
1. Place your corn in a large saucepan and cover with boiling water. Simmer for 5 minutes, remove carefully and transfer to a clean tea towel to cool. Meanwhile wilt the spinach in a separate saucepan a couple of handfuls at a time in a bit of coconut oil, adding a little salt and pepper as you go. Do this on a low to medium heat. Once wilted, take off the heat and cover with a lid to keep warm. Put to one side and discard any excess water from the spinach.
2. By now your corn should be cool enough to handle so carefully impale the corn on the end of a fork and hold over an open flame on the hob, turning carefully (this will give your corn a lovely charred look and taste). Once charred, stand your corn upright, on a chopping board and slice carefully down the sides with a sharp knife removing the kernels. Serve the dhal topped with the charred corn and wilted spinach, along with warm flatbreads and rice.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V– Vegetarian Vn– Vegan Df– Dairy free ❄– The dhal is suitable for home freezing once cooled. Consume within 3 months.

Smoky sweet potato & bean wraps

April 13, 2017March 6, 2023 ~ Corrie ~ Leave a comment

I have to admit, I’ve never really given the bean wrap a chance. Always the last, sad looking wrap on the shelf in Boots, I always felt a bit sorry for it but never sorry enough, to actually buy it and eat it. So what’s changed? Someone else bought me one and I ate it out of politeness and to my astonishment, I rather enjoyed it! I mean it was no falafel wrap but I remember thinking ‘I can work with you my beany little friend, in fact, I shall call you Claire Beany, after the great Claire Sweeney’. Hey, remember Brookside?
Anyway, I ate Claire Beany (it’s what she would have wanted) and now, thanks to her, I have created the ultimate bean wrap in all it’s smoky glory. Just to clarify, Claire Beany was never a real person, she was a Mexican bean wrap from M&S. Claire Sweeney however is a person, not a wrap… Enjoy!

Smoky sweet potato & bean wraps
Serves 4 / Hands on time 25 mins / Total time 45 mins / V Vn* ❄
Filling
1 tsp olive oil
1 medium sweet potato
½ medium onion, chopped
1 large garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 tbs tomato puree
Pinch of chilli flakes
1 can of kidney beans or mixed beans, washed and drained
1 corn on the cob or 1 small can of sweetcorn, drained
To serve
4 large vegan wraps
2 handfuls fresh spinach or cos lettuce
1 avocado, peeled and sliced
4 tbs Greek or plain yogurt
40g cheddar cheese
Chilli sauce (optional)
Baking paper or foil to wrap

*Make it vegan: Leave out the cheddar altogether and serve with vegan coconut yogurt.

Tip: Make the bean mixture the night before and refrigerate over night along with the baked sweet potato. Make the wraps up in the morning and take to work. This recipe easily makes 4 lunch wraps.

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°fan/400°F/gas mark 6. Score the sweet potato carefully with a knife and stab it through the middle a couple of times. Bake in the oven on the middle shelf for 45 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, make your bean filling. In a large pot, sweat the chopped onion in the oil for about 5 minutes on a medium heat (add a dash of water to help them steam). Once softened, add the garlic and the smoked paprika and cook for a further minute. Add the tomato puree and the chilli flakes and give it a good stir.
3. Cook for a few minutes before adding the beans. Stir and cook for a further 5 minutes before seasoning well with salt and pepper. If using a fresh corn on the cob, remove the kernels by standing on it’s head and running a sharp knife, carefully down the sides slowly (they tend to go everywhere, so proceed with care). Add the corn to the beans and continue to cook for 5-10 minutes.
4. Take the beans off the heat, cover with a lid and put to one side. Slice the cheese and the avocado ready to fill your wraps.
5. Once your sweet potato is soft, carefully remove from the oven and cut into quarters to cool it down a bit. Lay your wraps out and spread one half with a tablespoon of warm sweet potato and the other half with yogurt. Top evenly with a couple of spoonfuls of the bean mixture and a smattering of chilli sauce if using. Layer with sliced avocado, cheese, fresh spinach before seasoning with salt and pepper.
6. Move onto a large piece of baking paper or foil and fold the top and bottom of the wrap in on itself and carefully roll it up in the baking paper – this makes it easier to eat. Peel down the sides of the paper and eat like a burrito.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V– Vegetarian Vn– Forgo the cheddar and yogurt ❄– The bean mixture is suitable for home freezing once cooled. Consume within 3 months.

Spring linguine with lemon & ricotta

April 4, 2017October 31, 2019 ~ Corrie ~ 4 Comments

Spring Green Linguine with Lemon & Ricotta

‘The Sainsbury’s stone’, that’s what they call it and I fear it’s already started to creep on my face (why does fat always go to my face first? Everyone else gets arse and I get face?! What an unjust world.) Anyway, one week at Sainsbury’s Magazine and I’ve already chomped my way through a slice of cake a day, literally. And we’re not talking Mr Kipling, we’re talking maple syrup layered sponges, blueberry and lemon drizzle cup cakes, Victoria sandwiches topped with edible crystallised flowers. You get the idea, some seriously good cakes (unlike Mr Kipling’s which were not seriously good at all). I’m telling you, cakes just keep appearing and somehow making their way from the test kitchen into my mouth. It’s very curious.
So a stone, a whole stone, is what I’m set to put on if I continue to eat in this way, something must be done. But how can I have my cake and eat it, literally. There’s only one thing for it, I have to cut calories elsewhere so bring on my skinny linguine. Packed with spring greens and ricotta, this creamy dinner manages to taste indulgent without the calories. Yes I know, I really should have cook book. Speaking of cook books, how does Fearne Cotton have one and I don’t? The world really is a messed up place.

Spring linguine with lemon & ricotta
Serves 2 / Hands on time 25 mins / Total time 25 mins / V
1 tsp rapeseed oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
½ red chilli, de-seeded
1 lemon, juice and zest
4 handfuls spring greens
160g vegetarian ricotta*
140g linguine
Pomora extra virgin olive oil

Method
1. Put a kettle on to boil with enough water to cook your pasta. Place the linguine in a suitably sized saucepan and add a good sprinkle of salt. Whilst the kettle’s boiling, zest and squeeze the juice of a lemon in a bowl. Crush the garlic and chop and de-seed the chilli.
2. In a large frying pan on a medium heat, add the crushed garlic to the oil. Cook for a minute stirring continually to prevent burning. Add the chilli, chopped greens, lemon juice and zest and season well with salt and pepper. Give it a good stir and add a dash of water to help wilt the greens.
3. Pour the boiling water from the kettle over your pasta and cook according to the packet instructions.
4. Once the greens have softened, add the ricotta cheese and stir through, take off the heat. Drain the pasta and add to the frying pan stirring well to incorporate the greens. Serve immediately, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and a good crack of black pepper.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V– Vegetarian
*Ricotta is traditionally made with animal rennet but you can get vegetarian varieties. UK supermarket home brands tend to be, click here.

Vegetable pot roast with dumplings

March 29, 2017November 10, 2020 ~ Corrie ~ 3 Comments

Whoah there people. I know it’s almost April but it’s still bloody freezing, so pop a jumper on over that vest top and slip on a pair of long johns because it still ain’t warm enough to walk around topless. You hear that men of London? It’s not and never has been, acceptable to walk around town with your shirt off, I don’t want to see your nipples on the tube thank you. Oh and whilst we’re at it ladies, you might want to consider burning that crop-top you bought last year from H&M, especially if you’re over 25 and don’t have the abs of a teenage boy.

Anyway where was I? Oh yeah, I’m freeeeeezing! So I decided to make this vegetable broth with goats cheese dumplings to warm my chronically cold body. Sometimes I’m so cold, I think I might actually be dead. Meh.

Vegetable pot roast with dumplings
Serves 4 / Hands on time 1 hr / Total time 2 hrs / V ❄
Knob of unsalted butter
5 shallots or 1 white onion, peeled and roughly chopped
2 sticks of celery, roughly chopped
300g Chantenay carrots (stalks trimmed if necessary)
1 tbs plain flour
1 tbs tomato puree
1,200ml vegetable stock, I use 1 Knorr stock pot
150ml vegetarian cider
2 medium parsnips, peeled and chopped
1 leek, roughly chopped
250g new potatoes, halved
250g swede, peeled and cut into chunks
2 woody sprigs of fresh thyme (woody stalks are more robust & will be easier to remove)
2 handfuls of frozen peas
For the dumplings
175g self-raising flour
25g vegetarian suet
80g soft goats cheese, divided into bits or crumbled
50g vegetarian Italian hard cheese or Parmesan*, grated
Handful of freshly chopped parsley
Fresh bread and extra virgin olive oil to serve (optional)

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/gas mark 4. Peel and roughly chop the onions and put them in a large, oven-proof casserole pot with a lid. Cook in the butter on a medium heat for 5 mins with the lid on – add a dash of water to help them steam. Add the celery and the whole carrots and continue to cook for a further 5 mins with the lid on. Stir in the flour, add a dash of water and continue to cook and stir for 2 mins.
2. Add the tomato puree along with the vegetable stock and the cider. Bring to the boil before adding the potatoes, swede, leek, parsnips and a couple woody sprigs of thyme. Season well with salt and pepper, replace the lid but leaving it a jar and roast for 1 hour.
3. Meanwhile, make the dumplings (these are really easy to make so don’t be daunted). In a medium sized mixing bowl, add the flour, vegetarian suet, grated parmesan, goats cheese, parsely and a good season of salt and pepper. Add 6 tablespoons of water and give it a good mix with a wooden spoon. Once the dough has come together, use your hands to knead the dough in the bowl until it has come together. Using your hands, pick up a small handful of dough and roll it in-between your palms to make a dumpling. Repeat this process until you have 8 evenly sized dumplings. Put to one side.
4. Once the stew has cooked, carefully remove from the oven and take off the lid. Discard the sprigs of thyme, before carefully inserting your dumplings into the stew using a spoon to lower them in, making sure the dumplings are evenly spread out. Cover with the lid if you like soft dumplings or leave uncovered for crusty ones. Pop back in the oven for a further 20 mins.
5. Remove the pot roast from the oven and scatter over the peas. Replace the lid and leave to rest for 5 mins. ladle into bowls (allowing 2 dumplings per person) and enjoy topped with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a good chunk of fresh bread.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V– Vegetarian
*Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiani) is always made using animal rennet, therefore it is not vegetarian. Substitute for Italian hard cheese if applicable.
❄– Suitable for home freezing once cooled. Consume within 3 months

Kale & cheese omelette

March 20, 2017October 31, 2019 ~ Corrie ~ Leave a comment

I’m currently sitting in my pjs watching Homes Under The Hammer and eating Omelette’s #livingthedream and yes, you heard, that was omelette’s plural. I made such a good omelette this morning, that I decided to make another one. What? It’s my week off before I start my new and exciting life over at Sainsbury’s Magazine so I thought, yeah, if I want two omelettes, I should have two omelettes… Feel a bit sick now though but that’s due to the packet of Veggie Percy Pigs I ate for dessert.
Jamie usually makes the omelette’s in our house, but as he’s at work (selfish) I had to make my own omelette which was very daunting. I’m not good at making omelette’s, they usually turn into burnt scrambled eggs. But I’ve been observing Jamie over the past year and have discovered his secret. Instead of incorporating the cheese into the egg mixture, he sprinkles it on top of the omelette like a pizza. Then he folds it carefully over once and continues to cook it until the cheese melts in the centre (drool). Don’t think I’ve said the word omelette enough in this post, omelette, omelette, omelette…….. OMELETTE!

Kale & cheese omelette
Serves 1 / Hands on time 10 mins / Total time 10 mins / V Gf
1 tsp of olive oil
2 eggs
1 garlic clove, crushed
Small handful of kale
Sprinkling of finely sliced red onion
¼ deseeded red chilli, finely chopped
30g vegetarian cheddar cheese, grated

Method
1. Crack two eggs into a jug and give them a quick beat with a fork. Season with salt and pepper. Add the chopped onion, chilli, garlic and kale and give it another quick beat to combine. Grate the cheese and put to one side.
2. Drizzle the oil in a non-stick frying pan and put on a medium to high heat. Once hot, pour your omelette mix into the middle of the pan and spread out evenly with a spatular. Top with a layer of grated cheese and wait a couple of minutes for the omelette to set. Once set, it should start to come away from the edges of the pan.
3. Using a spatular, carefully fold the omelette in half and continue to cook until the cheese has melted in the middle. After a minute, flip the omelette over and cook for another minute on the other side. Once you can see the cheese has melted in the middle, serve immediately.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V– Vegetarian Gf– Gluten free

Dark chocolate chip cookies

March 13, 2017January 30, 2021 ~ Corrie ~ 1 Comment

I used to make these cookies all the time, in fact, I’ve been making them so long, I don’t even remember how this recipe came to be. So why does my first batch look like something that came out of my housemates dog?
My faultless recipe is clearly faulty – either that, or my nine-year-old self is a better cook than I am. If she were here right now I’d slap her. What? She’s not real! Anyway, admittedly it’s been a while since I’ve made these (ten years) but surely it’s like riding a bike?
I look down at the burnt little puddles stuck to my baking tray, ‘how can they be burnt AND raw?’ I ponder. Without thinking I plunge my finger into a partially oozy one, it’s as hot as molten lava. I drop the tray and it lands face down on the floor.
Round two. I up the heat, reduce the cooking time, swap plain flour for self-raising and use an electric whisk. Having no idea if any of these decisions are the right ones and having eaten most of the chocolate, this was my last chance. However, this time I would be more cautious and bake a smaller batch of 6 six instead of eighteen.
Burnt?! Again!… But at least the butter didn’t separated this time so they looked a little less ‘pooey’. Feeling encouraged by my progress, I line up another six and pop them in the oven, reducing the cooking time by 5 minutes. SUCCESS! Chewy, golden, melt in the mouth little roundels of heaven. I knew I could do it. Now all I have to do is not eat another one, I’m on a diet… I hate my life.

My original cookie recipe

Dark chocolate chip cookies
Makes 16-18 cookies / Hands on time 20 mins / Total time 30 mins / V ❄
125g unsalted butter, at room temperature
125g caster sugar
2 heaped tbs condensed milk
50g Green and Black’s Organic 70% Dark Chocolate, roughly chopped
½ tsp vanilla extract
150g self-raising flour
Sea salt flakes for sprinkling

Method
1. Preheat an oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/gas mark 4. Using an electric whisk in a large bowl, cream together the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the condensed milk and the vanilla extract and continue to whisk until incorporated.
2. On a chopping board using a large knife, roughly chop the chocolate. Add to the mixture along with the flour. Using a wooden spoon, mix together by hand until you have a well incorporated cookie dough.
3. Line two baking trays with baking paper and put to one side. Using your hands, scoop up a ball of the dough roughly the size of a walnut. Roll it in-between your hands until you have a ball and place on one of the lined baking trays. These may look small but they will spread A LOT during baking, so allow plenty of space around each cookie and bake in batches. No more than 6-8 per tray depending on the size of your tray.
4. Sprinkle each cookie with a small amount of sea salt flakes and bake for 8-10 mins. When the cookies are cooked, they should look golden at the edges but light and slightly raised in the centre. (They will still look quite raw in the centre but this is what makes them nice and chewy. Once out of the oven they will flatten).
5. Cool for 5 mins on the trays before carefully transferring to a cooling rack. Any remaining cookie dough can be rolled into balls and baked on the same lined trays or frozen. To freeze, simply roll the cookie dough into a sausage and wrap well in baking paper or clingfilm and freeze. Defrost fully before use and consume within 3 months.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V – Vegetarian
❄ – The cookie dough is suitable for home freezing. Roll into a sausage shape and wrap in a few layers of clingfilm. Consume within 3 months.

Soba noodle miso bowls

March 6, 2017January 25, 2021 ~ Corrie ~ 9 Comments

Not much happened this week, oh apart from me getting A NEW JOB! Yes that’s right, you’re now looking at the new Art Editor of Sainsbury’s Magazine, boo-ya! Bring on type 2 diabetes and inevitable weight gain.
I’m very excited but a little sad to be leaving the world of celebrity, although I won’t miss Kim Kardashian – I know far too much about her lady parts than I care to… No, I wasn’t previously her surgeon, I was in fact Art and Food Editor of celebrity gossip magazine, heat. So I’ll be swapping celebrity shoots with the likes of (not Kim Kardashian) Charlotte Crosby and Olly Murs for food shoots and a life of eating. To say I’m excited doesn’t quite cover it. So let’s celebrate me becoming a proper grown up, with a grown up job and a financial adviser and everything, with this delightful bowl of noodles. Considering I made this very hungover, I think it turned out quite well.

Soba noodle miso bowls
Serves 2 / Takes 30 minutes / V Vn* Df
700ml boiling water
1 vegetable stock pot or cube, I use 1 Knorr
1 tbs light soy sauce
1 tbs miso paste
100g button mushrooms or any other variety of mushroom you may have
2 handfuls cavolo nero or kale, roughly chopped
2 eggs, boiled (optional)
1 tsp of sesame oil
1 shallot or ½ a medium sized onion, finely sliced
1 knob of ginger, grated
2 nest of soba or fine egg noodles
Small handful of mint, chopped
1 lime
De-seeded red chilli, sliced (optional)
Black sesame seeds (optional)

*Vegan: The eggs in the soup are entirely optional. I make it frequently without and it’s just as delicious so if you’re vegan, leave them out.

Method
1. Boil a full kettle and put two eggs in a medium sized saucepan (you will also be using this saucepan to cook the noodles later). Cover with boiling water and simmer over a low to medium heat to hard boil them.
2. Meanwhile, peel and finely chop the shallot and grate the ginger. Fry together in a small frying pan in a tsp of sesame oil until soft with the lid on. Once cooked, take off the heat and put to one side.
3. In a large saucepan, pour 700ml boiling water over the vegetable stock pot, miso paste and soy sauce. Give it a good stir and bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. Half the button mushrooms and roughly chop the cavolo nero and add to the simmering broth.
4. Meanwhile chop a handful of fresh mint and put to one side. By now the eggs should be hard boiled. Remove from the simmering water with a slotted spoon but leave the water in the pan for the noodles. Pop the eggs in a bowl and leave under a running cold tap until cool. Put to one side.
5. In the same simmering water you cooked the eggs in, submerge the noodles and simmer according to the packet instructions. Drain and give them a blast of cold water to cool then down (this prevents them from continuing to cook). Divide the cold noodles into bowls.
6. Peel the eggs and cut them in half before pouring the mushroom and cavolo nero broth over the noodles. Submerge the eggs into soup and top with the ginger fried onions, freshly chopped mint and a sprinkling of black sesame seeds. Squeeze over the lime wedges and a chopped deseeded red chilli to serve
(optional).

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V– Vegetarian Df– Dairy free

Wholemeal crepês with lemon & sugar

February 28, 2017February 19, 2021 ~ Corrie ~ 3 Comments

I can’t believe I went all the way to Paris and didn’t eat a lemon and sugar crêpe – they’re my absolute favourite. But then again, it wasn’t pancake day and I was busy eating my weight in cheese (#noregrets). Also, did you know that in French McDonald’s, you can order your burger with emmental cheese? The French are so cool, I wish I was French.
Sadly I’m not though, but this recipe is and makes around six crêpes (so four for you and two for your loved one). What? If you’re the person making the pancakes, you automatically get ‘bakers rights’… Yes that’s a thing… Maybe.

Wholemeal crêpes with lemon & sugar
Makes 6 / Hands on time 10 mins / Total time 20 mins + resting time / V
30g unsalted butter (+ extra for frying)
150g wholemeal flour
1 medium egg
325ml semi-skimmed milk
Pinch of salt
Lemon wedges to serve
Golden caster sugar to serve

TIP: If you’re making a batch, preheat an oven to 60°C and heat a large plate in it. Once your first pancake is cooked, carefully transfer it onto the warm plate in the oven and cover loosely with a large piece of foil. Continue to add the pancakes on top of one and other, remembering to replace the foil on top to protect them. Serve as suggested above.

Method
1. Start by melting your butter in a small saucepan on a low heat. Once melted, take off the heat and put to one side to cool slightly.
2. In a large mixing bowl, measure out your wholemeal flour and add a pinch of salt. In a measuring jug, measure out your milk and add 1 egg. Give it a good whisk until combined.
3. Make a well in the middle of the flour and start adding the milk mixture bit by bit, whisking continuously (this is easier than it sounds). Start to incorporate more and more flour from the outside until you have a smooth batter. Whisk in the warm melted butter and then pour the batter back into the jug. Rest in the fridge for 20-30 mins.
4. Add a knob of butter to a medium non-stick frying pan over a medium to high heat. Once hot, pour a ladle of the mixture into the middle of the pan and manoeuvre the pan to spread it out to the edges evenly. The pancake should start to bubble and go a golden brown colour. Using a spatula, run around the edge of the pancake until it becomes completely loose and ready to flip. Be brave!
5. Flip the pancake over and cook on the other side for another couple of minutes. Turn out onto a plate and serve hot with a sprinkle of granulated sugar and good squeeze of lemon. If making more than one pancake, be sure to butter your pan before each pancake to prevent from sticking.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V– Vegetarian

Banana bread with ricotta & honey

February 27, 2017January 21, 2020 ~ Corrie ~ 1 Comment

Admittedly this is a bit of an odd post from someone who dislikes bananas but I don’t just dislike them, I f**king hate them. I’ve spent my whole life, trying to avoid bananas (which really wasn’t difficult) but they’ve managed to ruin almost every fruit salad I’ve ever eaten.
But when I look back and try to identify the root of my banana problem, it seems to stem from monkey’s. Staring down at the bottom of the monkey cage at Whipsnade Zoo was not a pretty sight. Half eaten bananas strewn all over the floor and rolled in a mixture of mud and monkey turds. Not very appetising. That being said, this didn’t seem to put me off eating oranges, a common accompaniment to the monkey breakfast. Oranges are just nicer though aren’t they? Let’s move on.
A banana is just a fruit though for god’s sake, I need to stop being such a wimp. Full of potassium and very portable, the banana is the perfect snack so what is my problem? It isn’t like I haven’t tried, every couple of years I attempt to eat a banana, and every couple of years I fail miserably. It always starts off well, ‘this aint so bad’ I think to myself as I unzip the yellow skin but then get a wiff of that unpleasant banana smell. Okay, so just breath through your mouth, no problem, easy. Right, now bite the top, don’t even think about it, just do it. Shit, where’s that brown bit gone? Did I eat it? Why are there always brown bits on bananas? Oh god, it’s now turned to mush in my mouth, I try to swallow it but I can’t, I just can’t, so instead I retch, quick abort, ABORT!
I like my mum’s banana bread though so that’s weird. Enjoy her recipe!

Banana bread with ricotta & honey
Makes 1 loaf / Hands on time 15 mins / Total time 1 hr 5 mins + cooling time / V Vn* ❄
You’ll need: 9 inch loaf tin
150g wholemeal flour + extra for dusting
75g plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate soda
1 tsp ginger
½ tsp cinnamon
Pinch of salt
175g demerara sugar
100ml rapeseed oil + extra for greasing
100ml semi-skimmed milk or unsweetened soya milk
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 large or 3 small over-ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
2 handfuls walnuts, roughly chopped
Vegetarian ricotta and runny honey to serve (optional)

*Make it vegan: This is actually my mums vegan banana bread recipe, I only used semi-skimmed milk and butter because that’s what I had in the fridge at the time. If you’re vegan, forgo serving with honey and ricotta and serve simply toasted with lashings of vegan alternative butter – that’s how my mum likes it.

TIP: If you have any bananas in your fruit bowl that have gone a bit brown, wait until they go completely brown and freeze them in their skins in a plastic bag. We have a lot of brown bananas in my house, so I tend to just keep adding them to the plastic bag in my freezer. When I’m ready to make banana bread, I simply defrost the bananas, slip them out of their skins and straight into my cake mix.

Method
1. Preheat an oven to 180°C/160°C fan/ 350°F/gas mark 4. Grease a loaf tin with rapeseed oil and line the bottom with baking paper. Add a tbs of wholemeal flour and shake around the tin until the sides are evenly coated – I do this over a bin as it can be a bit messy. Put to one side.
2. Mix together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ginger, cinnamon and salt in a medium sized bowl and put to one side.
3. In a larger bowl, peel and mash the bananas before adding the sugar, oil, milk and vanilla. Give it a good stir.
4. Once combined, add half the dry mix to the wet mixture and fold in with a wooden spoon. Fold in the chopped walnuts and the rest of the dry mixture until combined.
5. Spoon the cake mixture into the loaf tin and bake in an oven, on the middle shelf for 50 minutes. Using your fingers, gently press down on the top of the cake to see if it feels firm and springy. If it still feels a little wet and wobbly, cover it in a layer of foil and continue to cook for 10-15 more minutes or until the cake is firm to the touch. Once cooked, insert a clean knife into the centre of the cake, if it comes out clean the cake is cooked.
6. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack. Leave the cake for 30 mins before wrapping up in foil whilst the cake is still a little warm and popping in the fridge – this helps to keep the cake moist.
7. This cake will last for 2-4 days wrapped well in cling film and stored in a tin at room temperature or up to a week in the fridge. To freeze, wrap in three layers of clingfilm and freeze for up to 3 months.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V – Vegetarian Vn – The cake can be made vegan (see recipe)
❄ – Suitable for home freezing once cooled. Wrap well in three layers of cling film and freeze. Consume within 3 months.

Broccoli & cheese potato cake

February 18, 2017June 30, 2020 ~ Corrie ~ 1 Comment

Hey everyone, guess what I got for Valentines Day? Gastroenteritis, yay! Luckily I managed to make this lovely potato cake before I was so diseased, I had to be quarantined in our bedroom like a rabid dog. So with me incapacitated, Jamie was left with an entire potato cake to himself (lucky bugger) which kept him alive the rest of the week.
It’s funny though, I found that even when I was feeling very nauseated, I still couldn’t stop thinking about food. Even when I tried not to, my mind would somehow drift back to ‘so how many bananas do I need for a banana loaf?’ Cue wave of nausea… Oh yeah, can’t think about food… Something not food… What about plastic chairs? They’re pretty great aren’t they, awful to look at but very practical… I wonder if the bananas in the fruit bowl will be ready to use by Sunday… Damn it Corrie!
See, it’s official, I’m obsessed. Anyway, this potato cake is brilliant! Not only is it easy, it tastes great hot or cold, it’s a bit like a Quiche but without the pastry and waaaaaay better. I hope you enjoy it as much as Jamie did, I was too busy talking on the porcelain telephone. At least I’m nice and thin now, #silverlinings.

Broccoli & cheese potato cake
Serves 6 -8 / Hands on time 40 minutes / Total time 1 hr 20 mins + cooling / V
You will need: 9 inch round cake tin, food processor (if making your own breadcrumbs)
1kg potatoes (roughly 5 baking potatoes)
200g tender-stem or purple sprouting broccoli
1 handful of fresh parsley (or any fresh herb)
150g vegetarian mature cheddar cheese
50g vegetarian Italian hard cheese or Parmesan*, grated
4 medium eggs
Knob of butter (for greasing)
1 slice of brown bread for the breadcrumbs or a handful of shop bought
Dash of semi-skimmed milk
3 tbs Pomora extra virgin olive oil

TIP: This recipe is easily halved. Simply opt for a 2lb loaf tin and follow the same instructions with half the amounts.
TIP: You can use many vegetables for this. I recently made it with 200g of leeks instead of broccoli but choose ‘quick cook’ vegetables such as broccoli, tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, sweetcorn, peas, asparagus that can be added raw.

Method
1. Peel and cut your potatoes into big chunks and boil in a large saucepan until soft, around 25 mins (it’s important to use a large saucepan as you’ll be incorporating all the other ingredients into it later).
2. Whilst the potatoes are boiling, line the cake tine with greaseproof paper at the bottom and grease the sides well with butter. Put to one side.
3. Cut the storks off the broccoli and discard. Pull the remaining florets apart with your fingers leaving you with nice even-ish pieces. Finely chop the parsley and put both to one side.
4. Grate the cheddar and the Parmesan. Take a small handful of Parmesan and put to one side, you’ll need this to sprinkle on top of your cake later.Blitz a piece of bread into breadcrumbs in a food processor for a few seconds and put to one side.
5. Preheat your oven to 200°C/180°fan/400°F/gas mark 7.
6. By now your potatoes should be soft. Drain them and pour back into the saucepan. Add a dash of milk to help loosen them up a bit and start mashing (don’t try to get all the lumps out, they add a bit of texture). Season well with salt and pepper, give it a good mix and start to add the cheese a handful at a time before mixing in the eggs. Finally add the broccoli and the parsley.
7. Once all the ingredients have been incorporated, spoon the mixture into the tin. Spread it out and flatten the top with a spoon. Sprinkle over the breadcrumbs and the small handful of parmesan. Drizzle with 3 Tbs of extra virgin olive oil and pop in the oven on the middle shelf. Bake for 30-35 mins.
8. Once cooked, leave to cool in the tin fully. Once cooled, refrigerate in the tin to help the potato cake keep it’s shape. When you’re ready for it, score around the edge of the tin with a sharp knife and turn out. Cut into wedges and serve with a simple watercress salad.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V– Vegetarian
* Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiani) is always made using animal rennet, therefore it is not vegetarian. Substitute for Italian hard cheese if applicable.